Bill James

Bill James. (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Bill-James-the- ())

When I first heard of Bill James and what he does, I thought it was the coolest thing ever! I first heard about James by reading a special annual issue of ESPN: The Magazine. The issue was all about advanced statistics. It was also about making bold statements with those statistics providing as evidence and facts. So, in that particular issue, there was an entire article dedicated to James and how he changed the game of baseball. 

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a sabrematrician, or statistician, generally uses statistical methods to collect and analyze data to help find the "true talent" of baseball players. To be a sabrematrician, students typically would need a graduate degree in statistics or mathematics. There is, however, a number of jobs that are becoming available for only students with at least a bachelor's degree. The 2012 median pay for a sabrematrician is $75,560 per year, or $36.33 per hour. For the next ten years, it is rising much faster than the average increase rate at 27%. Similar jobs would be actuaries, economists, financial analysts, mathematicians, and other similar jobs.

Bill James grew up in a small town of Holton, Kansas. As a child, James started thinking about how baseball games were won. He got interested in looking at the statistics behind the game of baseball as a kid. He then went to the University of Kansas to major in English and economics. James started to make a name for himself when he wrote his first editorial in 1977 at the age of 28. Fast forward 37 years, and he is now an advisor for the Boston Red Sox, an inventor/innovator of sabremetrics, and was the man that the movie "Moneyball" was all about.

Bill James changed the way that baseball is looked at. He changed the sport, and the statistics behind the sport. Being the inventor of sabremetrics, he is the most famous and iconic person in that respective field. He was able to bring sabremetrics to the limelight by understanding that offense and defense were inextricably linked in terms of success of a player. He understood this, not only better and before anyone else, but he understood how they were linked, leading to his books and his statistics that prove his statements. This understanding allowed others to understand what true talent means in a professional baseball player. It helped others in finding true talent before the players themselves showcase their full potential at the top stage in the major leagues. "Gosh, he's been a part of every major decision we've made since he came over here in 2001. The better question is, what hasn't he done?" -Billy Beane from "Moneyball". James created sabremetrics only a few years before 2001, and these statistics are the same ones that Billy Beane uses to create his dynasty team in the movie. 

My goal is to be where Bill James, my role model, is at right now, and being an advisor for a Major League Baseball team. I would like to take AP Statistics in High School to begin learning about statistics. I plan to go to a college that is known for its strong math program. With that said, I would like to go to San Luis Obispo for college. Then, I plan to major in statistics/statistical analysis. I would also like to become an intern at some point for an MLB team. I basically would want to follow in James's footsteps once I get out of school. Bill James is my career role model, and I would like to have the same career that he has right now. At that point, I wouldn't have to work another day in my life as I would have my true "dream job".