SportsScience

SS 3

Table of Game of Numbers - 6 Cap-Wearing Calculus - 8 Vaulting into Physics - 12 The Physics Spinning in Golf - 14

4 SS

Contents The Perfect Plate - 18 A Footballer's Food - 20 I t's Sports Season! - 24 The I deal Body Type - 26 M eet the Editors - 30

SS 5

GAM E OF N How baseball stati

Graphics by Ga

Baseball has been played professionally for over 150 years, and teams have been searching for advantages for just as long.

The most consequential one has undoubtedly been statistics,

s become nter net , le 1989 - I b a il va r ciall y a comme pid g for r a all ow in ta a d f ro tr ansfe

which has allowed teams to far more accurately evaluate their players and field the best team they can. They've always existed in some form, but advanced statistics, or Sabermetrics, brought their usefulness to new heights.

eane Bil ly B A 's GM d n la s k ic to Oa bermetr 2002 uses Sa ll er y ll fu s ra dw e succes et, cell g d u -b low tak e his yoff s the pla to m a te

185 Sources: medium.com, liveabout.com, britannica.com, diamond-digest.com, usg.edu, baseball-reference.com

6 SS

Henry Chad recording the

statis

NUM BERS stics have evolved

Who's in the Game

avin Firestone

Pitcher: Starts each play by throwing the ball to the plate (1 onfield) Catcher: Catches the pitches that aren't hit and attempts to throw out stealing baserunners (1 onfield) I nfielder: Fields ground balls and throws to first base, plays near one of the bases (4 onfield) Outfielder: Catches long flyballs and fields hits that get through the infield (3 onfield) Designated Hitter: A player in the American League who's in the batting lineup but doesn't play the field; this is so the pitcher doesn't need to hit (1 in lineup) Umpire: M akes the calls; similar to a referee (2-6 onfield)

A Standard Lineup 1. Generally a fast, high-average hitter 1971 - The Society of American Baseball Research is founded

2. A good, all-around hitter 3. Often the team's best hitter 4-5: Pure power hitters looking to drive in runners 6: Another decent, all-around hitter; typically

59

dwick begins first baseball

stics

slightly weaker than the 2-hitter 7-8: Players typically valued more for their defensive contributions but still expected to produce at the plate 9: I n the NL, usually the pitcher; in the AL, similar to the leadoff hitter and looks to get on base

SS 7

Cap-Wear in g Calcu lu s How Baseball Uses Nu m ber s t o Win

By Gavin Fir est on e HHow

Players stand for the National Anthem before a game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX. Photo Courtesy of M ajor League Baseball.

D

the practice of statistics, which entails using uring most summers, Americans pack

stadiums across the country to take in a game of America?s pastime. Hitting a baseball is sometimes said to be the single hardest thing to do in sports, yet the best players often make it look effortless to the delight of tens of thousands of fans. An influential part of the modern game and the key to many championships is found far beyond the playing field, through the dugout, and past the batting cages.

With the game having been played for well over 150 years, teams and players have found and continue to find ways to gain every advantage they can. One way this is often done is through

8 SS

the numerical data at one?s disposal to gain a mathematical advantage. I ts use has skyrocketed both in frequency and complexity in recent decades, sparked by statistical Bill James?s invention of Sabermetrics, which combine and synthesize basic statistics to output numbers that are far more specifically tailored to telling of the skill of a player or team. Today, their use is on full display at many levels of the game, not only in the major leagues but also the minor leagues, collegiate baseball, and even high school.

Ryan M onsevalles, University of Texas Baseball director of player development, uses

statistics every day to help his team win. For

pitcher using Synergy data, we will also say ?ok

M onsevalles, one of statistics?most common

this guy, against right-handed hitters, he throws

applications is scouting reports, which

60% fastballs 40% sliders,?and then we do it for

entails gathering data on opposing teams to

lefties as well just to see if there's any tendency

give his the upper hand. A major part of this

changes. That's the biggest one, and then any

is examining opposing batsmen.

other basic stats such as walks, hit by pitches,

?For opposing hitters - we want to look at

strikeouts - that's not necessarily what I would

strikeout rate, we want to see what their

have all on there, but that's what we roll with just

weighted on-base is going to be,?

because (the coaches) are kind of used to it and

M onsevalles said. ?I mean, I 'd rather take my

then we adjust where we can,? he said.

chances against the guy who hits a lot of

While M onsevalles uses a wide variety of data to

singles versus a guy who's going to do

craft scouting reports on opposing hitters,

damage where his hits are all for extra bases.

