Btw, you can register for the 2026 #SMTDataChallenge thru April 29. The competition is open to students 18+yo, registered thru Fall 2026.
IMO, this year’s prompt—“On the Big Screen!”—is our best yet! Check it out! 2/
@billyfryer42.bsky.social | @smtlive.bsky.social
datachallenge.smt.com
In addition to being Australia’s greatest closer, #WBC #TeamAUS Todd Van Steensel has been an #SMTDataChallenge judge. (The breadth of experience they contribute is mindblowing. 🤯) Way to make baseball better for our rising stars! 1/
www.mlb.com/news/todd-va...
Registration for the 2026 #SMTDataChallenge is OPEN! We want to see what you would put “On the Big Screen!” We want to see how you can tell stories like SMT through a metric, visualization, or interactive fan experience that could be displayed on a MiLB scoreboard!
Maybe not the most important thing, but @andrewgolden.bsky.social and @spencernusbaum.bsky.social were judges for the 2025 #SMTDataChallenge. On behalf of SMT and our participants, thank you. You’re helping build the future of the game (and I hope you’ll do it again this year! 😊)
Our #SMTDataChallenge Finalist Showcase is next month, and some of the students are flying in from abroad. One has already been advised by his nation’s consulate to keep his passport on him at all times, because ICE. Welcome to America 2025. 😑
If you go back to 2020, the Snell Tool actually agrees with Kevin Cash decision to pull him. Very different circumstances, accurate results. Our #SMTDataChallenge students have done some amazing stuff!
Game state when Sal Frelick came up B8, which says to keep Snell in.
Game state at the end of the inning, which says to pull Snell.
Gotta give props to last year’s #SMTDataChallenge winners, who created the Snell Tool (snelltool.com), which tells when to pull the starting pitcher. Tried it with Snell just now, and it said to pull him after the 8th. Looks like Dave Roberts agrees!
That’s #SMTDataChallenge participant @alexwilliamsonmlb.bsky.social to you!
Only tangential, but are there discussions re the role of Discord? We switched to it this year, as a platform for our #SMTDataChallenge students. Turned out hugely productive, w lots of community engagement—way better than Slack. Viable alternatives may be tough…
One of our 2024 #SMTDataChallenge finalists!!! Well done, @justinochoi.bsky.social!👇⚾️🙌
When I’m not dissecting baseballs or organizing the #SMTDataChallenge, I get to work with our #6thTool NCAA player tracking data.⚾️ Check out this season’s highlights. 👀 College defense FTW! 🙌
#SMTChangingTheGame
2025 DATA CHALLENGE LAUNCH YOUR CAREER The SMT Data Challenge is an advanced data competition that invites students to analyze real-world player-tracking data. Projects are open-ended and data-driven, rather than strictly quantitative, and they emphasize process, relevance, creativity, and communications. With its uniquely-available player-tracking data, the Data Challenge has become a rich recruiting ground for MLB teams; of the students who have submitted projects, more than 20% have been hired by professional teams or sports companies. 2025 DATA CHALLENGE PROJECT TOPIC "Good" baseball is all about the success or failure of decision-making. Did what happened on the field go according to plan? This year, we want you to use tracking data to quantitatively infer and/or understand player or team "intent". MLB teams have asked to see: • Effective use of data visualization • Proficiency with messy data REGISTRATION (Deadline: April 30) Students may participate individually or in teams of up to 4 students. Individuals who want help building a team can identify themselves when registering. SUBMISSION (Deadline Aug. 1) • Narrative Paper (PDF max: 2000 words) • Analysis Code • Results (CSV) JUDGING Judges from academia, industry, journalism, and sports will evaluate submissions based on creativity, relevance, methodology, storytelling and communication to technical and non-technical audiences. FINALISTS (Announced Oct. 6) Three finalist teams will be invited to a Showcase Weekend at SMT headquarters in Durham, NC to present to a panel of judges. (Mid-Nov, date TBD) OTHER DATES Optional Analysis Demo, Q/A • May 8: Introduction • June 5: Data Visualization • May 22: Analysis • July 3: Technical Virtual Office Hours Available May 6 - July 31 Must be 18 years or older and enrolled in both Spring and Fall 2025 semesters to enter. For questions, contact us at datachallenge@smt.com
Here’s info on the #SMTDataChallenge. (The URL is to a pdf.) This year, we’re asking students to INFER PLAYER INTENT. The competition is open to students 18+yo, enrolled through Fall 2025. It’s a great opportunity to test out your analytics chops! Give it a shot!
www.info2smt.com/_files/ugd/e...
I believe the etiquette when one goes viral is to promote something. Here goes:
We’re hosting the 2025 #SMTDataChallenge, where students get to analyze real-world MiLB player tracking data. Registration is open through April 30. Please share!
www.info2smt.com/register-202...
To all of you who submitted a project for the 2024 #SMTDataChallenge (even if you weren’t a finalist), please consider submitting it for Saber Seminar! You guys did such great work. I’d love to see it shared! 👇👇👇
Btw, I haven’t promoted it here yet, but registration is LIVE for the 2025 #SMTDataChallenge. This year’s topic: “Infer player intent.” (Cool, huh? 👀) Open to students 18+yo enrolled for Fall 2025. Register here 👇 by April 30. #SMTChangingTheGame
www.info2smt.com/register-202...
This is insane. We’re a helluva lot more careful protecting our #SMTDataChallenge data, and that’s just a student competition. They might as well put the entire IRS database on a public GitHub.
The 2025 #SMTDataChallenge is off and running! Check out @billyfryer42.bsky.social’s thread for details👇, or download our announcement flyer (www.info2smt.com/_files/ugd/e...). Students—register by April 30. Everyone else—tell your friends!🤓⚾️🙌
www.info2smt.com/register-202...
I too will be at SABR Analytics this weekend. We have a great SMT talk, and three of our 2024 #SMTDataChallenge finalists are giving presentations. We’re also announcing this year’s Data Challenge. Can’t wait! ⚾️😎☀️🏜️
Now, there’s the #SMTDataChallenge. It’s baseball-specific, but the premise came from the REU program. Every student who competes, every judge who reads their work, and every team who hires a participant is benefitting from it. The ripple effects of killing REU will be huge. 4/4
Students: THIS 👇 is one of the reasons to do the #SMTDataChallenge. A *big* part of analytics success is communicating your awesome ideas to non-quants. The Data Challenge helps you learn how. It’s no accident 20% of ppl who’ve submitted projects have been hired in sports!
THIS. 👇👇👇
(Did I mention we’re announcing the 2025 #SMTDataChallenge March 14? ⚾️💡📈)
This is one reason the #SMTDataChallenge is so valuable to budding analysts. Our data are *NOT* pristine, and students are expected to justify how they handle it. (Btw, that’s the one skill *every* MLB team has asked for.)
We’ll be announcing this year’s Data Challenge on 3/14. Stay tuned!
