A Guide to Business Statistics

Preface

When the Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1919, they were one of the most successful baseball teams in history. At that time, the Red Sox held five World Series titles, with the most recent in 1918. That trade would start an 86-year dry spell for the Red Sox, during which they would not win a single national title. That trade would start what baseball fans know as the Curse of the Bambino. The Curse supposedly made Johnny Pesky hesitate at shortstop in a routine throw home in game seven of the 1946 World Series. The Curse showed up when Bob Stanley threw a wild pitch in game six of the 1986 World Series that let the tying run in, and stayed to see Bill Buckner let a ground ball pass between his legs at first base. The Red Sox finally broke the curse in 2004 beating the St. Louis Cardinals. How did the Boston Red Sox break the Curse of the Bambino? Statistics.

Ok, perhaps attributing the Red Sox's 2004 title and the two that followed entirely to statistics is a bit of a reach. Statistics, however, played a role. In 2002, Theo Epstein was hired as the general manager (GM) for the Red Sox. He was the youngest GM in the history of major league baseball. Epstein relied heavily on statistics when building team rosters and making managerial decisions. He was an early adopter of what is called sabermetrics – which is a statistical analysis of baseball. His approach focused on utilizing undervalued players, including those who were on the verge of leaving ...