Stumbling On Wins

The next quantum leap beyond Moneyball , this book offers powerful new insights into all human decision-making, because if sports teams are getting it wrong this badly, how do you know youre not? Sometimes the decisions that teams make are simply inexplicable. Consider: sports teams have an immense amount of detailed, quantifiable information to draw upon, more than in virtually any other industry. They have powerful incentives for making good decisions. Everyone sees the results of their choices, and the consequences for failure are severe. And yet... they keep making the same mistakes over and over again... systematic mistakes youd think theyd learn how to avoid. Now, two leading sports economists reveal those mistakes in basketball, baseball, football, and hockey, and explain why sports decision-makers never seem to learn their lessons. Youll learn which statistics are connected to wins, and which arent, and which statistics can and cant predict the future. Along the way, David Berri and Martin Schmidt show why a quarterbacks place in the draft tells you nothing about how hell perform in the NFL... why basketball decision-makers dont focus on the factors that really correlate with NBA success... why famous coaches dont deliver better results... and much more.