Cheers echo throughout the land. Baseball aficionados doff their caps. Database experts sigh with relief.
The 2006 Lahman Baseball database is now officially available with data on the batting, fielding, pitching, and managing prowess of Americas finest players and baseball participants for 2006.
However, what makes theLahman database so much more – and compellingly so, is the fact that its data goes back, with complete statistics on all the players, to 1876. This body of facts is thus available to settle such disputes as did Ted Williams play in four different decades? Or what pitcher has the record for the most seasons of winning 20 games or more ? Or were the 1870-1899 pitchers statistically better than their new century counterparts?
Now what is even more interesting is that answering the above three questions is each more imposing than the next in terms of the complexity of the database queries needed to answer the baseball question . In fact, the last question on comparing pitching eras really may require statistical analysis. So the Lahman data acts as a natural lure to get database experts to practice their query crafts while satisfying their baseball curiosity. Not a bad deal. So do consider using the database and making a contribution to its continuance.
(c)JBSurveyer 2007
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