Moneyball

I read the book Moneyball last summer, and despite it's disputed premise, that traditional baseball statistics are terrible predictors of a team's success, it's had two effects on my thinking. One, I pay a lot more attention to baseball. Two, I've taken to heart the message that traditional metrics in any given endeavor may be meaningless.

Similarly challenging traditional logic, Drezner has a post up about why, if the Chicago White Sox are so good this year (currently holding the best record in baseball), the attendance at most of their games sucks. Most of the discussion centers around the ballpark, US Cellular Field, which evokes "the feel of West Berlin during the Cold War." My friend Billy Lou, visiting from out of town, recently went to a game there, and confirmed the amount of "just crazy shit" that goes on between every inning, including the playing of lots of AC/DC. While this can certainly be a fun distraction to baseball's often slow pace, I've always felt that lower ticket and concession prices is the best way to attract new fans, and to keep them coming back.