David Dalpiaz

Figure 1: A name tag with the name Dave written on it, in all caps.

My Background

I’ve been an Illini for a while…

• 2005 - 2009: BS in Mathematics from Illinois
  • Minors in Computer Science and Statistics
• 2009 - 2014: PhD in Statistics from Illinois
• 2014 - 2023: Taught for Statistics @ Illinois
  • 2018 - 2019: Taught for Statistics @ OSU
• Now: Teaching for Computer Science @ Illinois

Current Work

• Teaching CS 307, an introduction to machine learning for data science students.
• Writing Atomic R, a textbook introducing the R programming language.
• Developing bbd, an R package for accessing baseball data.
• Contributing to the PrairieLearn R autograder.
• Researching accessibility needs and best practices in STEM education.
• Applying statistical methodology to public baseball data.

Charlie Young

Houston Astros

• Senior Front-End Developer, R&D

Illinois

• CS + Astronomy and Statistics

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• LinkedIn: Charles Young
• On Deck with Charlie Young

Julia Wapner

Baltimore Orioles

• Junior Data Scientist

Illinois

• Statistics and Spanish

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• LinkedIn: Julia Wapner
• 2022 SABR Analytics Presentation

Jack Banks

New York Yankees

• Associate, Quantitative Analysis

Illinois

• Statistics

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• LinkedIn: Jack Banks
• Jack Banks: Personal Website

Illinois-Cubs Joint Research

• Dan Eck - Illinois Statistics Professor
  • Eck Sports Lab
• Ehsan Bokhari - Chicago Cubs Assistant General Manager
  • STAT @ Illinois: Ehsan Bokhari Alumni Profile
• Connor Rosenberg - Chicago Cubs Data Scientist
  • LinkedIn: Connor Rosenberg
• Jamin Kim - Illinois Statistics Student
• Ryan To - Illinois Computer Science Student

Practice, Practice, Practice!

• Use R or Python every single day!
• Work with data every single day!

Figure 5: A screenshot of the RStudioIDE during package development.

Don’t Take Classes!

If you’re a junior or senior, it is time to focus on your own work, not coursework.

Well, maybe this one…

• STAT 430: Baseball Analytics

Read!

• Blogs
  • FanGraphs
  • The Hardball Times
• Journals
  • SABR: Baseball Research Journal Archives
  • Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports
• Books
  • Analyzing Baseball Data with R

Develop Your Personal Website!

Figure 6: A screenshot of Jack Banks’ personal website on November 14, 2023.

Improve the SAS Website!

Figure 7: A screenshot of the Sports Analytics Society website on November 14, 2023.

Develop Your GitHub Portfolio!

Figure 8: A screenshot of Dave’s GitHub on November 14, 2023.

Contribute To Open Source Projects!

No contribution is too small! I’d be happy to have pull requests to:

• bbd
  • An R package for obtaining baseball data.
• bbdb
  • An R package to access the Lahman database.
  • In serious need of improved documentation!

Know Available Roles!

Keep an eye out for internships!

• Data Analyst
  • Example: Philadelphia Phillies
• Data Scientist
  • Example: Cleveland Guardians
• Data Engineer
  • Example: Chicago Cubs

Go To (And Present At) Conferences!

• SABR Analytics Conference
• Sabermetrics, Scouting, and the Science of Baseball
• Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Conference

Figure 9: Banner for the 2023 Sabermetrics, Scouting, and the Science of Baseball conference.

Work With Illinois Sports!

• Illini (Baseball) Analytics
  • Contact: Dave?

Figure 10: The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign wordmark.