How do baseball teams turn data into decisions—and how can a student begin building a career inside the game?

In this episode of The Data Behind the Game, Clay talks with Charlie Szuchman, a recent University of Georgia graduate and Scouting & Data Assistant with the Arizona Fall League. Charlie’s experience also includes Georgia baseball, the Bristol Blues and USA Baseball’s Prospect Development Pipeline.

Charlie explains how MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike challenge system works and what he learned from creating his own ABS Hitter Rankings model. They discuss which hitters are most likely to benefit from the new system, why the most accurate challenger is not necessarily the most valuable one and why pitchers may not be the best people to challenge calls.

The conversation also goes beyond ABS. Charlie explains how analytics helped Georgia prepare for opposing pitchers, how teams balance data with traditional scouting and why the most useful information is information a player can act on. He also shares which statistics he looks at when evaluating young players, the technology used behind the scenes and where biomechanics and force plates could take baseball next.

For students interested in sports analytics, Charlie offers practical advice on developing technical skills, creating original projects, gaining hands-on experience and building genuine relationships within the industry.

Topics include:

• MLB’s ABS challenge system
• Charlie’s ABS Hitter Rankings project
• Sample size, luck and zone awareness
• Using data to improve scouting decisions
• Analytics versus the human side of evaluation
• Projecting young players
• Technology and AI in baseball operations
• Breaking into a career in sports
• Biomechanics, force plates and injury prediction

#BaseballAnalytics #SportsAnalytics #Baseball #ABS #PlayerDevelopment #SportsCareers #moneyball

NASCAR's use of analytics in competition and fan engagement is driven by a focus on data from race cars and fan feedback. The sport aims to improve racing quality, maintain fan engagement, and attract new audiences through strategic data analysis and insights. The conversation with Derek Thomas provides valuable insights into the role of analytics in NASCAR, the impact of AI on NASCAR analytics, and the importance of fan feedback. Derek emphasizes the significance of data in confirming hunches and making informed decisions, as well as the role of AI in enhancing efficiency. He also highlights the critical role of fan feedback and the future of NASCAR analytics.

Takeaways

• NASCAR's analytics focus on improving racing quality and maintaining fan engagement.
• The sport uses data from race cars and fan feedback to inform decisions and strategies. Data confirms hunches
• AI enhances efficiency
• Fan feedback is crucial
• Future of NASCAR analytics

Can Data Make You a Better Tennis Player? | Tom DiVincenzo & Next Level Stats

Sports analytics has transformed professional sports—but what happens when you bring those same ideas to the everyday athlete?

In this episode of The Data Behind the Game, Clay Morris sits down with Tom DiVincenzo, founder of Next Level Stats, to explore how data and analytics can help recreational and junior tennis players understand their games, practice smarter, and improve performance.

Tom explains how tennis data can reveal things that players—and sometimes even coaches—may miss just by watching a match. They discuss which statistics actually matter, common mistakes recreational players make, how match data can identify strengths and weaknesses, and why the numbers can sometimes tell a very different story from what a player thinks happened on the court.

Clay and Tom also explore the technology behind modern tennis analytics, the growing role of AI, and whether data could eventually give everyday players access to the type of performance analysis once reserved for elite athletes.

They also discuss Tom's journey building Next Level Stats and what he's learned about turning sports data into information that players and coaches can actually use.

In this episode:
• How analytics can improve your tennis game
• The statistics junior players should actually track
• What tennis data reveals that the eye can miss
• Using analytics to practice more effectively
• AI and the future of tennis coaching
• Bringing professional-level analytics to everyday athletes
• Building a sports analytics business
• Advice for students interested in sports, data, and entrepreneurship

Whether you're a tennis player, coach, parent, sports analytics student, or simply interested in how data and AI are changing sports, this conversation shows how the analytics revolution is moving beyond professional teams and into the hands of everyday athletes.

The Data Behind the Game — The game is what you see. The data tells you why.