The Predictive Power of Sports Analytics w/Troy Brazell

Sports analytics jobs have grown exponentially this millennium, creating an opening for data-savvy fans to make major decisions within team front offices. In a famous example, Michael Lewis' 2003 best-seller Moneyball detailed how the small-market Oakland Athletics made three-straight playoff appearances on shoestring budgets even while losing their best player to free agency during that stretch. The book showcased how teams with smaller budgets can exploit inefficiencies to win and birthed the modern sports analytics movement.

Nearly 20 years since Moneyball hit bookshelves, almost every team in professional sports has a sports analytics department. For example, the Tampa Bay Rays used principles from Moneyball to hold great success, making three-straight playoff appearances from 2019-21 (including a 2020 World Series berth), despite payrolls in MLB’s bottom five.

Today's guest on the WorkInSports Podcast is Troy Brazell, CEO of Optima Sports Group. His company provides professional and college teams with their Human Performance Modeling system. Teams use Optima Sports Group's analytics to glean insights that improve their player performance and valuation, team culture, injury propensity, and player acclimation. As a result, their clients have won three Super Bowls and one NBA Championship. They are also branching into the fantasy sports realm, providing analytics to avid fantasy players looking for an edge in their leagues.

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Next

Catch the full episode as Brazell and WorkInSports VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp discuss:

•    Why Brazell went into a sports analytics career
•    How Optima Sports Group's analytics can improve team culture
•    What the future holds for sports analytics

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