Put on your Baseball Thinking Caps

With baseball season just a week and a half away, it’s time to think about the technological side of the game. And yes, it goes beyond steroids. Check out the essay “Geeks and Baseball,”  written by a couple of fans and, presumably, geeks.  One interesting idea that pops up: the artificial intelligence in baseball video games is so realistic that even major leaguers look to the XBox for tips. The essay also has the requisite section on statistics, which is turning into a philosophical controversy—for more info, see this article in Legal Affairs  that discusses whether or not players own their numbers. “Geeks and Baseball” does run off-base a couple of times, though. Much as we might hope otherwise, I doubt that Willie Randolph is going to pay attention to an online information market when he decides when to play Pedro… —Lauren Aaronson