Moneyball – Michael Lewis

Why are the Oakland A’s one of the best baseball teams in the US, while their total payroll is second from the bottom? What do they know that other teams don’t? I don’t care about baseball at all – I’ve watched one baseball game in my life – but this book is fascinating. The A’s hired economists to analyze player statistics and figure out which statistics contribute most to winning games. Some of the canonical baseball statistics turn out to have little predictive value – like Runs Batted In – and other times the economists need to develop new statistics to capture the right information. The A’s lead is decreasing as other teams pick up their tactics – Bill James, the father of baseball arcane now works for the Boston Red Sox. But this is a great read, even if you know nothing about baseball or statistics.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Michael Lewis
2004
Available from Amazon