Mathletics - by Wayne L Winston & Scott Nestler & Konstantinos Pelechrinis (Paperback)

About the Book

"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"--

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"Fascinating."---Peter Hall, The Mathematical Gazette

"[Huge] and highly interesting."---Mathematics Magazine, Paul J. Campbell

"[A] terrific read for anyone trying to model markets statistically and make trading decisions based on statistical data. . . . Reading Winston's book is a mind-opening experience."---Brenda Jubin, Reading the Markets blog

"Sports fans will learn much from probability theory and statistical models as they abandon empty clichés (time to throw momentum out of the informed fan's lexicon) and confront institutionalized injustices (such as those built into the protocols for selecting a national champion in college football and for seeding the NCAA's basketball tournament). A rare fusion of sports enthusiasm and numerical acumen."-- "Booklist"

"Who is Wayne Winston? Maybe we should begin by telling you who he is not. He is not some barstool fan or uninformed sportswriter who fuels his opinions with information gleaned from SportsCenter highlights or newspaper box scores. He is a professor of decision sciences at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, and until this year was the statistical guru for the Dallas Mavericks. He is author of the book Mathletics, which explains what statistics really tell us about sports."---Ken Berger, CBSSports.com

About the Author

Wayne L. Winston is the John and Esther Reese Professor of Decision Sciences at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Scott Nestler is associate teaching professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. Konstantinos Pelechrinis is associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Computing and Information.