Just finished a great new book titled SCORECASTING about using data to quantify many tactics and held believes in the world of sports. Much like MONEYBALL or FREAKONOMICS, the two authors, Tobias Moskowitz and L. Jon Wortheim explore different strategies coaches use and put them under the microscope of data to examine if there decision making holds up proven numbers of successful or unsuccessful outcomes. The book examines many sports from baseball, football, basketball as well as hockey. Many of the findings will not be that surprising or possibly verify some believes you might have had before of where tactics don't seem to make that much sense. If anything the book will open your eyes to viewing tactics will a more critical eye.
For coaches, the book will most likely stimulate you to examine or contemplate new ways to strategize with your teams. Like any book that attempts to use pure numbers to quantify a multi-faceted event like sports, it's mostly impossible to predict outcomes on a regular basis; something the authors fully explain. However, it will open your eyes to many statistics on tactics that might change the way you view different games. One of my favorite examinations was the gospel line that defense wins. For years, I have believed this supposed truism to be greatly over inflated; the authors came to pretty much the same conclusion. Their explanations on this topic though are well worth reading.
All in all, the book is a very easy read and well worth picking up.
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