The MTA Sabermetrics Club (“saber” is an acronym for the Society of American Baseball Research) attended the Yankees game on Tuesday night, May 23. Aside from the fun of the game itself, in which the Yankees came back twice, finally tying the game on an Aaron Judge homer in the ninth and then winning in the tenth, the game presented the club with a unique opportunity to learn the analytical aspect of the game.
The Director of Quantitative Analysis for the Yankees, Mr. David Grabiner, sat with the students and took questions about how the Yankees use data to drive their decisions in all aspects of the game, from player evaluation for contract negotiations to helping players prepare for opponents.
Mr. Grabiner pointed out that while his office makes only a slight difference to the Yankees’ likelihood of winning, the Yankees consider it very worthwhile. After all, he pointed out, the difference between Aaron Judge and a hitter barely able to stay in the major leagues is only one hit in every ten at-bats, and yet that difference is worth tens of millions of dollars per year.
MTA thanks David Grabiner and the Yankees for helping us appreciate the nuances of the game and the Yankees’ efforts to win.