2020 Honors Thesis: Michael Leeder

Name:

Michael Leeder

Title of Thesis:

Valuing MLB Pitchers with Respect to Mechanic Predisposition to Injury

Committee:

Evan Saltzman, Kelli Lanier, Cassandra Casias (Classics)

Abstract:

In this study, I examined the mechanical feature of knee collapse amongst a cohort of randomly selected Major League pitchers and related it to monetary value. Further, this paper examines the budgetary strategy that teams could employ given new information regarding knee collapse. While the knee collapse’s relationship with the amount of time a given player is hurt proved to be inconclusive, the relationship between knee collapse and overall production pointed to a higher value for players who did not exhibit the mechanical feature. As it happened, teams were already paying a premium for players with “clean” mechanics, however that premium was much too high. The need for future study is present, as certain variables could be quantified more precisely in the future.