From the movie Moneyball to the Korean drama Hot Stove League, the media has continuously dealt with the relationship between baseball and math. Indeed, due to the various unique traits of baseball, the sport has been a subject of in-depth analysis using statistics and data science. 

Unlike any other sport, baseball is a continuation of non-continuous actions. In soccer, unless the ball rolls out of the field, the game continues for several minutes; the players must make real-time decisions based on the rapidly and continuously changing situation. In contrast, in the case of baseball, the game stops after every pitch. Once the pitcher throws the baseball and the player swings his bat, the game stops until the pitcher steps back onto the plate to give his next pitch. Thus, in baseball, the players do not have to make real-time decisions based on a fluidly changing state but stand still to think for a moment and make a more thoughtful and strategic decision based on past states. This is why statistics and mathematical analysis are much more vital in baseball than other sports that prioritize the player’s skill to read the game and make rapid decisions based on their instincts. 

            
This is why and how sabermetrics started, originally from SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) metrics, a mathematical study of baseball based on collected data. From OBP (On Base Percentage) devised by the general manager of Oakland Athletics, Billy Beane, in 2002 to more modern statistics such as WAR (Wins Above Replacement), sabermetrics has dramatically evolved to find the most accurate and meaningful insights from the game. 
            
Some argue that implementing too many numbers and computers in a ball game harms its original value. Indeed, people often want to see a heroic sports star following his animalistic instincts to save his team rather than nine batters following a formulated guideline to bring the highest probability of winning. However, while statistics can offer abstract suggestions, the actual plays are still made by the players themselves: throwing a 100 mph fastball or hitting a 500-foot homer cannot be done by math. 
 

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