July 2023 MBR The Sports Shelf

The Sports Shelf

Game of Edges
Bruce Schoenfeld
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
www.wwnorton.com
9780393531688, $30.00, HC, 272pp

https://www.amazon.com/Game-Edges-Analytics-Revolution-Professional/dp/0393531686

Synopsis: In the last two decades, innovation, data analysis, and technology have driven a tectonic shift in the professional sports business. With the publication of "Game of Edges: The Analytics Revolution and the Future of Professional Sports" by sports journalist Bruce Schoenfeld tells the story of how sports franchises evolved, on and off the field, from raggedly run small businesses into some of the most systematically productive companies around.

In today's game, everyone from the owners to the marketing staff are using information (data) to give their team an edge. For analysts, an edge is their currency. Figuring out that bunting hurts your offense? That's an edge. So is discovering metrics that can predict the career arc of your free agent shooting guard. Or combing through a decade of ticket-buying data to target persuadable fans.

These small, incremental steps move a sports franchise from merely ordinary to the leading edge. Franchises today are more than just sports; they integrate a whole suite of other businesses -- television and digital content, gambling and real estate, fashion and apparel, entertainment, catering and concessions, and much more. But an optimized franchise has no room for error. Teams must do what the numbers say, reducing the element of chance, limiting those random moments of athletic heroism that make sports thrilling to watch. Optimization also means the franchise's main goal isn't championships anymore; it's keeping you, the viewer, engaged with the product.

Drawing on extensive interviews with franchise owners, general managers, executives, and players, Schoenfeld introduces dynamic leaders who are radically re-imagining the operations of these decades-old teams and producing mind-boggling valuations. He joins the architects of the Golden State Warriors dynasty for an exclusive reception before tip-off. He stands among the faithful at Anfield, watching Liverpool's analytics guru size up a prized midfielder. And he watches the president of the Chicago Cubs break ground on a new DraftKings gambling parlor at Wrigley Field, not ten miles from the site of the original Black Sox betting scandal.

Critique: A seminal and ground-breaking study that is as impressively detailed as it is exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Game of Edges: The Analytics Revolution and the Future of Professional Sports" must be considered as essential reading for professionals and fans alike who are interested in professional sports, professional sports as a business, or the new technologies that are changing and evolving professional sports. While a highly recommended pick for community and academic library Professional Sports collections, it should be noted for personal and professional reading lists that "Game of Edges" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Bruce Schoenfeld (https://www.esquire.com/author/213420/bruce-schoenfeld), is a regular contributor to the New York Times Magazine, and has also written for Esquire, Fast Company, Sports Illustrated, and GQ, among other publications.

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