Roth Regatta

Good sports handicappers are more than just passionate fans. They are students of statistics and psychology as well. Sports handicapping requires a skill set that not every fan has. Sure, you might be able to spot which team has the advantage sometimes, but this does not make you a good handicapper. You need to be able to break down a team’s statistics and figure out how those patterns will affect a game that has not yet taken place. This is evident in every team sport, but perhaps no plac

e is it more important than in baseball and basketball.
Baseball and basketball have long seasons and are games of numbers, making statistics more meaningful. Each individual has many attempts at making something happen—in baseball, this comes in the form of at bats. Each player comes up to the plate a certain number of times. The players who get on base more often are placed at the top of the lineup. Pitchers are graded by their earned run averages (ERA), or how many runs they give up per eve

ry nine innings pitched. The best hitters have better on base percentage numbers while the best pitchers have the lowest ERA.

In basketball, there are skills that can be analyzed by percentages as well. Field goal averages indicate how often baskets are made per attempt from the field. Rebounds and steals per game indicate a player’s defensive skills. Points per game is another stat that is used to figure out a player’s ability. Obviously the more shots a player takes and the better his fiel

d goal percentage is, the more points per game made, and the more valuable a player is to his team.

Sports handicappers need to be able to identify which trends are most important and then compare each team’s statistical value to determine which team is superior. As you have probably guessed, handicappers are not always correct. There is an element of chance with all sports; this is a fact that levels the playing field a bit. In other words, the best team does not always win.

This is where sports psychology comes into play. Athletes are human and have good days and bad. They also have complex psyches that might change over the course of the season or even mid-game. Some players perform better under pressure than others. It is tough to come into another team’s stadium and succeed. Athletes have fans booing and cheering against them, yet some players are able to rise above these distractions and perform at a superior level. Recognizing which players these are is a key element of sports handicapping. Applying this knowledge, however, is what separates a fan from a handicapper. The handicapper is able to see these things from a scientific standpoint while fans are biased in their analysis of games.