How to Win a World Series with Stats

Join Houston INFORMS and Rice University for an exclusive evening with Dr. Scott Powers—two-time World Series champion (Dodgers, Astros), former Astros Assistant GM, and now Professor of Sport Analytics at Rice.

Baseball is a game of inches—and numbers. From pitch-tracking to pickoff rules to swing-level bat data, analytics have reshaped how teams play and win. Scott Powers has lived it firsthand, helping lead two of baseball’s most dominant franchises to championships. Now he’ll pull back the curtain on the statistical puzzles behind the game’s biggest moments—and show how data, strategy, and competition collide.

Reserve your spot today and see how stats win championships!

In this talk, we will explore:

Pitcher evaluation – What changes when we measure pitchers instead of pitches?
Pickoff limits & baserunner strategy – A cat-and-mouse game modeled as a stochastic process.
Swing-level bat-tracking – Making sense of MLB’s newest data frontier.

About the Speaker

Dr. Scott Powers earned his PhD in statistics from Stanford, then took his expertise directly into Major League Baseball. As Director of Analytics for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he helped the team capture the 2020 World Series. Later, as Assistant General Manager for the Houston Astros, he added another ring in 2022. Today, Scott is an Assistant Professor of Sport Analytics and Statistics at Rice University, where his research focuses on how leagues design rules, incentives, and player safety.

Event Details

📍 Location: Rice University (with the Rice INFORMS Student Chapter)
📅 Date/Time: September 29, 5:30-7 PM

💵 Cost: $0 (it’s free!)
🎟 Open to: Houston analytics professionals, students, and baseball fans.

🍕Drinks and Refreshments to be provided

🍻Afterwards: Head with us over to Valhalla to grab a drink and network with others in the INFORMS community.

Space is Limited! Reserve your Spot below!

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