How to use math to improve performance and predict outcomes in professional sports
Mathletics reveals the mathematical methods top coaches and managers use to evaluate players and improve team performance, and gives math enthusiasts the practical skills they need to enhance their understanding and enjoyment of their favorite sports—and maybe even gain the outside edge to winning bets. This second edition features new data, new players and teams, and new chapters on soccer, e-sports, golf, volleyball, gambling Calcuttas, analysis of camera data, Bayesian inference, ridge regression, and other statistical techniques. After reading Mathletics, you will understand why baseball teams should almost never bunt; why football overtime systems are unfair; why points, rebounds, and assists aren’t enough to determine who’s the NBA’s best player; and more.
"Mathletics shows readers how to use simple mathematics to analyze a range of statistical and probability-related questions in professional baseball, basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and golf, and in sports gambling. The authors describe the mathematical methods that top coaches and managers use to evaluate players and improve team performance, and give math enthusiasts the practical tools they need to enhance their understanding and enjoyment of their favorite sports - and maybe even gain the outside edge to winning bets. Mathletics blends fun and challenging math problems with sports stories of actual games, teams, and players, along with personal anecdotes from Winston's work as a sports consultant. The book includes easy-to-read tables and illustrations to illuminate the techniques and ideas presented, and all the necessary mathematical concepts - such as arithmetic, basic statistics and probability, and Monte Carlo simulations - are fully explained in the examples. The revised edition will include about 75 pages of revised text and roughly 40 new figures. The book will include updates to the data and inclusion of more recent players and teams throughout all the chapters. It will also include new chapters on soccer, lacrosse, and golf, as well as new findings on regression, game theory, and optimization"--
"Fascinating."
---Peter Hall, The Mathematical Gazette
