Enhancing strategic defensive positioning and performance in the outfield

Alan T. Murray (), Antonio Ortiz and Seonga Cho
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Alan T. Murray: University of California at Santa Barbara
Antonio Ortiz: University of California at Santa Barbara
Seonga Cho: University of California at Santa Barbara

Journal of Geographical Systems, 2022, vol. 24, issue 2, No 5, 223-240

Abstract: Abstract Over the past 20 years, professional and collegiate baseball has undergone a transformation, with statistics and analytics increasingly factoring into most of the decisions being made on the field. One particular example of the increased role of analytics is in the positioning of outfielders, who are tasked with tracking down balls hit to the outfield to record outs and minimize potential offensive damage. This paper explores the potential of location analytics to enhance the strategic positioning of players, enabling improved response and performance. We implement a location optimization model to analyze collegiate ball-tracking data, seeking outfielder locations that simultaneously minimize the average distance to a batted ball and maximize the weighted importance of batted ball coverage within a response standard. Trade-off outfielder configurations are compared to observed fielder positioning, finding that location models and spatial optimization can lead to performance improvements ranging from 1 to 3%, offering a significant strategic advantage over the course of a season.

Keywords: Location modeling; Spatial optimization; Sports analytics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C61 L83 O21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10109-021-00367-1

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