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The Wages of Wins: Taking Measure of the Many Myths in Modern Sport

by David J Berri

The Wages of Wins: Taking Measure of the Many Myths in Modern Sport Cover

ISBN13: 9780804752879
ISBN10: 0804752877
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Arguing about sports is as old as the games people play. Over the years sports debates have become muddled by many myths that do not match the numbers generated by those playing the games. In The Wages of Wins, the authors use layman's language and easy to follow examples based on their own academic research to debunk many of the most commonly held beliefs about sports. In doing so they take on everything from the Yankee's ability — or inability — to buy a World Series title; the ability of Michael Jordan to raise his level of play when the games mattered most; the consistency of Brett Favre; and the value of Allen Iverson. The book names names, and makes it abundantly clear that much of the decision-making of coaches and general managers does not hold up to an analysis of the numbers. Whether you are a fantasy league fanatic or a casual weekend fan, much of what you believe about sports will change after reading this book.

Book News Annotation:

Berri (economics, California State U., Bakersfield) and his fellow economists take a hard look at the facts and find the perceptions of the fans, the decisions of the coaches and managers and the behavior of the players themselves often have little to do with what the numbers should tell them. The Yankees, for example, could not buy a title, and they were not alone, and an NBA player's salary often has less to do with past performance than with future potential. They analyze professional baseball, basketball (including a fascinating study of Bryant v. O'Neal) and football, with a close analysis of the "best" quarterbacks of the NFL, quotation marks duly noted. Although accessible enough for the general readership, this could also be adapted to classroom use.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Book News Annotation:

Berri (economics, California State U., Bakersfield) and his fellow economists take a hard look at the facts and find the perceptions of the fans, the decisions of the coaches and managers and the behavior of the players themselves often have little to do with what the numbers should tell them. The Yankees, for example, could not buy a title, and they were not alone, and an NBA player's salary often has less to do with past performance than with future potential. They analyze professional baseball, basketball (including a fascinating study of Bryant v. O'Neal) and football, with a close analysis of the "best" quarterbacks of the NFL, quotation marks duly noted. Although accessible enough for the general readership, this could also be adapted to classroom use. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Review:

"In The Wages of Wins...the [authors] set out to solve the Iverson problem. Weighing the relative value of fouls, rebounds, shots taken, turnovers, and the like, they?ve created an algorithm that, they argue, comes closer than any previous statistical measure to capturing the true value of a basketball player." Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker

Review:

"[P]rovides some of the most intelligent yet readable sports analysis I've seen in a long time. Call it Freakonomics meets ESPN." Alan Schwarz, author, The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics

Review:

"Buy this book if you never want to lose an office water cooler debate again." Darren Rovell, author, First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned The Science of Sweat Into a Cultural Phenomenon

Synopsis:

The Wages of Wins is a proper analysis of the data generated by professional sports; it tells many tales that are inconsistent with the myths put forward by the media, industry, and consumers of professional sport.

Synopsis:

“When I read the book, I was impressed by the amount of effort that went into compiling the reams of data that underlie the work…The fundamental case the authors make is that the statistical analysis shows that the conventional wisdom about sports is dead wrongthat the data as the put it, “offers many surprises.”Joe Nocera, The New York Times

“In The Wages of Wins, the authors attempt to puncture some popular mythssaying that payroll and wins are not highly correlated, and that in baseball, football….attendance hasnt been significantly affected by players strikes or owner lockouts.”Sue Kirchhoff, USA Today

“In The Wages of Wins, the economists David J. Berri, Martin B. Schmidt, and Stacey L. Brook set out to solve the Iverson problem. Weighing the relative value of fouls, rebounds, shots taken, turnovers, and the like, theyve created an algorithm that, they argue, comes closer than any previous statistical measure to capturing the true value of a basketball player. …Looking at the findings that Berri, Schmidt, and Brook present is enough to make one wonder what exactly basketball expertscoaches, managers, sportswritersknow about basketball.”Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker

About the Author

David J. Berri is Associate Professor of Economics at California State University, Bakersfield.

Martin B. Schmidt is Associate Professor of Economics at the College of William and Mary.

Stacey L. Brook is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Sioux Falls.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780804752879
Subtitle:
Taking Measure of the Many Myths in Modern Sport
Author:
Berri, David J
Manufactured:
Stanford University Press
Author:
Brook, Stacey
Author:
Schmidt, Martin B.
Author:
Berri, David
Author:
Brook, Stacey L.
Author:
Schmidt, Martin
Author:
Berri, David J.
Publisher:
Stanford University Press
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Professional sports
Subject:
Industries - General
Subject:
General Business & Economics
Subject:
Professional sports -- Economic aspects.
Subject:
Professional sports -- Social aspects.
Edition Number:
1
Edition Description:
1
Publication Date:
May 2006
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
282
Dimensions:
9.00 x 6.00 in

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