working with his own hitters is often much less

So it's kind of one of those things where we

clear-cut.

try to get a very very in-depth view of what

?For our hitters, we don?t really rely on statistics

these guys actually produce, and that's where

too heavily - it?s more so what we see from them

we rely heavily on Synergy.?

on the field,? said M onsevalles. ?Just because

M onsevalles must prepare for the pitchers

they?re not getting hits doesn?t mean they?re not

his team will face as well as the hitters,

squaring up the ball.?

although the club doesn?t use quite the same strategies in that regard. Just like with opposing hitters, the team generally has not seen the player in-person and has to go off collected data to develop an idea of how to plan for them, but they go about this in a different way. ?Opposing pitchers it's a little bit different, because our coaching staff has been using a scouting report template since they got together at Sam Houston,? M onsevalles explained. ?So I don't really have much say over that - all we've added in my time has been pitch type breakdowns. So for a given

Spray charts are a common method of analyzing a hitter's tendencies. Shown here is NL M VP Freddie Freeman's spray chart from 2020.

Graphic from M LB.com.

SS 9

Working with his own pitchers, M onsevalles

Name

IP

ERA

WHIP FIP

ERA+ K/BB

Kershaw

58.1

2.16

0.84

3.31

196

7.75

May

56.0

2.57

1.09

4.62

165

2.75

delivery, so it?s important to customize

Urias

55.0

3.27

1.15

3.72

130

2.50

instruction to a pitcher?s individual needs while

Gonsolin 46.2

2.31

0.83

2.29

183

6.57

also continuing to develop fundamentals

Buehler

36.2

3.44

0.96

4.36

124

3.82

Stripling

33.2

5.61

1.46

7.29

76

2.45

often finds a combination of statistical analysis and classical methods typically works best.

Pitchers often vary in speed, pitch selection, and

important for all pitchers. ?With our pitchers, we're focusing on Player Development for each guy,? M onsevalles said. ?We have to tailor each adjustment for each guy to how they throw and the different type of pitcher they are, so that's where we rely primarily on Trackman, trying to see ?okay what does this

a slider do,?whatever pitches he throws and how can we make them

integral part of statistics operations and a major tool in UT Baseball?s scouting and analysis. I n addition to the previously mentioned Trackman, Synergy is another technology used by many baseball programs to make these operations more

guy profile as, what does his fastball do, what does

Common statistics used to evaluate pitchers as they apply to the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2020 Season.

Pretty much anything that a pro team is doing we are doing and have been doing.

accurate. ?Synergy is this company that provides video, and they chart all these games for pretty

better.?

Yet again, he said their

-Ryan M onsevalles, UT Baseball PD Director much any game that

operations?intricacy is comparable to a team above their level.

occurs now. So for a four-year starter for a certain team, it could be a thousand pitches that hitter may have seen, and

?I t's like most Pro organizations where they're trying to develop plans almost saying we need to change this guy's fastball profile because right now it's just not missing many barrels or same

it's all logged into the system. We can at least have a better idea of tendencies based on swing and strike rate, whiff rate, and everything by pitch type? said M onsevalles.

thing for the curveball - this is spin rate, this is movement, pretty much anything that a pro team is doing we are doing and have been doing. I t's one of those things where everyone does it but they don't talk about it? said M onsevalles.

A major aspect of the college game that makes M onsevalles?job far more difficult is sample size.

College baseball teams only play roughly one-third as many games as a professional team in a given season, so collegiate personnel often

10 SS

Technology has become an

have to work with what they have. Sometimes, the

office personnel like M onsevalles as well as mathematicians and managers are constantly looking for ways to optimize their value.

To many people, baseball provides an outlet, a refuge from the complications of the world. On one level, it?s a simple game. Pitcher versus batter for nine innings, the single objective of the data can suffice, but sometimes, it can prove

game being to score more runs than your

challenging to draw from.

opponent. On another, though, it?s an intricate,

?We have a player Zach Zubia who has maybe gotten 150 at bats against a left-handed pitcher, so there's only so much you can do in

number-driven craft. That?s often unseen, but it bleeds into every game, shift, and pitch to form today?s cap-wearing calculus.

that regard? said M onsevalles. ?Not only that you have these major changes that are outliers - Kacy Clemens his first two years here did not hit the ball well - he was not a good hitter. Then he got glasses and suddenly became really good, so it's hard to account for

W IN

things like that with already such a small sample size working against you. I think maybe from a pitching standpoint you can say okay this guy has no control he walks everybody, but

7

8

9

even guys like that if you look at their walk rate, I don't think they're actually pitching

4

5

6

1

2

3

much if their walk rate is that bad. You have really bad players filtered out on their own.?

