Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Baseball Veers Into Left Field

Stephen Webster/ Wonderful Machine (Associated Press: Reese)
Voluminous Data Yield Some Arcane Research; ‘Pee Wee’ and Life Expectancy
FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By AUSTIN KELLEY
When baseball dubbed shortstop Harold Reese “Pee Wee” and first basemen Fred Merkle “Bonehead,” they probably weren’t trying to lengthen the players’ lives. But according to researchers at Wayne State University, major-league players who have nicknames live 2½ years longer, on average, than those without them.

The nickname findings are part of the wide-ranging and often arcane academic research that deals with the national pastime. In another study, we learn that players whose first or last name begins with “K” strike out more than those without “K” initials. And in case you were wondering, research finds Democrats support the designated-hitter rule more than Republicans.
As any numbers geek knows, baseball has always been the wonkiest of sports, rife with statistics and theories. Whether baseball purists like it or not, scores of analysts and number crunchers have knocked down the gates of the hallowed game and are now climbing over the furniture with their protractors and measuring tapes.

Scores of armchair statisticians and Retrosheet, an organization dedicated to digitizing baseball history, have compiled hundreds of thousands of bytes of errors and sacrifices—all easily downloadable to the public. The ballclubs themselves have taken notice and most, if not all, have statisticians on the payroll.

“You have such a large, detailed database to start with,” says Phil Birnbaum, editor of the statistical-analysis newsletter for the Society for Baseball Research (SABR). “A lot of things that are just interesting things about life, you might first hear about them in baseball just because the data is there.”

Indeed, 90 years of plate appearances helped marketing professionals Leif Nelson of the University of California-Berkeley and Joseph Simmons of Yale University show that players with K’s in their initials strike out more than those without K initials. (“K” is the scorekeepers’ mark for a strikeout). The findings were part of a larger study published in 2007 in the journal Psychological Science that people unconsciously seek out outcomes corresponding to their names despite their conscious desires.

“Even Karl ‘Koley’ Kolseth would find a strikeout aversive,” they wrote, referring to the 1910s-era player. “But on the whole, he might find it a little less aversive than players who do not share his initials, and avoid it less enthusiastically.” (Mr. Kolseth actually never struck out in his 24 plate appearances for the Baltimore Terrapins, but Kevin Kouzmanoff of the Padres struck out 139 times last year).

In the May 2007 Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Christopher Zorn, a Penn State professor, and Jeff Gill, of Washington University, demonstrated that Democrats tend to support the designated-hitter rule more than Republicans or independents do. Using data from a 1997 CBS News poll, they suggested that the DH, introduced in the American League in 1973, not only represented radical change from tradition, but also struck some conservatives as anticompetitive. “Liberals all like the designated hitter,” Prof. Zorn contends, “because it’s sort of a welfare program. It lets hitters hit longer into their careers and takes responsibility away from the pitchers.”

Perhaps the most prolific of the baseball quirkologists are Ernest Abel, a professor of medicine, and Michael Kruger, a statistician at Wayne State.

In the past four years, Messrs. Abel and Kruger have also argued in academic journals that professional baseball players live a little longer than average folks; that players who debut at a young age have a shorter life expectancy than their slower-developing teammates; that players with “positive” initials have a longer lifespan than those with initials like “P.I.G.”; that southpaws are a little shorter than right-handers; and that major-leaguers are more likely to die on their birthdays than chance would predict. Hall of Famers are likelier still.

Prof. Abel, who has written books on a wide range of topics, including graffiti, genetic disorders and “Marihuana: the First Twelve Thousand Years,” says names, initials and death just intrigue him.

“I do a lot of reading,” he says, “and like to speculate on a lot of different aspects of behavior.” Baseball, Prof. Abel points out, is not only a good place for data, it’s also more interesting than doing a study on, say, academics. “What kind of kid grows up and wants to be an economist?” he says.

It’s not to suggest that baseball research isn’t worthwhile, since findings can have real-world applications.

W. Christopher Winter, medical director of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center, led a soon-to-be-published study, funded by Major League Baseball, showing that teams that are adjusted to their time zone have a “circadian advantage” over teams that have just traveled across the country. “Baseball is a great way to raise awareness,” says Dr. Winter, who notes that findings can apply to shift-workers. “It’s a sexy topic and it gets a lot of attention.”

Much of the latest academic work owes a debt to the expanding field of sabermetrics, the science of baseball analysis. For sabermetricians, no topic is too small or hypothesis too unlikely. SABR’s journals publish articles like “Was Roy Cullenbine a better hitter than Joe DiMaggio?” (In short, no). At the organization’s upcoming conference, David Smith, president of Retrosheet, will answer the question: If a pitcher reaches base and has to do a little running, does it affect his performance on the mound?
Bill James, considered the father of sabermetrics, argues that occasionally statisticians are like sentries looking into a fog. “We’re trying to see if there’s an army out there,” he once wrote, “and we have confident reports that the coast is clear—but we may have underestimated the density of the fog.”

