Keith Woolner
Encyclopedia
Keith Woolner is an author for Baseball Prospectus
and is the creator of the runs-based statistic VORP or Value Over Replacement Player. VORP is acknowledged by the sabermetrics
community as one of the key concepts in the analysis of a player's performance and market valuation
.
: one in Mathematics with Computer Science, and one in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management
. He also earned a masters degree in Decision Analysis from Stanford University
.
After graduating from MIT, Woolner worked in software development and system management (for Oracle
) and several start-ups in Silicon Valley; and later in product management (for SAS
). During this time he maintained his avocational interest in baseball statistics and analysis. As he has written,
, for whom he wrote both for the annual book and the website. He also authored six chapters of Baseball Prospectus's book Baseball Between the Numbers, Jonah Keri, Ed. (New York: Basic Books, 2006) (ISBN 0-465-00596-9).
In May 2007, Woolner announced his departure from Baseball Prospectus to join the front office of the Cleveland Indians
as their Manager of Baseball Research & Analytics. In this role, he is "responsible for advanced objective analysis, forecasting, and strategy analysis. [He is also] working on integrating the information from the disparate worlds of scouting and stats in a way that makes each stronger."
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well player and team performance projections on the site...
and is the creator of the runs-based statistic VORP or Value Over Replacement Player. VORP is acknowledged by the sabermetrics
Sabermetrics
Sabermetrics is the specialized analysis of baseball through objective, empirical evidence, specifically baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research...
community as one of the key concepts in the analysis of a player's performance and market valuation
Valuation (finance)
In finance, valuation is the process of estimating what something is worth. Items that are usually valued are a financial asset or liability. Valuations can be done on assets or on liabilities...
.
Education and early career
Woolner earned two bachelor's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
: one in Mathematics with Computer Science, and one in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
. He also earned a masters degree in Decision Analysis from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
After graduating from MIT, Woolner worked in software development and system management (for Oracle
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
) and several start-ups in Silicon Valley; and later in product management (for SAS
SAS System
SAS is an integrated system of software products provided by SAS Institute Inc. that enables programmers to perform:* retrieval, management, and mining* report writing and graphics* statistical analysis...
). During this time he maintained his avocational interest in baseball statistics and analysis. As he has written,
But no matter how interesting the technology or how novel the application, it was hard to get truly passionate about helping another business improve their profitability or run more efficiently. The work was intellectually stimulating but not emotionally engaging.
What did engage me was baseball statistics. I spent a lot of my free time reading online forums devoted to baseball, and I discovered that baseball statistics had moved far beyond the stats on the backs of the baseball cards I grew up with. I started designing my own customized statistics in the mid-1990s and eventually posted them on Usenet newsgroups and my own Web page.
Sabermetrician and Cleveland Indians front office
In 1998 while still employed full-time in software development and management, he became a regular contributor to the then fledgling Baseball ProspectusBaseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well player and team performance projections on the site...
, for whom he wrote both for the annual book and the website. He also authored six chapters of Baseball Prospectus's book Baseball Between the Numbers, Jonah Keri, Ed. (New York: Basic Books, 2006) (ISBN 0-465-00596-9).
In May 2007, Woolner announced his departure from Baseball Prospectus to join the front office of the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
as their Manager of Baseball Research & Analytics. In this role, he is "responsible for advanced objective analysis, forecasting, and strategy analysis. [He is also] working on integrating the information from the disparate worlds of scouting and stats in a way that makes each stronger."