Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played And Games Are Won

by Moskowitz & Wertheim

The blurb said it was Freakonomics for sports, and that’s not too far from the mark.

Essentially a collection of essays long and short, Scorecasting offers a non-intuitive, economics-based explanation for many sports curiosities. Written by two American authors it has a naturally Stateside bias so subjects touched upon include why NFL teams always (wrongly) kick on fourth down and what types of baseball pitches should be thrown in a certain count.

The section of the book which took on referee hometown bias was, for me, hugely enlightening, especially as it was evident across all team sports (NFL/MLB/NBA/NHL/Soccer) and in all countries. Nigel Owens is not the exception, it would seem.

Even though it could have been more tightly edited and could certainly be enhanced by the inclusion of more illustrations and photographs, Scorecasting is a worthy read for fans of sports or pop-psychology/economics books.