Bill james on baseball, facts, and the rules of the game. The game provides a centurys worth of american baseball history, told one decade at a time, with energetic facts and figures about how, where, and by whom the game was played. In 2006, time magazine named james one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Sep 26, 2011 bill james was working at a kansas cannery when he came up with an idea that would transform baseball. Baseball sabermetrician and boston red sox executive bill james, 2010. For the first time in his life, bill james is no longer a baseball outsider.
Moneyball characters from litcharts the creators of. How sabermetrics has ruined baseball bill james online. Bill james, part of mlbs moneyball revolution, criticizes. The character of bill james in moneyball from litcharts. Bill james and billy beane discuss big data in baseball the oakland gm and the statistical wizard are two major catalysts behind the datadriven mlbyet their paths have seldom overlapped. Since 1977, james has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. Moneyball traces the history of the sabermetric movement back to such people as bill james then a member of the boston red sox front office and craig r. Plenty of people dream of being able to overhaul an entire industry in one fell swoop, but bill james did just that, said miller. Um, for a couple of years i coached one of my sons little league baseball teams. But that actually is one of the keys to having a good yearis, youve got to get the kids not to focus on the umpire. Skip sauer of clemson university and econtalks russ roberts discuss the economics of michael lewiss moneyball. Reading bill james for the first time ive been reading about baseball history much of my life, and when i started this blog in may 2009, i considered myself an expert on the subject. Baseball stats pioneer bill james says moneyball hits it.
Mar 07, 2020 bill james pans baseball, and other thoughts from this years sloan conference gambling was a frequent topic of discussion, especially as it relates to the continued emergence of data. Powered by bill james and friends, the red sox win. Red sox senior advisor bill james thinks all baseball players. James was profiled on 60 minutes on march 30, 2008, in his role as a sabermetric pioneer and red sox advisor. The art of winning an unfair game by michael lewis we take fifty guys in the draft and we celebrate if two of them make it. Bill james is considered the father of sabermetrics because, at a time when personal computers made it easier for the average american to study thousands of baseball stats, james recognized that baseball gms were making decisions based on players statistics, but. Bill james has done an awful lot for analysis, both in promoting the concepts and in original work most notably a methodology for converting minorleague stats to majorleague equivalents. In the seventies and eighties, bill james was a writer with a degree in english and economics.
Sep 27, 2011 by the way, the beauty of short hops, though it punctures gaping holes in moneyball, has all but been ignored by the baseball sports establishment, just as the truth of the numerous bill james. The bill james baseball abstract, 1982 paperback march 12, 1982 by bill james author. Bill james called the baseball establishment knownothings to an audience of a few thousand. Jun 10, 2003 for the first time in his life, bill james is no longer a baseball outsider. Sep 23, 2011 bill james stands in the atrium at the paramount theatre in downtown oakland, surveying the crush of people who have arrived for the world premiere of moneyball. If we were expending this kind of energy and verbiage on things that were incapable of having a positive effect on winning games, sabermetricians would face far more hostility from the general public than we in fact do. Bill james and billy beane discuss big data in baseball wsj. Beanes theory was created based on the works of a sabermetrician named bill james. A baseball writer and historian, james was the developer of sabermetrics, the statistical analysis of baseball, that led to the development of moneyball 2011. Michael lewis claims that the oakland athletics as. James is the high priest of baseball numbercrunching. Bill james was working at a kansas cannery when he came up with an idea that would transform baseball. Moneyball godfather bill james tackles politics in super. Nov 08, 2018 boston red sox consultant bill james, best known for his work with baseball analytics leading to the moneyball era, said mlb players are no more vital to the sport than beer vendors james posted.
Like the original, the new bill james historical baseball abstract is really. He made the benefits of such an approach clear, accessible, and entertaining enough to draw in and convince people not normally inclined to read such a work or think in such a way. A guide to sabermetric research society for american. Bill james 1949 is the best known baseball analyst in the world, and he has been a prolific author baseball abstracts, historical abstract, handbook and many other works. But just as important, smart baseball teams had quietly adopted his ideas uncredited for a while. Lewis explores how james s seminal baseball abstract, published annually from the late 1970s through the late 1980s, influenced many of the young, upandcoming baseball minds that.
Bill james pans baseball, and other thoughts from this years. Mlb players fire back at bill james, who is wrong for a change. That story was told in the 2003 bestselling book moneyball and in the oscarnominated 2011 movie of the same name. Moneyball 2011 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Bill james contributions to baseball are significant, meritorious and possibly unmatched by any within the industry in the last 40 years. How bill james changed our view of baseball acta sports. James spent years trying to decipher numbers via the bill james baseball abstract, which in turn, resulted in a specific philosophy on hitters.
The genius of moneyball was lewis ability to take something as. His approach, which he termed sabermetrics in reference to the society for american baseball research sabr, scientifically evaluates. For years growing up, i was the odd person among my friends who could recite world series winners from memory and dispense anecdotes about babe ruth, ted. Long before moneyball became a worldwide phenomenon in the 21st century and before bill james baseball writings gained mainstream popularity in the 1980s, hall of fame manager earl weaver was using index cards to finetune his platooning system and pitching changes with the baltimore orioles in the 1960s, while branch rickey hired statistician. To me, the most important aspect of bill james was his ability as a popularizer of the statistical analysis of baseball. Nov 20, 2017 bill james, the noted writer and historian who began sharing his thoughts on baseball via the bill james baseball abstract in 1977, has been one of the forefathers for the statistical study.
