## Profile

Christopher Long
Works at Chanteclair Farm
Attended Rutgers University
Lives in Versailles, KY
557 followers|143,424 views

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### Christopher Long

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What's the Value of a Win?
In a previous entry I demonstrated one simple way to estimate an exponent for the Pythagorean win expectation . Another nice consequence of a Pythagorean win expectation formula is that it also makes it simple to estimate the run value of a win in baseball,...﻿
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### Christopher Long

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In the book "The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team" , Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller recount a grand adventure to take command of an independent league baseball team, with the vision of trying every idea, sa...﻿
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### Christopher Long

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An Enormous Number of Kilograms
For years the kilogram has been defined with respect to a platinum and iridium cylinder, but this is now no longer the case . Here's a puzzle about kilograms that's easy to state and understand, but the answer is very, very surprising. I've always had a fas...﻿
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A fun and well-written article!﻿

### Christopher Long

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Mixed Models in R - Bigger, Faster, Stronger
When you start doing more advanced sports analytics you'll eventually starting working with what are known as hierarchical, nested or mixed effects models . These are models that contain both fixed and random effects . There are multiple ways of defining fi...﻿
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### Christopher Long

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Power Rankings: Looking at a Very Simple Method
One of the simplest and most common power ranking models is known as the Bradley-Terry-Luce model , which is equivalent to other famous models such the logistic model and the Elo rating system . I'll be referring to "teams" here, but of course the same idea...﻿
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### Christopher Long

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NPB, KBO and the ever fascinating for me topic of why japanese do insist on the "typical japanese swing" (as opposed to a "major-league swing")?

NPB: Saitama Seibu Lions 3, 4, 5, 6 hitters - Hideto Asamura, Takeya Nakamura, Ernesto Mejia, and sophomore Tomoya Mori - combine for 10 hits and 13 RBIs...
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### Christopher Long

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A Simple Estimate for Pythagorean Exponents
Given the number of runs scored and runs allowed by a baseball team, what's a good estimate for that team's win fraction? Bill James famously came up with what he called the " Pythagorean expectation " $w = \frac{R^2}{R^2 + A^2},$ which can also be writte...﻿
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### Christopher Long

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When is a Lead Safe in the NBA?
Assuming two NBA teams of equal strength with $$t$$ seconds remaining, what is a safe lead at a prescribed confidence level? Bill James has a safe lead formula for NCAA basketball , and the topic has been addressed by other researchers at various levels of ...﻿
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### Christopher Long

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Solving a Math Puzzle using Physics
The following math problem, which appeared on a Scottish maths paper, has been making the internet rounds . The first two parts require students to interpret the meaning of the components of the formula $$T(x) = 5 \sqrt{36+x^2} + 4(20-x)$$, and the final "...﻿
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### Christopher Long

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Elo's Rating System as a Forgetful Logistic Model
Elo's rating system became famous from its use in chess, but it and variations are now used in sports like the NFL to eSports like League of Legends . It also was infamously used on various "Hot or Not" type websites, as shown in this scene from the movie "...﻿
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### Christopher Long

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Getting Started Doing Baseball Analysis without Coding
There's lot of confusion about how best to get started doing baseball analysis. It doesn't have to be difficult! You can start doing it right away, even if you don't know anything about R, Python, Ruby, SQL or machine learning (most GMs can't code). Learnin...﻿
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Some Potentially Useful SQL Resources
Some potentially useful SQL resources - explanations, visualizations, exercises, games, classes. A Visual Explanation of SQL Joins Datamonkey Introduction to Database Management Systems SQL Island Adventure Game PostgreSQL Exercises Public Affairs Data Jour...﻿
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People
In his circles
1,520 people
Have him in circles
557 people
Communities
7 communities
Education
• Rutgers University
Mathematics, 2004
• Rutgers University
Biostatistics, 2004
• Rutgers University
Statistics, 2003
Basic Information
Gender
Male
Other names
clonger
Story
Tagline
"Tick, clong, tick, clong, tick, clong, went the night." - Thurber
Bragging rights
Loved by all animals.
Work
Occupation
Sports Analyst and Data Scientist
Employment
• Chanteclair Farm
Data Scientist, 2013 - present
• Houston Rockets
Analyst, 2012 - present
Senior Quantitative Analyst, 2004 - 2014
• Udacity
Analyst, 2012 - 2013
Places
Currently
Versailles, KY
Previously
San Diego, CA
Other profiles
Contributor to
Love this place. Limited menu, but the new chef is outstanding.
Public - 6 months ago
reviewed 6 months ago
Very clean, very quiet, about a mile from Opryland. Recommended.
Public - 7 months ago
reviewed 7 months ago
2 reviews