Bill James Biography

Bill James was a Kansas City Royals baseball fan, when he began developing his popular theory of ‘sabermetrics’; which scientifically analyzes and studies baseball. He revolutionized the game of baseball without once treading a professional baseball pitch as a player, coach, supervisor or executive. A writer and historian, James developed the tools for the statistical analysis of baseball, which led to its adaptation and formed the basis for a major motion picture, ‘Moneyball’. His most profound understanding was that the batting average was hyped and that a player’s ‘on-base percentage’ was a more precise barograph of a player’s value on field. This later became the new Holy Grail of baseball measurements. He is a man of humble beginnings and joined the Army, where he was sent to fight the Vietnam War. Although he did not see action on the front, he spent a couple of years stationed in South Korea and began writing about his favorite sport. One of his articles on baseball got published and he became famous overnight. He astonished the audiences with a self-publication, ‘The Bill James Baseball Abstract’. Today, he is known as one of the premiere historians, statisticians and baseball writers in America and has found a place in the Time 100 as ‘one of the most influential people in the world’. Scroll further for more.

Alan Dundes
(American)

Adam Clarke
(Irish)

Adam Michnik
(Polish)

Abraham Tucker
(British)

Abraham Joshua Heschel
(Polish)