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Wharton Moneyball
Wharton Moneyball: MLB Hall of Fame, NFL Field Analytics, Coaching, & E-Sports
Show from 12/19/18
In this episode, the final show of 2018, hosts Eric Bradlow and Adi Wyner start off the show talking about who deserves to be in the MLB Hall of Fame and who is a fringe player. Could Babe Ruth play in today's game? Then, what's new in NFL analytics? An expert on the subject joins our hosts to talk about how uses large datasets to learn about human behavior. Plus a look at coahcing development, E-Sports, and our Moneyball Matchups. Tune in!
Guests:
Ben Baldwin - An economist by trade as he uses large datasets to try to learn about human behavior. Ben joined The Athletic after previously covering the Seahawks for Field Gulls.
Follow him on Twitter @benbbaldwin
Rob Ash - Championship Analytics Director of Coaching Development. I company works to integrate world-class analytics with a coach’s insight to take the guesswork out of in-game decision making and is working with teams in the NFL, Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12, ACC and more. Coach Ash is responsible for creating CAI’s football strategy curriculum and for working directly with CAI client head coaches to improve our clients’ in-game football strategy performance.
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