Baseball Visualization Challenge
The First Pitch — Baseball’s Contribution to Statistics
Baseball was first documented in America in 1791. Avid players in New England were already breaking windows with errant throws and hits. By 1828, it was a game for both genders that had made its way south of the Mason/Dixon line.
By 1845, the New York Knickerbockers became the first club. A decade later the NABBP would become the first league and see the sport spread in popularity from coast to coast. Its popularity survived and even thrived through the American Civil War. Then in 1869, it turned professional.
Enter the Statistician
Henry Chadwick is sometimes known as ‘The Father of Baseball’ or ‘Father of the Game’. He was an amateur statistician and baseball enthusiast. He is credited with the first box score, the invention of the ERA, and authored the first books on the sport.
Enter the Entrepreneur
Harry M. Stevens invented the hotdog. Well, actually he invented the Dachshund Sausage Sandwich because he needed a ‘hot’ concession on a bitterly cold game day. Today we have the hotdog thanks to a lazy cartoonist who couldn’t spell Dachshund.
Harry probably didn’t invent the printed scorecard for baseball fans, but he was instrumental in promoting it. He added advertisements and convinced early fans that the scorecard was essentially for following the game. Harry turned the a spreadsheet into a prototype visualization.
Cards and Cigarettes
Not to left out, baseball cards also became popular in that period. They were first produced as Cigarette Cards in 1886. Crackerjacks and bubblegum would follow close behind.
It wasn’t long before the growing craze of photography intersected with this growing sport. Team photos were common more than a century ago.
Baseball cards using actual player photos (rather than drawings) did not become common until after photography matured. It wasn’t until the 1930’s and 40’s that photos became common.
Finally in 1952, statistics were added to baseball cards. Now fans could keep stats at the game and collect them via colorful cards of their favorite players. Baseball was America’s most popular sport and it had made statistics fun too!
Baseball, Money, and Statistics
Statistics and visualization have been part of baseball from the very beginning. From box scores to scorecards and eventually baseball cards, too — the two grew in popularity together. Statistics and colorful glossy images would tell the story of baseball for those who could not make it to the game.
But then that was just the beginning… Chadwick’s first database and KPI were the early seeds. In the second half of the 20th century, baseball statistics would take on a life of their own. While arguably the popularity of the sport had begun to wane, the power of its statistics had just begun.
Moneyball, computer simulations, sports almanacs… the story continues. But that is for another article.
I hope you enjoyed this short read on the intersection of baseball and statistics. To celebrate the 2016 season and more than 150 years of partnership, Corsair’s Institute will be launching a new competition starting next week. The Baseball Visualization Challenge will be featured on Charting Ahead our magazine dedicated to visualization in analytics.
Baseball Visualization Challenge is a concept created by Corsair’s Institute. Neither this competition nor Corsair’s Institute is not associated with the MLB in any way. Our visualization expertise is second to none. Our softball team loses in games where the other team forfeits.
