Last weekend, I was fortunate to attend the 2023 Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) Analytics Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. I had an amazing time meeting several aspiring baseball professionals and listening to some really interesting panelists and research presentations. Here are some of my takeaways from the conference:
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The story behind the incredible turnaround of Northwestern Hoops, and what to expect in the future.2/11/2023 It has been six years since the unlikely run to the NCAA Tournament made by the Northwestern Wildcats. A time of pride and excitement in Evanston, Illinois, as the Wildcats stormed past the Commodores of Vanderbilt before losing in a David vs. Goliath matchup against Gonzaga. Since then, however, has been nothing but disappointment for Chris Collins and Northwestern, going 60-90 (26-71 in Big Ten play) from 2017-2022.
Preseason, Indiana appeared to be a team capable of competing for a Big Ten title, maintaining a national ranking throughout the season, and if all things went right potentially returning to the Final Four for the first time since 2002. Now, the Hoosiers are looking to fight for a top-four spot in the crowded pack that makes up the middle part of the Big Ten. In this article, I’ll dive into some of the good and the bad of this season, along with a look ahead at the rest of the season, which includes another big matchup tomorrow against a tough Rutgers team.
Created by: Carter McGee & Evan Berger Stephen Curry entered the NBA in 2009 during a time when general managers looked for point guards with insane athleticism and speed as fast as lighting. Twelve years later, general managers are now looking for point guards who can shoot the ball from deep. No one in the league fully understood the impact the 3-ball had until Stephen Curry stepped in. Curry reminds me of the character Matt Damon played in the movie Good Will Hunting, as he’s the guy who solved a problem with a unique solution that other students couldn’t understand at the time. Curry’s style of play set new standards in the game of basketball, as he has single handedly altered the way NBA point guards have played, with more and more players continuing to focus on their ability to shoot the three ball. When people think of Curry, they generally only think of his shooting ability and the impact he has left on the game, but they fail to recognize that he is possibly the greatest to ever play the point guard position. In this article, we will make our case for Stephen Curry as the greatest point guard in NBA History. By: Aron Jersild
The 2023 Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame has been released. Among the many illustrious names on this ballot is Scott Rolen, a Jasper, Indiana native who was named Indiana Mr. Baseball in 1993 and is the current Director of Player Development for Indiana University Baseball. Rolen played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Phillies and Cardinals, but also spent time with the Blue Jays and Reds. Entering his 6th year on the BBWAA ballot, Rolen looks to finally break through the 75% threshold necessary to be elected to the Hall of Fame. In this article, I will make the case for why Scott Rolen should be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame from three different perspectives, as well as shed light onto the potential outcome of the BBWAA voting, which is set to be announced on January 23, 2023. Created By: Carter McGee & Evan Berger In the NFL today, the QB is the most important position on the field given the pass-happy nature of the current game. The quarterback is the enforcer of the passing game, and he is the only one that touches the ball on almost every offensive snap. There is no other player that contributes more to whether their team loses or wins a football game in the NFL. Consequently, the QB position is also one of the hardest positions to master as it requires leadership, preparation, precision, and development of physical skills. Tua Tagovailoa, after having an underwhelming first two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, has made an incredible leap in his third season and is starting to master the art of the QB position. By James Rush,
The “Villain” Baseball is a very narrative driven sport, and the role of a “villain” team comes along with that. There is always a bad guy in the sport of baseball. Usually, it is the teams that have had the most success historically, like the Yankees or the Dodgers, who are hated for always winning. Leading up to the 2017 season however, these teams were not performing to their usual standards, and the teams that had been winning the years prior, aka the Giants, Cardinals, and Red Sox, were not exactly dislikable teams. This left fans hungry for a team that everyone could hate in unison, and the Astros 2017 cheating scandal helped them fit into this role perfectly. By Wyatt Sherman, coming into the 2022 season, the Orioles were ranked last in practically everybody’s preseason rankings. According to Fangraphs, they came into the season with the second lowest payroll as they paid 63 million dollars to their players with only 31.3 percent of that counting towards guaranteed money. Adding insult to injury, they play in what many claim to be the hardest division in the league with many perennial playoff contenders such as the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, and Boston Red Sox. Thus, the Orioles were yet again poised to remain in last place, but they defied projections with assistance from the promotion of young talent and some breakout seasons from returning players as they finished with a surprising 83-79 record which was just four games out of reach of the final wildcard spot. Amazingly, they did this despite losing two months of catching phenom Adley Rutschman, undisputed ace John Means to season ending Tommy John surgery, and top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez to season ending surgery. On top of that, they traded away their all-star closer Jorge Lopez and face of the franchise Trey Mancini in the middle of the season. Nevertheless, the team outperformed all projections and put the team in prime position to spend big during the upcoming offseason. With only 21 million in committed payroll for 2023, how will this star-studded off-season fair for the free to spend Orioles?
The 2022 Atlanta Braves joined a long list of teams over the past two decades who have failed to repeat as champions. For avid Braves fans such as myself (a native of Marietta, Georgia), this past season will be remembered by the arrival of rookie sensations Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider, a race with the New York Mets for the National League Eastern Division crown that came down to the final weekend of the regular season, and a disappointing first round exit at the hands of the ‘who-could’ve-seen-that-coming’ Philadelphia Phillies. A season defined by chaos and unpredictability that came to an abrupt and unceremonious finish may not seem like it would be remembered by many outside of Braves country. The 2022 campaign, however, very well could be looked upon as the year that kickstarted the newest dynasty in Major League Baseball.
By Aryan Narang, The Los Angeles Lakers right now have a payroll of $168.5 Million, which is about $18 million over the Luxury Tax Threshold. The problem with this payroll is that the Lakers are not title contenders, to say the least. The Lakers last season finished as an 11th seed with a record of 33-49, and as I am writing this article, the Lakers are 0-4. The Lakers went into the season with mainly still the same big pieces in Lebron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, and not much has changed from last season. The main problem with the roster is that their role players 3-8 (starts with Westbrook) are arguably the worst in the league and the durability of Lebron and Davis can no longer be relied upon. |