{"product_id":"out-of-left-field-stephanie-kovalchik-9783982847702","title":"Out of Left FIeld: Improbable Stories in Sports Analytics","description":"\u003cp\u003eMathematics has never been the obvious path into sport. Yet a handful of outsiders, armed with statistics, curiosity, and persistence, have profoundly changed how games are played and understood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis book reveals how quantitative ideas can take root and how a rare few, working far from the spotlight, have left a lasting imprint on modern sport.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the birth of modern rating systems in the 1960s to today's modeling of player-tracking data, each chapter traces a pivotal statistical breakthrough and the people behind it. Many of these stories follow surprising arcs, from a chess-loving physics professor who devised one of sport's most enduring player rating systems to a Canadian statistician who, despite little initial interest in sport, built one of the most influential research labs in sports analytics. Each chapter gives an account of how a technical idea emerges, evolves, and spreads across global sport, both within and well beyond baseball.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUltimately, this book is a tribute to outsider thinking in sport\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt honors those who found greater satisfaction in a better model than in recognition, who expressed their passion for games through patient analysis, and who were ready, when the right question appeared, to apply their training with clarity and resolve.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stephanie Kovalchik\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 3982847702\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9783982847702\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Tredition Gmbh\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/04\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 356\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.74d","brand":"Stephanie Kovalchik","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48659883819263,"sku":"9783982847702","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/out-of-left-field-stephanie-kovalchik-9783982847702","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}