Analytics.
The discipline of asking, relentlessly, how much of what we just saw was noise.
Articles
0
Quick Takes
0
Videos
0Soon
Podcasts
0Soon
Clarity Index
—Soon
Followers
—Soon
Analytics changed sport by asking a boring question relentlessly: how much of what we just saw was signal? Most disputes about analytics are actually disputes about sample size.
What this field actually measures
- Stabilisation point
Sample size at which a statistic starts reflecting skill more than noise.
ReferenceVaries enormously by metric — some baseball rates stabilise in dozens of events, others need multiple seasons.
- Regression to the mean
Extreme results drifting toward average with more data.
ReferenceThe default explanation for most breakout and collapse narratives.
- Out-of-sample performance
How a model does on data it never saw.
ReferenceThe only test that separates a model from a description of the past.
Evidence & metrics
The published work behind the numbers above, and the public datasets you can open to check us. If a claim can’t be traced here, we don’t print it.
Citations
Wins Above Replacement model documentation
FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference · ongoing
Two published WAR implementations differ in fielding and pitching inputs, so the same season can differ by around a win.
nflfastR EPA and win-probability methodology
Baldwin & Carl — nflverse · 2020–present
Open-sources the models behind public EPA/play analysis, including their training data and limitations.
Datasets
Retrosheet · free
Event-level MLB data going back over a century.
StatsBomb · free
Event data with shot freeze frames for selected competitions.
Still open
- How should public models communicate uncertainty to a general audience?
- Where does tracking data add genuine information over box-score aggregates?
- What decisions have actually changed because of analytics, and what only sounds different?
What we won’t say
We will not present a 12-game sample as a trend. It is a sample, and it is small.
- VO-1Evidence before wit
- VO-2Punch at claims, never at people
- VO-3Say the uncertainty out loud
Everything published on this topic.
No articles have been published for Analytics yet. New long-form pieces will land here.
Everything published on Analytics.
The permanent record of every piece we publish under this topic — grouped by year, oldest kept as history.
Short reactions, polls, and open questions.
Faster than the long form. Same standard.
No quick takes match this filter yet.
Evidence, counterpoints, patterns, and the standard.
Every entry links back to its source article. Nothing duplicated.
Framework entries appear here as articles publish.
Open questions and measurable predictions.
We log the question, the confidence, and the review date. When the evidence moves, so does our position.
No active predictions are currently being tracked for this topic.
Coverage on screen.
Long-form, shorts, and playlists connected back to the source articles.
Video coverage is coming soon.
Coming SoonWe haven't published video on Analytics yet. Playlists, chapters, and shorts will surface here as they roll out.
Long-form conversations.
No podcast episodes yet.
Coming SoonWhen we publish podcast episodes on Analytics, each will link back to its source article.
Connected hubs.
Where this topic overlaps with the rest of the 2CS knowledge graph.
Explore Analytics
Every surface connected to this topic.
One permanent home per topic — the whole 2CS library on Analytics, indexed for readers and search engines alike.
- All Analytics articlesLong-form analysis and film breakdowns tagged Analytics.
- Analytics quick takesShort reactions, polls, and open questions on the record.
- Analytics in the 2CS Analysis FrameworkEvidence, counterpoints, patterns, and the standard.
- Analytics Future WatchPredictions we're tracking with confidence and review dates.
- Video coverageLong-form, shorts, and playlists — filter for Analytics coverage.
- Podcast episodesLong-form conversations that reference Analytics.
- Community investigationsReader-led inquiries connected to Analytics.
- Claims & evidence lockerEvery claim we've logged, with the evidence behind it.
- Analytics in the Knowledge GraphHow this topic connects to people, teams, and events.
Related topics
Where Analytics overlaps.
Full index
Browse every topic.
Every permanent home in one place — grouped by league, discipline, and idea.
All topicsThe conversation, on the record.
Community discussion is coming soon.
Coming SoonA dedicated space for readers to discuss this topic will live here — moderated to the same standard as the editorial.
Follow Analytics.
One weekly dispatch. Signal over noise. No spam.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.