How The West Was Won: Animating a Divisional Race
by Chris Spurlock on Jan 5, 2011 7:52 PM EST
in Visuals Above Replacement
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PrintUpdated to include team names. - ed
In my last post I tried to dive into some more complex (read: confusing) methodology and, though the graphic turned out to be quite pretty to look at, there were some flaws in the data behind it. So, for my next project, I decided to stick with something more simple and fun.
For those wondering about the very nit-picky details of how this was put together, I'll explain a few things. I chose to go with a game-by-game method instead of day-by-day method simply because that data is a) easier to find, b) easier to understand, and c) smaller, which equals less time you have to spend looking at this thing. However, it does make things a little funny because off days mess with the perfect order of things. For example, it is entirely possible for both the Padres and the Giants to have a .5 game lead in the division in game 154, because those two teams played their respective 154th games on different dates. Everything else should be pretty simple.
Questions or comments? Fire away!
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Needs techno music!
Seriously, great job. Your graphs already had command. Now they have movement.
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Great, but it would be nice if team was labeled on the graphic
- .-. ..- … – / – …. . / .—. .-. - .. . … …
This makes me sad.
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by Zach (maestro876) on Jan 5, 2011 2:04 PM EST reply actions
Oddly enough
It makes me very happy, although I must admit every time the Giants drop back on the graph I have a sinking feeling in my stomach, regardless of the fact I know they make it.
This
Oh so much this, I was really worried there towards the end.
Also, one team name was misspelled, it’s spelled Fodgers, with an F for…
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This is great
Incidentally, via the incidental choices of Pandora I discovered that the animation works great with AC/DC’s “Shook Me All Night Long” as its soundtrack.
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Great Sentiment, but...
…How can a team be over first place? Or is “First Place” mislabeled as .500?
Also, while I love the concept, moving the graph horizontally makes it more dynamic, makes it “feel” more like a race, and allows you to get the information from previous games while seeing the changes. That gives more information per glimpse, which I think may be more effective. If you’re interested, want to work together in creating a better dynamic image? I would happily support you anyway I can.
My Work: Henkakyuu
I think I took the BB-Ref data too literally
They label a team as “up 2” games when they have a lead. So I guess if a team has a 2 game lead, the second place team should be 2 back as well. It probably would have been more effective to just have the first place line at the top (or on the left) and not have anyone move above it.
I would definitely been game for taking another crack at this. Maybe with another division?
by Chris Spurlock on Jan 6, 2011 3:04 PM EST up reply actions
How about we team up?
I’ll create a graphic that shows how I’d express it, in Illustrator, and then give it over to you for animation if you like it. After the first draft, we can coordinate to try to make it better, and then illustrate an entire season.
My Work: Henkakyuu
Here is what I was thinking
It’s in Excel, but you can move the spinner below the chart left or right to make it move one way or the other. This is the type of animation I was thinking of:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B_hKIaAw27e_YTVmYzYzMTgtOWU5NC00ZjI1LWIwZWMtMjg5M2E4ZmE0MWY4&hl=en&authkey=CLXhhz0
The benefit is that all divisions could be on the same scale, so you could do cross-division comparisons (how did Toronto look if it were placed in the AL West, for instance), but on the downside, it doesn’t have the visual whammo that yours does.
My Work: Henkakyuu
I really like that it starts from the left
and I think that’s what we need to work with from here on out. I was almost thinking of making it more like one of those cheesy carnival games where the horses race across the track. You could set the “division clinching wins” line at the far right and see who gets there first.
If you wanted to add another component, like you did, you could have the lines drop or rise depending on how far ahead/back they were in the division…but that might get confusing.
by Chris Spurlock on Jan 7, 2011 11:24 AM EST up reply actions
I think I remember a website animating races with the horses like that...
Not quite, but there’s this: http://www.baseballrace.com/main_racePlayer.asp
That's really cool
Not quite as pretty as it could be, but simple enough to make a great point. I’ll start playing around with things tomorrow. Any preference on which division?
by Chris Spurlock on Jan 8, 2011 1:09 PM EST up reply actions
The best/worst/best part of this is the gradual
descent into oblivion that was the Diamondbacks’ season. Man that’s depressing.
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So cool.
Thanks.
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