Death by Data

Death By Data: How Analytics and Technology Are Killing Baseball (Second Edition)

Baseball has always been a human science.

For more than a century, scouts trusted their eyes. Coaches relied on experience. Players developed through relationships, intuition, and countless hours on the field. Today, however, algorithms influence scouting, data drives player development, and technology shapes nearly every decision made throughout the game.

Some call it progress.

Drawing on more than four decades as a player, coach, educator, and Major League Baseball international scout, Joel D. Bradley examines one of the most significant transformations in baseball history. Rather than rejecting analytics, Bradley argues that the sport has reached a critical point where information is increasingly replacing wisdom and technology is beginning to overshadow the human element that made baseball unique.

In this expanded Second Edition, Bradley explores:

• The rise of analytics and artificial intelligence in baseball.
• How technology is changing scouting, player development, and game strategy.
• The unintended consequences of data-driven decision making.
• The importance of preserving human judgment in an increasingly automated game.
• A vision for restoring balance between objective information and the art of baseball.

Featuring approximately 100 photographs, charts, and illustrations, Death By Data combines historical perspective, firsthand professional experience, and practical insight into one of the game's most important debates.

Whether you are a coach, scout, player, executive, parent, or lifelong fan, this book challenges conventional thinking and asks a simple but profound question:

What happens when numbers become more important than people?

The evidence is in.

The game has changed.

The verdict is still being written.