Bill James

One of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People of the World” in 2006, author, historian and statistician Bill James was born in Holton and graduated from the University of Kansas.  He served in the U.S. Army.

James’s approach, which he termed “sabermetrics” in a reference to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), analyzes statistics in order to answer questions and theories regarding baseball.  Among his many creations are runs created, win shares and game score for pitchers.  

From 1977 to 1988, James published The Bill James Baseball Abstract, a collection of statistical analyses, player ratings and essays.  After that legendary publication, he wrote and edited The Baseball Book (1990-92), The Player Ratings Book (1993-95), The Bill James Handbook (since 2003) and The Bill James Gold Mine (2008-10).  His Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, published in 1985 and 2001, is considered a seminal baseball reference.

James and his work are at the center of the Michael Lewis’s 2003 best seller, Moneyball and in the movie starring Brad Pitt.

In 2003, James was hired by the Boston Red Sox as a Senior Baseball Operations Advisor.  During James’s tenure in Boston, they won four World Series, the first of which snapped the 86-year “Curse of the Bambino.”  James retired from the Red Sox in 2019.

Sabermetrics are now embraced by major league baseball and every front office has sabermetrics experts.