Stathead Proposed for Baseball Hall of Fame

[BillTre]

Tired of sports not being intellectual enough for your taste?
Bill James, a early leader in the baseball analytics (think Moneyball) movement has been proposed as a candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame, in this NY Times article.

Coming from humble beginnings

A graduate of the University of Kansas, James began his professional involvement with baseball in the late ’70s, while working nights as a security guard at a cannery.

James had

the greatest influence on baseball in the last 40 years, who has changed how the game is understood, how it is enjoyed and even how it is played?

These changes have also spread to the analysis of other (non-baseball) sports.

Edit: forgot the link, now added.
Moderator note: Deleted the two attachments, as all they contained were the logos for Facebook and Twitter, and nothing else.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Here's an interesting piece from two years ago exploring why Bill James has not yet been voted into the Hall of Fame: http://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/...-induction-chances/15umytsyjqpkg14ycgac4vj14x

Essentially, the Hall very rarely inducts people who aren't directly involved in the game (players, managers, umpires, and executives) and the voting committees that could elect James are made up of older baseball insiders who might resent James' influence on the game.

So long as players who retired before 1990 or so and older writers, historians and executives continue to comprise Hall of Fame committees, James will need considerable luck to even get nominated for consideration. Perhaps in 20-30 years, when the generation of players currently benefiting from the influx of advanced stats into baseball are on Hall of Fame committees, James might have a better chance.

Even then, though, don’t be too optimistic for James.

Personally, I would like to see James inducted into the baseball hall of fame, but agree that it may not be likely in the near future.