REVIEW: "Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports are Played Games are Won"
Written by Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim, Scorecasting can be called the sport fan's version of "Freakonomics". With an impressive amount of numerical data and sample sizes, the information addressed in the work sheds adequate light on many of the misunderstood details sport fans attribute to the professional ranks (and beyond). In true "myth-busters" fashion, the authors tackle numerous cliches and oft-misrepresented "rules-of-thumb" that both you and I have undoubtedly used in any sport we have participated. Throw in a touch of psycho-social terminology and expert analysis to back-up each claim and you have yourself quite possibly the most interesting non-fiction sports book ever authored. I'm not kidding.Golf is not excluded from Scorecasting, and the authors address a subject that many players would typically dismiss as common sense; golfers are likely to concentrate more on par putts as opposed to birdie putts. After all, nobody wants to lose a stroke against par, right? But shouldn't a player concentrate the same amount on every putt, regardless of the situation? Furthermore, wouldn't a player be best-served "focusing more" on a birdie?
As Scorecasting explains, the act of concentrating more on making a par putt and less on birdie putts is directly related to loss aversion. People (especially golfers) tend to fear the possibility of a loss substantially higher than anticipate the possibility of a gain. In other words, if you are given $100 and are then told that it will be taken away, you are more likely to view that situation as less-favorable in comparison to being told you will receive $100 and not given anything. Scorecasting suggests that this economics-based theory directly applies to any sport, especially golf.
When faced with a birdie putt, most golfers feel considerably less stress or nerves prior to striking the putt in comparison to the exact same putt for par. According to a study addressed in the book, golfers will even stroke the putt less-aggressively if it is for birdie as opposed to the exact same putt for par. Despite the fact that the overall goal of a golf round is to finish the course in as few shots as possible, golfers will individualize each hole to the point where potential loss or gain for that hole is temporarily more important than their overall final score.
Again, most of what Scorecasting covers is common sense. This is seen very clearly in other topics addressed, such as a hitter's strike-zone size shrinking on a 0-2 count and increasing on a 3-0 count. What makes Scorecasting worthwhile is the emperical data offered as support to prove (or debunk) many of these "common sense" items. Sports fans of any ilk can appreciate the work that was complied to produce Scorecasting, even if it merely quantifies subjects that we already knew about.
"Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won" by Tobias Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim is published by Crown Arhtype. You can find this book online at Amazon.com or at other major booksellers.
About the Authors Tobias J. Moskowitz is the Fama Family Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is the winner of the 2007 Fischer Black Prize, which honors the top finance scholar in the world under the age of forty. L. Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, a recent Ferris Professor at Princeton, and the author of five books, including Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played.
