Leveraging a background in venture capital, Sheldon Jason Burnett leads Analytics Associates Group and provides tailored solutions related to supply chain logistics and financing. Sheldon J. Burnett’s firm also offers sports-focused solutions focused on the collection, analysis, and dissemination of baseball statistics. He employs a proprietary algorithm for accurately predicting players’ performance in various aspects of the sport.
The basis of this is sabremetrics, which amplifies traditional statistics, such as batting average and ERA, to provide a more accurate snapshot of player performance. For example, WAR (wins above replacement) has all-inclusive formulas for pitchers and position players. With position players, the WAR formula is: (batting runs + fielding runs + base running runs + replacement runs + league adjustment + positional adjustment) / runs per win.
The result sometimes turns traditional baseball logic on its head. For example, a center fielder can hit more home runs and have a higher batting average than a second baseman, and yet have a lower WAR than his infield counterpart. This may be as simple as reflecting a dearth of talent in the league at second base.
There are also action-specific metrics in play, such as launch angle (the angle at which the ball leaves the bat) and exit velocity (the speed of the ball off the bat). For pitchers, one key metric is spin rate, which is measured in revolutions per minute. The number of times the ball rotates while heading to the plate can vary significantly and can give insight into the potential of a pitcher. Keep in mind that this depends on which types of pitches are in a pitcher’s arsenal. For example, a low spin rate is preferable for a pitcher who relies mostly on his change up, while high spin rates are ideal for those who make use of breaking balls and fastballs.
The basis of this is sabremetrics, which amplifies traditional statistics, such as batting average and ERA, to provide a more accurate snapshot of player performance. For example, WAR (wins above replacement) has all-inclusive formulas for pitchers and position players. With position players, the WAR formula is: (batting runs + fielding runs + base running runs + replacement runs + league adjustment + positional adjustment) / runs per win.
The result sometimes turns traditional baseball logic on its head. For example, a center fielder can hit more home runs and have a higher batting average than a second baseman, and yet have a lower WAR than his infield counterpart. This may be as simple as reflecting a dearth of talent in the league at second base.
There are also action-specific metrics in play, such as launch angle (the angle at which the ball leaves the bat) and exit velocity (the speed of the ball off the bat). For pitchers, one key metric is spin rate, which is measured in revolutions per minute. The number of times the ball rotates while heading to the plate can vary significantly and can give insight into the potential of a pitcher. Keep in mind that this depends on which types of pitches are in a pitcher’s arsenal. For example, a low spin rate is preferable for a pitcher who relies mostly on his change up, while high spin rates are ideal for those who make use of breaking balls and fastballs.