Jamess great insight, michael lewis argues, was to realize that traditional sports statistics, such as batting averages, give wildly misleading ideas about a players talent. Oct 31, 20 bill james is the baseball analyst, whose radical ideas beane used rather publicly in oakland. James s great insight, michael lewis argues, was to realize read full character analysis. Bill james, the mind behind moneyball longwood university. I always admire people who have the courage to confront the conventional wisdompeople within the system. Bill james pans baseball, and other thoughts from this. Featuring 18 categories of statistical information that you just cant find anywhere else. Boston red sox consultant bill james, best known for his work with baseball analytics leading to the moneyball era, said mlb players are no more vital to. Bill james is a member of richest celebrities and historians. Moneyball and its impact to baseball 15 years later. Mar 25, 2020 i wound up writing a book about this, called moneyball, and james wound up being hired by the boston red sox who in short order won their first world series in nearly a century. Nov 28, 2017 winning baseball games is i would arguenot sure about bill the ultimate goal of sabermetrics. Lewis explores how jamess seminal baseball abstract, published annually from the late 1970s through the late 1980s, influenced many of the young, upandcoming baseball minds that are now joining the ranks of baseball management.
Apr 14, 2017 song is the mighty rio grande by this will destroy you 2008. Indeed, they started playing moneyball even before moneyball the book was even published. Unsurprisingly, just two years after moneyball was published, the guy who introduced this analytical approach to drafting, bill james, was named by time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and it is not an exaggeration to say that michael lewis book contributed to this belated recognition. I wound up writing a book about this, called moneyball, and james wound up being hired by the boston red sox who in short order won their first world series in nearly a century. Song is the mighty rio grande by this will destroy you 2008.
Bill james pans baseball, and other thoughts from this years sloan conference gambling was a frequent topic of discussion, especially as it relates to the continued emergence of data. Bill james, who spurred baseball s analytics revolution, is waging a mini war on war jose altuve. The father of sabermetrics, bill james was an amateur sports journalist who, in the late 1970s, began selfpublishing a legendary series of annual treatises on baseball. Now, baseballs beloved sultan of stats the boston globe is back with a fully revised and updated edition for the new millennium.
The red sox won yet another world series yesterday, and they did it playing moneyball. Red sox senior advisor bill james thinks all baseball. Nov 08, 2018 bill james contributions to baseball are significant, meritorious and possibly unmatched by any within the industry in the last 40 years. How sabermetrics has ruined baseball articles bill james. Bill james and the red sox are parting ways nbc sports. Like the original, the new bill james historical baseball abstract is really several books in one. But hes got an informed opinion of the movie moneyball, out in theaters nationwide this week. Bill james, the father of sabermetrics and currently a front office employee for the red sox, said on twitter that all baseball players are replaceable. Most recently, bill james has been authoring the bill james gold mine. Bill james, the noted writer and historian who began sharing his thoughts on baseball via the bill james baseball abstract in 1977, has been one of the forefathers for the statistical study. Powered by bill james and friends, the red sox win another. In 1977, he began publishing the bill james baseball abstracts, which paved the way for sabermetrics, a system of statistical analysis that fundamentally transformed the sport. Michael lewis, in his book moneyball, dedicates a chapter to james career and sabermetrics as background for his portrayal of billy beane and the oakland athletics. Bill james stands in the atrium at the paramount theatre in downtown oakland, surveying the crush of people who have arrived for the world premiere of moneyball.
Jun 15, 2012 james is the high priest of baseball numbercrunching. The bill james baseball abstract, 1982 bill james on. George william bill james born october 5, 1949 in holton, kansas is a baseball writer, historian and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Acta sports has rereleased its book of essays how bill james changed our view of baseball in the wake of the publicity the groundbreaking baseball analyst has received from the new movie moneyball, in which an oakland scout incredulously asks general manager billie beane, played by brad pitt, whether heas really buying into this bill james bullshit. Ricciardi, michael lewis, moneyball, oakland as, paul depodesta, sandy alderson, theo epstein. In 2010, he was inducted into the irish american baseball hall of fame. His income source is widely considered his occupation as a historian, statistician, as well as a baseball writer. Bill james is the baseball analyst, whose radical ideas beane used rather publicly in oakland. His story speaks to the ability of one person to innovate and to see beyond the status quo. Major league baseball, being very staid, simply took longer to adopt james ideas than many other industries would have taken.
So, to accompany last weeks book club about moneyball, i asked james to talk about lewis book, the future of. Bill james on baseball, facts, and the rules of the. Bill james revolutionized the game of baseball without once stepping on to a professional baseball diamond as a player, coach, manager or executive. Bill james is considered the father of sabermetrics because, at a time when personal computers made it easier for the average american to study thousands of baseball stats, james recognized that baseball gms were making decisions based on players statistics, but didnt understand what these statistics really meant. Its much harder to say, i think the conventional wisdom is full of.
Michael lewis, quoting bill james at page 75 of moneyball. The movie moneyball tells the story of that idea and how the oakland athletics ran with it. The concept dates back to the days of sabermetrics early analysis of nontraditional statistics that brought names like bill james into the lexicon, and its use of war wins above. When bill james published his original historical baseball abstract in 1985, he produced an immediate classic, hailed by the chicago tribune as the holy book of baseball.