Sam Saskin writes:
I’m reaching out because we are hiring for a couple of jobs on the Mets analytics team and I was wondering if you’d be willing to share the job postings on your blog. The two positions (posting links below) are Senior Data Scientist, which would be a match for anyone looking for a full-time position, and Data Science Intern, which would be a match for current students (either undergraduate or graduate) who would be interested in spending a summer working with our team. I really appreciate the assistance, as we’ve had a lot of luck finding great candidates through visibility on your blog in the past.
Also if you have a 100 mph fastball they might be able to find a place for you somewhere in the organization.
The PhD requirement makes entry into these positions too difficult. It’s convenient for the recruiter but leaves everyone who can’t make it in washing dishes. I have spent 8 years just applying to these programs. I applied anyway, but last time I worked for a baseball team they advertised as a full time job, and gave me a part time consulting gig that was barely enough to live on.
Andre:
I agree that the job shouldn’t require a PhD. I don’t know, but I imagine they have more flexibility than is written in the job application, if they find the right person. For example, if they could get someone like Jonah Gabry who has lots of experience in coding, applied statistics, and statistical communication, it wouldn’t matter that he was never in a doctoral program.
The Mets probably looked in the mirror one day and it clicked for them:
“We should hire some data analysts with a PhD in Stem!”
Now don’t get it backwards, they’ve likely done the reflection
It’s a whole new ballgame out there, they simply “need” the statistical direction
Concerning requirements, prior knowledge of baseball is seen as merely a plus
It’s a company after all: just play ball, deal with some softballs, and cause no fuss
Just show the graphs, throw in some ballpark numbers, and touch base once in a while
Just play hardball, talk about batting a thousand, and swing for the fences whilst you smile
“Prior experience in, or knowledge of, baseball is a plus”, what a shame…
Here’s a curve ball for ya: There should be some love for the game!
Now I ain’t a mathematician, nor do I have a PhD
But I have a soul and I have passion: I know who I want to see!
I’m rooting for the person out in left field
I am looking for the pinch hitter that gets the game sealed
I want the next one on deck to hit it out of the park
I want the hire that steps up to the plate: The one with the spark
Anon:
You seem to be kinda cynical in your comment, but sports analytics is a real thing. The Mets want to win more games, and analytics are a part of it. Only a small part–the budget for players and coaches is much bigger than the budget for analytics, and that’s how it should be.
Just by analogy, businesses hire accountants. Accountants won’t design, build, or sell the product, but they can still be useful in making sure that the resources are available to get these things done.
Being cynical is kind of my thing. If you take that away from me, all I’ve got left is a dark sense of humor and that can only get you so far.
Regardless of that, I know sports analytics is a real thing, though I don’t know exactly what it means or implies. It’s just not my thing I conjecture. I am not in to numbers and statistics and analytics I guess. Perhaps it’s a bit like how I don’t like A.I. use in music or poetry. Or how I like Han Solo’s reply to C-3PO in a Star Wars movie: “Never tell me the odds”.
I just thought my comment was a nice way for me to 1) note my wonderment and disappointment about the requirements of the positions regarding baseball knowlegde and -experience, 2) communicate something I think is interesting and that I value (having a “heart” or “passion” for something, and that something possibly even being something more tangible than computers and numbers), 3) write some “poetry” or rhyming sentences related to the blog post (which I view as a little puzzle to try and solve which my mind seems to do).
Quote from above: “3) write some “poetry” or rhyming sentences related to the blog post (which I view as a little puzzle to try and solve which my mind seems to do).”
