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Product Description
Review
"The closest thing to Freakonomics I've seen since the original. A rare combination of terrific storytelling and unconventional thinking. I love this book..."
—Steven D. Levitt, Alvin H. Baum Professor of Economics, University of Chicago, and co-author of Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics
"I love this book. If I told you why, the NBA would fine me again."
—Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks
“Scorecasting is both scholarly and entertaining, a rare double. It gets beyond the cliched narratives and tried-but-not-necessarily-true assumptions to reveal significant and fascinating truths about sports.”
—Bob Costas
"A counterintuitive, innovative, unexpected handbook for sports fans interested in the truths that underpin our favorite games. With their lively minds and prose, Moskowitz and Wertheim will change the way you think about and watch sports. Not just for stats nerds, Scorecasting enlightens and entertains. I wish I had thought of it!"
—Jeremy Schaap, ESPN reporter, Author of Cinderella Man.
"(Sports + numbers) x great writing = winning formula. A must read for all couch analysts."
—Richard Thaler, Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics, best-selling author of Nudge.
“Scorecasting will change the way you watch sports, but don’t start reading it during a game; you’re liable to get lost in it and miss the action. I’m not giving anything away because you’ll want to read exactly how they arrived at their conclusions."
—Allen Barra, NJ Star Ledger
“Like Moneyball and Soccernomics before it, Scorecasting crunches the numbers to challenge notions that have been codified into conventional sports wisdom.”
—Wired Magazine
“Freakonomics meets Moneyball”
—The Wall Street Journal
—Steven D. Levitt, Alvin H. Baum Professor of Economics, University of Chicago, and co-author of Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics
"I love this book. If I told you why, the NBA would fine me again."
—Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks
“Scorecasting is both scholarly and entertaining, a rare double. It gets beyond the cliched narratives and tried-but-not-necessarily-true assumptions to reveal significant and fascinating truths about sports.”
—Bob Costas
"A counterintuitive, innovative, unexpected handbook for sports fans interested in the truths that underpin our favorite games. With their lively minds and prose, Moskowitz and Wertheim will change the way you think about and watch sports. Not just for stats nerds, Scorecasting enlightens and entertains. I wish I had thought of it!"
—Jeremy Schaap, ESPN reporter, Author of Cinderella Man.
"(Sports + numbers) x great writing = winning formula. A must read for all couch analysts."
—Richard Thaler, Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics, best-selling author of Nudge.
“Scorecasting will change the way you watch sports, but don’t start reading it during a game; you’re liable to get lost in it and miss the action. I’m not giving anything away because you’ll want to read exactly how they arrived at their conclusions."
—Allen Barra, NJ Star Ledger
“Like Moneyball and Soccernomics before it, Scorecasting crunches the numbers to challenge notions that have been codified into conventional sports wisdom.”
—Wired Magazine
“Freakonomics meets Moneyball”
—The Wall Street Journal
Product Description
In Scorecasting, University of Chicago behavioral economist Tobias Moskowitz teams up with veteran Sports Illustrated writer L. Jon Wertheim to overturn some of the most cherished truisms of sports, and reveal the hidden forces that shape how basketball, baseball, football, and hockey games are played, won and lost.
Drawing from Moskowitz's original research, as well as studies from fellow economists such as bestselling author Richard Thaler, the authors look at: the influence home-field advantage has on the outcomes of games in all sports and why it exists; the surprising truth about the universally accepted axiom that defense wins championships; the subtle biases that umpires exhibit in calling balls and strikes in key situations; the unintended consequences of referees' tendencies in every sport to "swallow the whistle," and more.
Among the insights that Scorecasting reveals:
Why Tiger Woods is prone to the same mistake in high-pressure putting situations that you and I are Why professional teams routinely overvalue draft picks The myth of momentum or the "hot hand" in sports, and why so many fans, coaches, and broadcasters fervently subscribe to it Why NFL coaches rarely go for a first down on fourth-down situations--even when their reluctance to do so reduces their chances of winning.
Drawing from Moskowitz's original research, as well as studies from fellow economists such as bestselling author Richard Thaler, the authors look at: the influence home-field advantage has on the outcomes of games in all sports and why it exists; the surprising truth about the universally accepted axiom that defense wins championships; the subtle biases that umpires exhibit in calling balls and strikes in key situations; the unintended consequences of referees' tendencies in every sport to "swallow the whistle," and more.
Among the insights that Scorecasting reveals:
In an engaging narrative that takes us from the putting greens of Augusta to the grid iron of a small parochial high school in Arkansas, Scorecasting will forever change how you view the game, whatever your favorite sport might be.
Inside This Book
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
genius!,
By
This review is from: Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won (Hardcover)
Well, Soccernomics was the first sports book to use the Freakonomics' model and come up a winner. Now Scorecasting does the same. Lots of food for thought about sports from why home field/court/ice advantage is so strong (and you'll be surprised exactly why that is so) to the reason the Chicago Cubs are cursed (and it's not due to a billy goat, black cat or Bartman).L. Jon Wertheim is a terrific writer who has mainly written about tennis and basketball both in book form and for Sports illustrated. Although the book can get bogged down in stat analysis a bit (I did not love the pie charts or bar graphs), it's not really a stathead book. The chapters are pretty short and sweet so there's no time to get bored. You don't like one chapter, move on. They are more like little sports essays or vignettes. The great thing is it makes you think and how many sports books let alone Web sites or blogs get you to do that?
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read, great facts,
By
This review is from: Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won (Hardcover)
This is a great book for any sports fan, or even a behavioral psychologist/data analyst/economist with a passing interest in them, since those three areas are constantly highlighted throughout the book. There's a multitude of sections, each one explaining a phenomenon of sports, or explaining it away, all with the use of in-depth, objective statistics. It's written at a level anyone can understand as well. The best section of the book deals with home-field advantage in sports, and it's truly fascinating to discover what drives it. Although baseball fans will probably derive the most enjoyment from this book, fans of all sports will get their fill from Scorecasting.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Half-baked good idea falls short of potential,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won (Hardcover)
Entertaining at best, uneven throughout. Seems like the authors had a good idea and outstretched it to fill a book. There are many more cases in sports to mine the data and see where it takes you, there is a whole industry around this, and bars the world over with fans eager to discuss the findings. My point: you can do it well (thorough analysis and great writing) or rush to publish a half-baked product. This one is close to the latter.
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