Alan Schwarz

Alan Schwarz (born July 3 1968 in Scarsdale, New York) is a prolific sports writer, currently on staff at "The New York Times". He spent most of 2007 writing a high-profile series of articles regarding concussions and other brain injuries among athletes, primarily high school and NFL football players. Schwarz, who was credited by experts with having raised more public awareness toward the seriousness of concussions than anyone in decades, won several major journalism awards and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Before joining the "Times" in March 2007, he covered baseball exclusively for sixteen years, writing for "Baseball America", "ESPN The Magazine", "Newsweek" and many other newspapers and magazines. He entered the baseball workforce one year after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, when he was hired by "Baseball America" in 1991. He later became a freelance writer and helped begin The New York Times' "Keeping Score" biweekly column, where he applied statistical analysis as well as sabermetrics to ongoing baseball affairs. He also was the very popular host of ESPN's "Baseball Today", the No. 1 rated individual-sport podcast on iTunes in 2006.

Schwarz developed an early aptitude for math, as his father taught him how to do square roots when he was 4. [ [http://www.strat-o-matic.com/sphere/schwarz.htm "The Numbers Game" Features Strat-O-Matic] ] His passion for baseball developed at a later stage in his childhood, in August 1979. At that time, he purchased his first pack of baseball cards. Spurred on by friends who shared his burgeoning interest, Schwarz began playing Little League and pursuing his favorite pastime. Although Schwarz said he "was terrible" at baseball, he professed his desire to be involved in the sport off the field. [ [http://www.all-baseball.com/bronxbanter/archives/014505.html Bronx Banter Interview] ] While at the University of Pennsylvania, Schwarz earned a B.A. in mathematics but also joined the school newspaper, "The Daily Pennsylvanian". After covering sports throughout college, he decided to pursue a career in journalism rather than to follow his original plan of becoming a high school or college math teacher.

In 2004, Schwarz published his first book, "The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics." The book covers the history of statistical analysis in baseball, including the stories of Henry Chadwick and Bill James. Drawing widespread acclaim, the book was named by ESPN the "baseball book of the year" in 2004. [ [http://alanschwarz.com/ ESPN - Book of the Year] ] His second book, "Once Upon a Game: Baseball's Greatest Memories", was published in April 2007.

Schwarz lives with his wife Laura and son Teddy in New York City. [ [http://alanschwarz.com/about.html About Alan] ]

Books

Alan Schwarz, "The Numbers Game : Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics." New York: St. Martin's, 2004 & 2005. ISBN 0312322232.

Alan Schwarz, "Once Upon a Game: Baseball's Greatest Memories." Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. ISBN 978-0618731275.

External links

* [http://alanschwarz.com Alan Schwarz's official website]
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/keyword/search?searchString=alan_schwarz&rT=sports Alan Schwarz archive at ESPN.com]

References