How Wilson’s MLB Dream Job Became a Reality
Author: Marshall King
From a Dream to Reality
When Claire Wilson was growing up new New York City, she was the biggest baseball fan she knew.
As a data analyst for the Miami Marlins, she’s in good company now. “The most fun thing about working in baseball is you go your whole life being the biggest baseball fan you know and then you work in baseball,” the 2022 Notre Dame graduate said. “It’s just awesome to be with a bunch of people who love this thing as much as you do.”
Wilson’s Last Day with the Chicago Cubs
Wilson worked for the Chicago Cubs between her junior and senior years and then joined the Marlins after graduation. When she worked for the Cubs, she presented a project from her Human Performance Analytics class to several executives.
Predicting Pitcher Injury Project
With classmates Austin Hanley, and Colin McVeigh, Wilson worked on a project to predict pitcher injury. While attending the Society of American Baseball Research conference virtually, she learned of data from Sports Info Solutions and obtained the data from all the pitching in three MLB seasons. She wrote code to attempt to predict when a pitcher is likely to get injured.
“First and foremost, I learned how difficult it is to predict injury,” she said.
Wilson’s Current Workplace: The Miami Marlin’s Stadium
A few years later, she realized she didn’t have the right data. If she were to do the project now, she would use pitch counts and even try to get data from warmup pitches in the bullpen, something few if any teams measure. Additional technology that now characterizes pitch speed, spin rate, and other aspects of a thrown ball could also help.
Claire’s Current Role with the Marlins
In her work with the Marlins, she’s focused not on injuries, but on scouting international players and a long modeling project related to on-field strategy. She’s part of a nine-member research and development department. It’s the job of her dreams. “I came into Notre Dame knowing that I wanted to work in analytics for a baseball team,” Wilson said.
She had grown up in a family of baseball fans, and after reading the book “Moneyball,” hoping for the chance to work in the majors. She thought it would be the Cubs longer term, but as part of an MLB diversity program, went to Miami.
Wilson said that data analysts working for sports teams may have more freedom than those working for other businesses. “There are so many revolutionary ideas and you get to try things. There are so many teams competing in a direct way,” she said.
At heart, she’s still also a fan. I love baseball and I get to watch so much of it. I get to go to every home game. That’s amazing if you’re a baseball fan,” she said.
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