SPM team places second in Sabermetrics Competition at Columbia

The Syracuse University Baseball Statistics and Sabermetrics Club sent five students to compete in SABR Diamond Dollars Case Competition at Columbia University in late November. The team was given the prompt of finding the three most valuable position players in Major League Baseball, taking into account player production, age, injury risk, and contract. They had one week to work on the case, and then traveled to New York City to present their findings at Columbia on November 18.

Justin Perline ’19, Evan Weiss ’19, Chris Karasinski ’18, Olivia Lavelle ’19, and CB Garrett ’18 placed second for their model.

The competition was judged by Major League Baseball personnel, including Ben Cherington, vice president of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays.

“The students worked hard on their research and the department is proud of their showing at the competition,” said sport management professor Dr. Rodney Paul, who serves as advisor for the SPM Baseball Statistics and Sabermetrics Club.

The Club meets weekly during the academic year on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in Falk 200. It is open to any SU student.