Silver: Are the Phillies finally getting religion on statistical analysis?
From Stephen Silver at Philadelphia Magazine on October 2, 2013:
This past July, during an audience Q&A following his address to the national convention of the Society of American Baseball Research here in Philadelphia, Phillies team president Dave Montgomery was asked whether, in light of the Phils’ second straight subpar season, it might be time for the organization to take a look at something it has long resisted: advanced statistical analysis.
Montgomery, in the Q&A and an interview afterward, replied that contrary to the belief of many, the team does actually give some consideration to advanced stats. He said the Phillies’ front office has three employees in its player personnel department who have statistical evaluation as part of their portfolio, although no one employee does the work full-time. Montgomery added, however, that “character” plays a major role in the team’s personnel decisions.
I thought of that exchange this week when the news broke that the Phils are ready, it appears, to at least dip a toe into the water of advanced analytics. General manager Ruben Amaro said in an interview with CSN Phllly’s Jim Salisbury that the team plans to make some changes in the way it evaluates players, a move which could include the addition of an analytics expert.
Read the full article here: http://www.phillymag.com/news/2013/10/02/phillies-getting-religion-stats/
Related link: For more coverage of SABR 43 in Philadelphia, visit SABR.org/convention
Originally published: October 2, 2013. Last Updated: October 2, 2013.