I need your help!
by Bryan Ashlock on Mar 11, 2010 11:23 AM EST
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PrintI'm working on my Master's in Sports Management right now and I've just discovered I'm going to be a credit short of graduation. So I've enrolled in a one credit independent study. My problem is I have NO IDEA what to study. My advisors here are no help whatsoever so I thought I'd turn to the RR community. My interest has always been in baseball and in Sabremetrics. Any suggestions for something to research, study, report on, etc? I would be forever indebted to you (and if I get published I'll make sure to mention you in the acknowledgements)! Thanks!
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Do a fascinating study on the consequences of a GM
who seemingly ignores at least 50% of the evaluation tools/methods at his disposal. Send a copy of the final draft to:
Kansas City Royals
c/o Dayton Moore
P.O. Box 419969
Kansas City, MO 64141-6969
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Mar 11, 2010 11:42 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Or
Something on in-stadium entertainment issues. I’ll even give you a working title: “It’s All Fun and Games Until Some Poor Bastard Takes One Right in the Eye: Benefits and Disadvantages of Processed Meat Products as Projectiles.” If the professor grading your work allows collaborative efforts, then see if you can get Sluggerrr to co-author.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
Something perhaps dealing with stadium proximity to...
a downtown with various sizes of infrastructure, also relate that to public transit capabilities and ease of use, and general public road access.
Relate all of these to size of potential payrole of franchise/average attendance and……….even go so far as wins?
I don’t know, that could be complete crap. That’s just off the top of my head.
How long does the research paper have to be?
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Mar 11, 2010 1:02 PM EST reply actions
I like this idea
It would seem like there are plenty of materials on the subject. Maybe compare the economic impacts of new/refurbished suburban stadia with ones built in more urban areas/neighborhoods.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Mar 11, 2010 1:24 PM EST up reply actions
I like this too
But Economic impact data is always funky because it’s so easily twisted to fit a specific purpose. Though I’m putting this on my list to discuss with my advisor. Thanks!
by Bryan Ashlock on Mar 11, 2010 6:46 PM EST up reply actions
How about whether teams are correctly compensating their players
according to the newer statistics (i.e., does projected WAR correspond to salary?). A decent amount has already been done on this, but you could probably re-hash what is out there and dig a little deeper and/or summarize others’ findings to look at the general situation
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Mar 11, 2010 2:43 PM EST reply actions
What about the way minor league players make like 3.75 an hour or something like that. plus a $25 per diem
I love this time of year.... The Royals are always in first place!!!
by averagegatsby on Mar 11, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
The minor league compensation/team investment issue
would be a timely and interesting study/paper. And if you’re looking to break into baseball, you’d probably be starting in the minors, so it might be a great thing to send along with your resume.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Mar 11, 2010 4:17 PM EST up reply actions
Not only that but you can use Disco Hayes as a reference...
I believe he had a piece about how shitty minor league life can be.
I love this time of year.... The Royals are always in first place!!!
by averagegatsby on Mar 11, 2010 5:06 PM EST up reply actions
Team investment?
Do you mean the amount of spending on salaries of players and coaches? Time investment? etc? How would something related to the draft be? I know baseball’s draft is kind of a crap shoot, but maybe there’s something there with regard to round, bonus given, age, something like that. I dunno….
by Bryan Ashlock on Mar 11, 2010 6:49 PM EST up reply actions
I think some of the stuff Minda has posted on her recently about development investment is interesting.
It’s not just the pay the guys get but the atmosphere that can lead to poor nutrition which means their fueling their main tool of the game – their body – with crap. The fact that a ton of their per diem is taken back as club dues and then they are offered only crap choices with less-than-stellar nutritional value (says the girl who just ate three Oreos and is now going back for more…but I’m not a professional athlete!).
Good Idea!
This was kinda what I was looking for. I know FanGraphs does stuff with how “valuable” a player is based on WAR, UZR, etc. This would be an interesting study.
by Bryan Ashlock on Mar 11, 2010 6:47 PM EST up reply actions
What about something about tiered price structuring for tickets?
I believe you can pay 37 different prices to attend a game in St. Louis. Most new ballparks are no different. I find this fascinating. 37 (or whatever) different prices to experience the same game. Now, some of the price tiers offer quite different amenities (all you can eat, club access, suite access, etc etc) but many of the gradations are simply related to vantage and proximity to home plate. Or take a look at how the Yankees failed to sell so many premium seats last season in the new ballpark. How could they have misread the market so badly?
woah woah woah
I think for a 1-hour independent study you’re getting a little too excited.
I would narrow your focus, otherwise you won’t be able to say anything very meaningful without exerting more time and effort than is warranted.
Perhaps…..have your thesis statement revolve around a convention of baseball management/theory, i.e. “a team needs a good closer to compete” and then break down some statistics throughout the last 10 years, and show how there are valid points to this generally-accepted theory but also some misconceptions and exceptions.
I kind of agree
I have some students doing 1-hour independent studies right now, and I expect nearly nothing from it. But, I’m certainly not going to tell you to only achieve for what is expected.
by Trey Hillman's Chin on Mar 12, 2010 7:52 PM EST up reply actions
Two options
1. The screw-around one:
Make semi-serious papers on terrible statistics.
“The importance of GWRBI and it’s history throughout baseball”
“Facial hair as a predictor of success”
“Boosting major league performance through following Runs Created / Runs Scored”
“Pitcher Wins: The ultimate predictor of success”
“ERA: As important now as it has ever been”
2. The serious one:
“Minor league expenses – a cost/benefit analysis”
“The bastardization of the modern day closer role”
“Exploring the effect of mentoring within the MLB”
“A cost/benefit analysis of signing 16 year-old non-American players versus going overslot in the draft”
Unless I'm wrong...
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