The weekend ahead promises plenty of action – NBA All-Star, Daytona 500, and the 84th Academy Awards. One film that continues to gain momentum and fans (with six nominations, including one for Best Picture) is Moneyball starring Brad Pitt as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane. Also making waves on the sports analytics front this week is ESPN The Magazine’s debut “Analytics Issue,” on newsstands today. Featured on the cover is Oakland A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy, who, pictured with his wife Amanda, is a big believer in crunching numbers to analyze and project sports performance. McCarthy, whose story has been described as the next chapter of Moneyball, was nearly out of baseball, discovered advanced analytics, and turned his career around.
Also featured in The Mag’s Analytics issue is a different perspective of Kevin Garnett, and how – although the average fan might not see it – basketball stat heads argue that he is the best player of the past 20 years and they have the sabermetrics to prove it. Another feature takes a look at the Oklahoma City Thunder. Possibly the greatest analytics-based team in sports, the Thunder were built by GM Sam Presti with the “Big Three” (Westbrook, Durant, and Harden) and a gutsy move last year that brought Perkins from Boston.
The new issue also arms readers with graphs and charts and by using numbers The Mag proves Andrew Luck will not save Indianapolis, Floyd Mayweather will beat Manny Pacquia, Chris Paul will go down as the best point guard in NBA history and more.
Note: ESPN The Magazine is sponsoring the Readers Choice Award for the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Fans can vote and leave comments on the best contenders for the award — determined after organizers of the conference sifted through more than 100 submissions to determine 10 finalists — by clicking here via SportsNation. The fans’ choice will be announced at this year’s conference, taking place March 2-3. The winning stat will run in an upcoming issue.
The Analytics Issue Features
Saviormetrics
Sabermetrics changed Brandon McCarthy from under the radar to an ace. That and learning how to throw a two-seamer. By Eddie Matz
One-Man Revolution
The reason Kevin Garnett has been the NBA’s MVP only once is that it requires a new set of stats to appreciate him properly. By Jason Schwartz
Method Actors
The Oklahoma City Thunder were stuck in .500 purgatory without enough money to buy their way out. Enter a new GM and analytics. By Jordan Brenner
Walking the Line
Yeah, bookmaking is illegal, but that’s not what worries Floyd Fielding. It’s all the lying, the traffic and the cheaters that get to him. By Tim Struby
Additional Analytics Issue Highlights:
- In his latest column, The Mag’s Peter Keating discusses that despite the importance of DHs for driving runs and winning games, most teams don’t develop hitters at DH. Instead, they focus on complete players, leaving the DH with more players below replacement level than any other position.
- NBA: Jeremy Lin caught the NBA off guard. Opposing coaches — many of whom will get their second look at Lin in March — are surely studying game film for the best way to contain the Knicks’ suddenly efficient pick-and-roll. The Mag asked ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy for his prescription for “Linsanity.”
- CBB: The Mag explores the death of the midrange jumper: The three-point shot has taken over in college basketball, but the way teams are defending could bring about a resurgence.
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