Some of the statistical analyses in the academic papers may be foggy as well.

“Whenever we try to prove something by statistical analysis we are at risk of going wrong in 6,000 different ways,” Mr. James says in an email.

The nickname study depends on the assertion that certain players did not have a nickname, which is difficult to establish with certainty. Prof. Abel says, though, that his nickname books and histories are fairly reliable. “People who do statistics on baseball,” he says, “are very meticulous.” (Despite this, Prof. Abel does not publish in SABR’s Baseball Research Journal. “It’s too esoteric,” he says.)

Prof. Zorn, the political scientist, notes that his study on Democrats and the DH rule was limited by the data set. Dr. Winter, the sleep scientist, says his study about circadian rhythms made assumptions about the causes of performance even though other variables can affect a person’s internal clock.

“Being on a plane, the restricted dietary choices, dehydration, lack of comfort, disruptions in sleep,” he says, “all those things certainly affect an individual’s performance.”

As for the K-name strikeout study, Mr. Birnbaum of SABR notes on his blog that if the data are recalculated using plate appearances instead of players’ career strikeout rate (thus placing more weight on players with longer careers), the results don’t hold up.

Meanwhile the study’s co-author, Prof. Nelson, says he welcomes critical review. “It remains entirely possible,” he says, “that [we] are incorrect.”

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Thursday, July 16, 2009

East or West - Fine Baseball Exhibits

July 2009 Baseball Exhibits
By Susan Petrone

Two baseball-related exhibits on opposite ends of the country. This information is posted as a courtesy.

One of the most ubiquitous and instantly recognizable American pop culture artifacts, the baseball trading card, is the subject of a new exhibition sponsored by the Baseball Reliquary. Cardboard Fetish will on exhibit at the Pasadena Central Library, 285 E. Walnut Street, Pasadena, California, from July 6-July 31, 2009. Admission is free.

Mixing nostalgia, affection, irreverence, and social commentary, Cardboard Fetish explores the history of baseball cards from their origins in the 19th century as advertising mechanisms for tobacco products through their more recent status as a locus of intense baby-boomer nostalgia and object of currency, with some cards fetching astronomical prices.

The exhibition also features a special display, “The History of Baseball Card Defacing,” by Pennsylvania-based artist Paul Kuhrman, in addition to artist-designed baseball cards, related artworks, and/or commentaries by Cynthia Paige Aaron, Brendan Boyd, Chester Crill, Joe Dossen, Ted Duarte, Michael Guccione, Fred Harris, Greg Jezewski, Albert Kilchesty, Melissa Ann Lambert, Bob Lemke, Jon Leonoudakis, Bruce Markusen, Richard Newton, T.S. O’Connell, Christy Patrick, Jacqueline Ruyak, Ben Sakoguchi, William Scaff, Judy Spak, Keith Ullrich, and Mel Weiner.

Pasadena Central Library hours for the exhibition are: Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am-9:00 pm; Friday-Saturday, 9:00 am-6:00 pm; and Sunday, 1:00-5:00 pm. For additional information, phone the Baseball Reliquary at (626) 791-7647; for directions, phone the Pasadena Central Library at (626) 744-4066.

The Baseball Reliquary is a Pasadena-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime’s unparalleled creative possibilities. Cardboard Fetish is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. http://www.baseballreliquary.org/

Going Going Gone Sports and Scherer Gallery present "BASEBALL AT STEUBEN." This unique show merges the art and sports world into a celebration of America's greatest game. Among the artists included are Norman Rockwell, Gary Erbe, Ben Ganz, and Palmer Hayden. These monumental tributes pay homage to the greatest teams in basball history including the 1927 Yankees, 1961 Yankees, 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and the 1969 NY Mets.

Individual achievements by Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Hank Aaron are captured in stunning displays. Historical moments involving Bobby Thomson and Mickey Owens are given special attention. Whether you are a NY Yankees, NY Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers, or NY Mets die hard, you will appreciate this special collection. The dates of the exhibition are July 9th through August 8th, 10am - 6pm mon-sat. Furthermore, Going Going Gone Sports will donate a portion of all sales to the fight against ALS disease, paying respect to Lou Gehrig on the 70th anniversary of his famous speech.

To get a glimpse of this event, please visit our website goinggoinggonesports.com. The location of the show is 667 Madison Avenue, New York, New York. For further information please call 212-593-9716 or 646-285-1497.

From Sabr.org

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Today, I Consider Myself....

70th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig's Famous Speech

Play this video to hear the original speech.

In his final days, as he battled ALS,
Lou Gehrig penned his most personal thoughts
in a series of revealing letters.
See that and more at this website in honor of Lou Gehrig.