+

x /

Originally, the only statistics recorded in the game of baseball were the sheer number of times something happened to a player. The first step in advancing them was converting

On

0

=

these numbers into rates, then condensing them into more holistic evaluators of performance. They?re still not perfect, but front

SS 11

Vaulting I The I nsides of the Pole

Here you will learn a

pole vaulting, and e

high you might ge

This orange part is made of longitude carbon fibers

These rings are made of gla

which line the inside of th

This dotted material is glass fiber web with a thin layer of epoxy.

Take Off

Pole Plant

The Approach

12 SS

Graphics by Vance M ader

nto Physics

all you have ever wished to know about

even more. You can even calculate how

et if you were to try pole vaulting out.

Th

ass fiber

he pole.

eS wi n

gU

p

The Peak

H=V*V/2G H is a rough estimate of how high you would get V is how fast you are running with a seven pound pole at take-off G is the gravitational constant which on earth is 9.81 m/s

Sources: Roger Best, Chris Sataua, and Harrison Williams

SS 13

The Physics Spinning in Golf An Explanation of the Motion and Mindset Behind the Sport

By Vance Mader

Photo by Vance Mader

Photo by Vance Mader

14 SS

Van ics b y Gr ap h

ce M ad

er

SS 15

16 SS

SS 17

18 SS

SS 19

20 SS

SS 21

22 SS

SS 23

I t's Sport Find out some fun ways to st

Skiing Using skis to glide over snow. There are many different kinds of skiing to try out such as cross-country, freestyle, ski-jumping, and alpine-skiing.

Sledding Using a sled to glide over snow usually downhill to build momentum.

Snowboarding Using a single board which is attached to both of your feet to glide over snow. There are different kinds of snowboarding to check out like freestyle, freeride, and

24 SS

freecarve.

Graphics by Kir Kraus

ts Season! ay active no matter the weather Beach Volleyball A ball is hit back and forth over the net. The goal is for the ball to hit the ground on the opposite team's side of the court. Beach volleyball, as opposed to regular volleyball, is played with two people on each side of the court at a time.

Surfing Using the waves for thrust, you stand on a board moving closer to the shore using different tricks.

Wakeboarding Being a mixture of snowboarding, surfing, and water skiing, a person rides on a board while being pulled by a boat.

Sources: Topendsports and M erriam Webster

SS 25

26 SS

By Kir Kraus

SS 27

28 SS

SS 29

Meet The Editors!

M y name is Gavin Firestone, and I ?m a 14-year-old freshman at LASA High School in Austin, Texas. I wrote about statistics in baseball and how they factor into its nearly every aspect today. As a baseball player and huge Texas Rangers fan, I know baseball statistics well, and I ?m used to mulling over both my favorite big-league players?numbers as well as my own. For my article, I wanted to explore how teams from high-school to the major leagues use statistics to win games on the field. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for reading our magazine.

Hello! M y name is Owen, I ?m 14 years old and I am a freshman at LASA High School. I wrote about what football players need to eat to be able to play. I got inspired to write about this topic by a video of an NFL chef talking about a typical day, and what is needed to prepare for the players?appetites. Although I don?t play football, I get excited when a game comes on. With my mom being a personal trainer, eating healthy is a big part of me. I want you to have as much fun with this story as I do.

Welcome, my name is Vance. I was born and have been raised in Austin, I 'm 15 years old, and I 'm a freshman at the LASA High School. At LASA I play on the ultimate frisbee team, Vertikillz. Although frisbee is very different from golf I have always wanted to swing a club around just to see how it feels. Unfortunately I have never really had a chance, but this has not discouraged me from learning more about the sport. I n my article I connect golf and the techniques used while playing with the never ending physics. I am grateful that you have read this far and believe that you will like the rest. Thank you.

Greetings, my name is Kir. I ?m 15 years old and a freshman at LASA High School.

M y feature story focuses on exploring the ?ideal body type? in athletics. Since before I can remember, I have been interested in how the world has come to be the way it is today in terms of biological systems. I t is important to pair athletics with biology when talking about how one should feed their body and exercise to be in the best position possible for competition. I hope you enjoy this story and the magazine as a whole!

Special thanks to Amy Cellidos for contributing to this magazine.

30 SS