Benjamin C. Alamar has been a leader in sports analytics for more than fifteen years, working with organizations including ESPN, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and StubHub. He has taught at universities including Rice, Columbia, and MIT. The founder of the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, Alamar has written for outlets such as ESPN, Analytics magazine, and the Wall Street Journal.
Alamar expertly elucidates the importance and value—to leagues, teams, players—of a robust and thoughtful approach to data and analytics. It is hard to image an aspect of sports—from player health and safety and rule evolution, to scouting and game strategy, to marketing and fan engagement—that isn’t impacted and can’t be improved through insights gleaned from Alamar’s strategic approach to data. -- Julie Souza, Head of Sports, Global Professional Services, Amazon Web Services Sports teams that fail to capitalize on their data will be outcompeted. Alamar delineates a framework for executives to consider how analytics fit in their organization, and the tangible value improved decision-making brings. With a deft balance of the conceptual and the concrete, he explains the elements needed to launch an analytics group, the pitfalls to avoid, and the plans to both deliver short-term benefits and execute a long-term vision. All without unnecessary technical jargon. -- Keith Woolner, principal data scientist, baseball research and development, Cleveland Guardians Benjamin C. Alamar helped pioneer the sports analytics movement—there are few people more qualified than him to write this book, which provides actionable information for decision makers and analysts in the field. -- Keith Goldner, vice president of data science, FanDuel The second edition of Sports Analytics offers a comprehensive framework of the requirements for building successful analytics programs in sports organizations. The author’s expertise and experience provide for many insightful examples. -- Greg Strizek, president, Strategic Analytics, Inc.