Author Archives: Scott Slutsky

Every year, one of the main topics surrounding the baseball off-season is Hall of Fame voting. There are nearly 400 Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) voters who cast a ballot every year. If a player receives at least 75% of the vote, they are elected to the Hall of Fame. Over 15,000 players haveContinue reading “Predicting Baseball Hall of Fame Admittance Using Machine Learning”

One of my priorities this semester was to become more proficient in R. I have been practicing through a data analytics course, as well as doing projects on my own time. In class last week we learned about model selection. That is, when we have many input variables, how do we know which ones toContinue reading “Predicting college basketball win loss records using best subset selection for linear regression in R”

Last week in one of my analytics courses we focused on linear programming and using Excel’s solver tool for optimization. We discussed many practical scenarios for optimization, such as production and finance. In optimization we look to create the best possible outcome given a set of constraints. For example, in order to maximize profit forContinue reading “Creating the optimal NBA roster using solver”

One of the main story lines of the 2020 World Series is the clash of the deep pocket Dodgers vs the savvy low payroll Rays. While the Dodgers spent a prorated amount $107.9 million in 2020, which was 2nd in the league, one of my friends pointed out that they draft and scout players reallyContinue reading “Which MLB team got the most production from their homegrown players in 2020?”

I didn’t fully understand the power of superstars in the NBA until I began working in Ticket Sales for the Atlanta Hawks. The energy in the arena felt different when there was a star player. From a sales perspective, guaranteeing the ability to see LeBron was a huge selling point for specific packages. In thisContinue reading “How do superstar players affect NBA attendance?”

I thought this article didn’t need to be written. I thought that everyone was in agreement that a running back shouldn’t be one of the highest paid players on a team. I guess not. In the 2020 NFL offseason, we saw 5 running backs sign multiyear deals each with an average annual value (AAV) ofContinue reading “Why are teams still paying running backs?”

The NFL is currently the most profitable sports league in the world. The Chicago Trubine reported that the NFL generated $15 billion in revenue in 2019 and is aiming to increase revenue to $25 billion by 2027. Some joke that the NFL owns a day of the week, and it’s not a far-fetched thought. LastContinue reading “If the NFL was a stock, how would it perform?”

The headlines in an NBA offseason are typically dominated by big trades, 1st round draft picks and max contract signings. With the 2019-20 NBA cap at $109.14 million, and super max deals now having an average annual value of over $40 million per year, teams are limited to 1 or 2 max players (if they’reContinue reading “Which NBA player offers the most salary cap value?”

Thank you for visiting! I wanted to share a bit about why I decided to start this site. In August I left my full-time job to pursue a master’s degree in Business Analytics. I’m beginning to learn new programs and tools for analysis and am sharpening my quantitative skills. I want to showcase these technicalContinue reading “Why a Blog?”