Anthology of Statistics in Sports

Book excerpt: The unlikely worlds of sports fans and statisticians collide in this interesting and accessible collection of previously published articles on the use of statistics to analyze sports, which the editors have thoughtfully culled from a variety of American Statistical Association (ASA) publications. Heavily weighted in the areas of competition (rating players and teams, evaluating strategies for victory), the articles vary in mathematical complexity, but most will be accessible to readers with a general knowledge of statistics. Newly written material from the editors and other notable contributors introduces each section of the book, and a chapter with suggestions on using the articles in the classroom is included. Organized by sport to make it easy for readers to find the papers in their particular areas of interest, Anthology of Statistics in Sports contains separate sections devoted to the major North American team sports of baseball, football, basketball, and ice hockey. Two additional sections cover miscellaneous sports and more general issues related to sports and statistics. This book grew from the efforts of members of the ASA Section on Statistics in Sports, which is dedicated to promoting high professional standards in the application of statistics to sports and fostering statistical education in sports.