Don’t tell Goose Gossage but ESPN is going analytical.
ESPN announced Friday that it is launching ESPN.com/Analytics, a new destination for “analytics content powered by ESPN’s Stats & Information Group (SIG).”
Fans will be able to access featured rankings including QBR, Football, Basketball and Soccer Power Indexes as well as original work from SIG writers. In addition, a roster of ESPN.com writers will contribute regularly to the section, along with content from Football Outsiders, Hockey Prospectus, Fangraphs and others.
This stats-heavy section will also be the new home of ESPN’s Stats & Info blog, which includes the @ESPNStatsInfo Twitterfeed and it’s 1.36M followers.
ESPN says the section will not steal thunder from FiveThirtyEight but “complement and cross-promote” the data journalism venture.
The launch date for the section is currently TBD.
So while old-timer baseball players and aging columnists might continue to beat their drum about the value of analytics versus “the eyeball test,” it’s clear that ESPN recognizes where the trend is going and wants to own as much as much of it as possible. By giving people like senior analytics specialist Brian Burke a place to call their own, its also another avenue for promoting talent and turning them into the experts on the issue.
[ESPN]
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About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.