Some pieces of this “poetry”-puzzle in this case were:
-make a “poem” related to the blogpost whilst trying to communicate something usually done in a regularly written comment (so no rhyming stuff)
-seeing the word “Mets” and reading it backwards to see it makes the word “stem”
-subsequently use “stem” in the rhyming sentences or “poem”
-subtly or not so subtly hinting at this wordplay by using “mirror”, “backwards”, “reflection”
-looking up a list of baseball idioms and trying to use as many as I can
Worth noting: my software company tries to hire many physics/math/stats Phds. Typically, we have to compete, regarding salary, with banks and hedge funds (from all over the world; my company is based in the US). The starting salary (in the US) for these new Phds is typically around 180k (annually, without a bonus), regardless of the place of employment. So, a salary in the range of $120k-$150k seems to be very low.
Tried to find a dataset to confirm my intuition and experience. Couldn’t find one online. Nonetheless, my experience is consistent. My company often loses STEM phds to hedge funds simply because they pay significantly more.
So, to offer a salary this low, there has to be a premium elsewhere. For instance, universities pay less but, say, to work at Columbia university building math models that trace how mosquitoes that transmit malaria is 1) intellectually satisfying 2) you may be rewarded with, say, a tenure-track position or a publishing record that could lead to other prestigious jobs. Then, my question, assuming that the base salary at the Mets is the true salary, what’s the premium? Why would you, as a new Phd in applied math or stats, willingly take a much lower salary?
Because you enjoy baseball/sports analytics intrinsically?
That’s the only reason I can think of. I’m hoping that someone who works professionally in sports analytics can answer the question.
Sam:
I’ve worked professionally in sports analytics (as a consultant), so I’ll take a shot at it.
I have two answers to your question of why people would work at lower salary for a pro sports team:
1. Sports is cool; sports is fun. I’ve been playing sports and thinking about sports statistics from long before I ever thought of being a statistician. Similarly, I could see someone being willing to work for less in the music business, or Hollywood, or elsewhere in the entertainment industry.
Let me put this another way. Lots of people do sports analytics for free, just for fun. I do this too, as is evidenced by two of the chapters in our forthcoming Bayesian Workflow book. If you’re gonna do something just for fun, why not take some money for it and have it go to some use.
It’s similar with the arts. My colleague and I wrote a play just for fun. But what we really want is for it to be performed. Similarly, if you do sports analytics, the first step is to do some good work. But then you’d like to see your ideas put into action, implemented by the Mets and not just your fantasy league.
2. Compared to industries that pay more, the utility of sports analytics to the bottom line is less clear. Sure, all the major teams have analytics groups, and, yeah, I think analytics will win games–but mostly on the margin. You could hire the world’s best sabermetrician, some sort of hybrid of Bill James and Enrico Fermi, and he’d still only win you, ummm, what, 1 or 2 games per season in expectation, compared to replacement-level analytics? The value just isn’t so clear. In contrast, for a tech company or a hedge fund, world-class analytics could potentially make a huge difference, so it makes sense for them to pay more.
Andrew:
+1
Quote from above: “Then, my question, assuming that the base salary at the Mets is the true salary, what’s the premium? Why would you, as a new Phd in applied math or stats, willingly take a much lower salary?”
If the PhD’s applying for the position at the Mets as data scientists watched the movie “Moneyball” they might have dreams of being featured in a movie about their possible success as data analysts.
Then later one, their names can be found on a wikipedia page (or whatever source of information is available at that time period) mentioning the Mets success during their time at the club, just like with “Moneyball” and the Oakland A’s if I understood things correctly.
Then people can also possibly look and read further only to discover the Mets have now stopped to exist, were possibly directed by owners who may not have had the interest of the local fans at heart, and have now moved or planning to move to a new state just like the Oakland A’s if I understand things correctly.
Or, there could also be another reason for some PhD’s going to work for either hedgefunds or a company (e.g. a baseball company) or somewhere else entirely.
What might set them apart
May have to do with the soul and the heart
Quote from above: “If the PhD’s applying for the position at the Mets as data scientists watched the movie “Moneyball” they might have dreams of being featured in a movie about their possible success as data analysts.”
Possible name for this movie in line with “Moneyball” featuring the Mets can possibly be titled “the Stats”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsaSG-0U4mU