Moneyball - Michael Lewis

[Gamecock-YT]

Great book. I've probably read it at least 2-3 times.

 

I still wonder why Paul DePodesta was such a failure as a GM?

[jtvalue]

This is one of my all-time favorite books.  Reading about inefficiencies in professional sports is one of my favorite past times because a) I love sports - especially basketball b) I find a lot of similarities between the human biases/mistakes in sports and the stock market.  If you're interested in the topic here are a few other books I would recommend in order of preference:

 

The Extra 2% - by Jonah Keri

http://www.amazon.com/The-Extra-2-Strategies-Baseball/dp/1611203090

 

The Mind of Bill James

http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Bill-James-Complete-Outsider/dp/0385514646/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370975791&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mind+of+bill+james

 

War Room: The Leagacy of Bill Belichick - by Michael Holley

http://www.amazon.com/War-Room-Belichick-Building-Perfect/dp/006208240X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370975956&sr=1-1&keywords=war+room

 

Stumbling on Wins by Dave Berri

http://www.amazon.com/Stumbling-Wins-Economists-Pitfalls-Professional/dp/013235778X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370975893&sr=1-1&keywords=stumbling+on+wins

 

Game Plan: A Radical Approach to Decision Making in the National Football League - by Frank Dupont

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Plan-Approach-Decision-ebook/dp/B007SBHUHA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370975741&sr=1-1&keywords=Game+Plan%3A+A+Radical+Approach+to+Decision+Making+in+the+National+Football+League

 

I would be interested to hear if people have other recommendations as well.

[Kraven]

I would be interested to hear if people have other recommendations as well.

 

Along the same lines as the ones you mentioned is "Trading Bases" by Joe Peta.

[Gamecock-YT]

I'm like you, JT. Huge sports fan and a lover of inefficiencies.

 

 

x2 on war room. Speaking of DePodesta, Scott Pioli is another guy that came in with a high reputation that was pretty much a failure. Really does a great job on TV now...

 

 

I've always wanted to read 2%, I really enjoy Keri's work with espn.com and grantland, but the reviews were always spotty. I guess people were expecting moneyball 2 and it failed to deliver? Also, I've always wanted to read  'Basketball on Paper' by Dean Oliver that goes into the 'four factors of basketball'.

 

 

Another sports book I think is excellent is Swing your Sword by Mike Leach and Bruce Feldman. It's not really an advanced stat type of book but Mike Leach is a fascinating character and his path to being a D1 head coach is incredible.

 

 

Rather than books, I've had lots of success with sports blog when trying to spot advance stat inefficiencies. footballoutsiders.com, profootballfocus.com, whoscored.com, fangraphs.com, kenpom.com, hoopsdata.com, hockeyprospectus.com, behindthenet.ca, nhlnumbers.com (Hockey is the last of the major sports to really commit to advanced data). Many of these places don't really spoon-feed you the info, you really have to do your own work in trying to understand the data but it's really worth it.

[jay21]

I believe that Klarman called this a "future value investing classic."  Did anyone read Lewis' book on the left tackle position in the NFL?  Was that any good?

[Kraven]

I believe that Klarman called this a "future value investing classic."  Did anyone read Lewis' book on the left tackle position in the NFL?  Was that any good?

 

The Blind Side. It was a movie as well. Both the book and movie were good. Entertaining and interesting.

[Gamecock-YT]

I believe that Klarman called this a "future value investing classic."  Did anyone read Lewis' book on the left tackle position in the NFL?  Was that any good?

 

the blind side?

 

Much more of a Michael Oher story than the LT position story. (Funny enough Oher's high school coach feature in the book is now the head coach at Ole Miss) Basically talks about how Lawrence Taylor breaking Joe Theismann's leg lead the revolution of the LT positon. It's a good book, just don't go into expecting it to be Moneyball for Football.

[rogermunibond]

Big fan of Lewis and of Moneyball, BUT...

 

A lot of his narrative is something of a just-so story.  Do sabermetrics confer an advantage in drafting, yes, but it's really just a percentage play like traditional 5 tools scouting. Of the players detailed a number were big busts, some like Swisher (1st round) or Youkilis were hits. Was the rate of success higher than that of traditional scouting, no, but given the resource constraints Oakland faces it allowed hm a different way to value players.  Where sabermetrics has more advantage is picking through other teams mior league or journey men player. Picking up guys like Scott Hattebeg or Chad Bradford fit the bill.  Better data st fom mior league stats thn h.s. or college.

 

Some of the issues aren't data related but biases, like how teas don't like short pitching prospects.

 

As for Oher, a few seasons of watching him not do much at LT has me thinking that Joe Flacco might question whether "The Blind Side" is an accurate title.  Despite Mike's protective instincts, his footwork and lack of reach make him really awful as a LT. No surprise that the Ravens playoff push coincided with McKinnie finally starting at LT.

[Liberty]

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/billion-dollar-billy-beane/

[dcollon]

Interesting...thanks for posting the article Liberty.

[dcollon]

Billy Beane and Bill James in WSJ

 

Bill_James_and_Billy_Beane_Discuss_Big_Data_in_Baseball_-_WSJ.pdf