Analytics – The Game Changer

If there are any meaningful lessons business can learn from sport, then the roll out of Major League Baseball's Statcast tracking technology this month stands out as a 'sit-up and take-notice' moment. No only are fans are ready for a deeper dive into what makes baseball go, but the business of baseball is about to reap the rewards of seeing data in action.

Business can certainly take a lot from the sporting world and improve business performance with good data. Data lets us see the bigger picture and when you harness the power of the two A's - accuracy and accessibility - data can be transformational.

Data from GPS software should be something your whole organisation trusts and uses. You need faith in the numbers and the means to gather those numbers.

It is this powerful combination that has arrived in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the form of Statcast, which can follow and record everything that happens in a baseball game. It builds on earlier game-tracking technology, such as the Hawk-Eye system used in cricket, but is far more sophisticated. It constantly logs the position of the ball and of every player on the field. It calculates the speed and curvature of a pitch, how rapidly the ball spins and around what axis, and how much faster or slower than reality that pitch appears to be to the hitter, based on the length of the pitcher's stride. When the ball is hit, the system measures how quickly it leaves the bat and how its path is affected by atmospheric conditions. It then tracks how long fielders take to react before moving, and the efficiency of their routes to the ball's eventual landing spot. And it takes just 15 seconds to crunch these numbers and integrate them with video recordings.

Statcast captures the information it needs by fusing data from two pieces of equipment. One follows the players. The other follows the ball. The same thing more or less happens with GPS vehicle tracking software - one follows the drivers (behaviour and performance) and the other follows the vehicle (movement and performance).

In baseball, to follow the ball, including measuring its spin, the MLB actually turned to TrackMan, a Danish radar firm, although it is the wealth of information Statcast's all-seeing eye delivers about how players play that most interests teams. They can use such data to make players better–for example, by telling a pitcher who cannot impart sufficient backspin to try a different grip–and to allocate resources more efficiently, such as moving a fielder with lightning-quick reflexes to third base, a position where such people are particularly valuable.

Statcast is also providing MLB with the tools to dig deeper into advanced metrics, altering the perception of a player's value and helping them to appreciate the unique athleticism a player possesses. It will also add an element to the way fans evaluate players. Fans will now be able to seek out players with the fastest average speeds on the basepaths, the best route efficiencies over the course of a season or the strongest throws from each position.

The context of it gets better as you acquire more data, so MLB clubs and fans can say things like, 'That was the fifth-fastest run to first base' or 'That was the best route efficiency this season."

What we are talking about here is value creation. For MLB it is about how teams evaluate and pay players, measure performance and find undervalued talent. For the smaller market teams this could help them compete against the higher revenue teams, by using all this information in evaluating their players and deciding which ones to sign and trade for.

Essentially what Statcast is doing is helping the business of baseball to get new skills sets in their back offices i.e. how much data do your really need on a player to model that player? How much predictive power does it have? More data leads to more answers and also more questions.

For business fleets success in the face of larger competitors often comes down to two things. Providing a better level of service, and remaining nimble enough to innovate and/or operate at a faster pace.

The better your understanding of vehicle, driver performance and operational data, for example, the quicker you can capitalise on opportunities to improve. Accessibility enables fleet managers to utilise data effectively, and with the help of accurate data, they can intervene in areas where they can be saving money.

For more information on how Navman Wireless technology can be a game changer for your business click here.