The MVP Machine

July 1, 2019

Sportswriters Lindbergh (The Only Rule Is It Has To Work) and Sawchik (Big Data Baseball) provide a behind-the-scenes look at the data-driven strategies baseball players and teams employ to compete and succeed in the league. Gone are the days when a team could simply out-draft, out-sign, or out-trade the competition. Instead, teams and players must utilize the mountains of data that can be collected using cutting-edge technology to develop and improve the talent they already have. The strength of this book lies in the firsthand accounts. Interviews with front-office personnel, scouts, agents, and players describe the methodologies employed by several teams and individual athletes. The authors also tell the story of veteran players who have resurrected their careers, younger players who changed the way they throw or swing in profoundly impactful ways, and teams who have put into place strong talent development systems based on modern data-collection techniques. VERDICT This data-driven account is intended for hard-core baseball fans; anyone interested in player development will find this extremely captivating.--Matt Schirano, Univ. of Bridgeport Lib., CT

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
Every savvy baseball fan has internalized the message of Michael Lewis' Moneyball: advanced statistical analysis?sabermetrics?can give teams a huge advantage in identifying emerging superstars. Lindbergh and Sawchik here illuminate an underappreciated corollary: the same statistical sophistication can actually help teams develop seemingly lackluster players. So, while Lewis focused on Oakland's success in using sabermetrics to pick up young stars such as Nick Swisher and Joe Blanton before other teams recognized their abilities, Lindbergh and Sawchik highlight Houston's success in using similar statistical resources?aptly renamed saviormetrics ?to lift so-so major leaguers, such as Ryan Pressly and Charlie Morton, to unexpectedly higher levels of performance. Readers with a longer-term time perspective will appreciate the close look at how Houston has also applied saviormetrics to the team's farm clubs, transforming them into an impressively productive source of new players. As other clubs emulate Houston's developmental model, the sabermetric transformation of the game will only accelerate. Who knew that the game of pine tar and chewing tobacco would one day belong to wizards with laptops?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)