Sabermetrics vs. The World: Are Analytics Baseball‘s Answer?

Bill James - Former Senior Baseball Operations Advisor, Boston Red Sox

 

Meg Rowley - Managing Editor, FanGraphs

 

Sarah Gelles - Director of Research and Development, Houston Astros

 

Josh Ruffin - Advanced Scouting Analyst, Minnesota Twins

 

Ben Lindbergh (moderator) - Staff Writer, The Ringer

 

Soon after the 2020 World Series, fundamentalist fans were quick to point to baseball’s overreliance on analytics as one of the reasons the Tampa Bay Rays lost. Baseball has always been on the bleeding edge of sports analytics, but where does the edge end? This panel aims to examine the fine line between when to make managerial decisions on gut feel, versus when to stick to the data. Did the 2020 World Series serve as a catalyst for changes to the game going forward, or will managers shrug off pressure from the media?