Nogales High School Sports Analytics Club Presentation
Hailing from Nogales, AZ, the Nogales High School Sports Analytics Club members presented their research on March 9, 2024 at the 2024 SABR Analytics Conference on Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix Campus. This three-day event focuses on baseball analytics and offered a variety of activities that delve into different aspects of the field. The presentation was given by Erick Figueroa, John Nunez, Renee Brown, and Pamela Carbajal. SABR is the Society for American Baseball Research, which is dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball.
During the presentation, the students illustrated their case for inducting Kenny Lofton into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. They used a variety of sabermetric analyses to assess his career across three key areas: Overall Performance, Defensive Prowess, and Offensive Stats. Despite his outstanding career, Lofton received only 3.2 percent of the vote on his first (and only) Hall of Fame ballot in 2013. The students hope their research will assist in reconsidering Lofton for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The SABR Analytics Conference also allowed the students to network with baseball enthusiasts, analysts, and industry professionals and share ideas.