Sig Mejdal

Sig Mejdal grew up in San Jose, California. His mother was a nurse and his father was a career army officer. In his youth, Mejdal played little league baseball for six years during his youth.{{cite book|author=Sam Walker|title=Fantasyland: A Sportswriter's Obsessive Bid to Win the World's Most Ruthless Fantasy Baseball League|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xBK9iMzoM6gC|access-date=13 January 2013|date=27 February 2007|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-303843-6|archive-date=26 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726052711/http://books.google.com/books?id=xBK9iMzoM6gC|url-status=live}}{{rp|43}} He was a fan of the Oakland A's and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. Mejdal also developed an early interest in baseball statistics at that time.

He graduated from University of California, Davis with bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering and aeronautical engineering. Mejdal later earned master's degrees in operations research and cognitive psychology from San Jose State University.{{cite news|title=Teams turn to numbers crunchers|publisher=The News Press|first=David|last=Dorsey|date=April 17, 2006|pages=CC.1|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/news_press/access/1768918901.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+17%2C+2006&author=David+Dorsey&pub=The+News+Press&desc=Teams+turn+to+numbers+crunchers&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216161046/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/news_press/access/1768918901.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+17,+2006&author=David+Dorsey&pub=The+News+Press&desc=Teams+turn+to+numbers+crunchers&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2013|access-date=December 14, 2012}} While attending college in the late 1980s, he worked as a blackjack dealer at High Sierra in Lake Tahoe.{{cite news|first=Ben|last=Reiter|newspaper=SportsIllustrated|url=https://www.si.com/longform/astros/index.html|access-date=June 27, 2014|title=Astro-Matic Baseball|archive-date=July 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703231045/http://www.si.com/longform/astros/index.html|url-status=live}}

After graduating from UC Davis in 1989,{{cite news|newspaper=UC Davis Magazine|url=http://ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu/issues/win11/sports_numbers.html|title=A numbers game|pages=Volume 28, Number 2, Winter 2011|access-date=December 14, 2012|archive-date=December 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207164532/http://ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu/issues/win11/sports_numbers.html|url-status=live}} Mejdal worked for NASA and Lockheed Martin's satellite operations unit at the Onizuka Air Force Station.{{rp|113}}{{cite news|work=School's In|title=BA's Alan Matthews attends the Major League Scouting Bureau's "Scout School"|first=Alan|last=Matthews|date=October 2, 2006|access-date=December 14, 2012|url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/news/2006/262518.html|publisher=Baseball America|archive-date=January 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128235643/http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/news/2006/262518.html|url-status=live}} Mejdal's interest in baseball was recreational until 2003, when the book Moneyball inspired him to consider pursuing a career in sabermetrics. He attended the Winter Meetings in search for a job in baseball, didn’t get a job, and continued to work at NASA as a biomathematician in the Fatigue Countermeasures Group.{{rp|23}} Mejdal studied sleep patterns of astronauts on the International Space Station{{cite news|title=Astros' Sig Mejdal to utilize diamond data in projection game|date=February 11, 2012|first=Zachary|last=Levine|url=http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2012/02/11/astros%E2%80%99-sig-mejdal-to-utilize-diamond-data-in-projection-game/|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|access-date=December 14, 2012|archive-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213204731/http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2012/02/11/astros%E2%80%99-sig-mejdal-to-utilize-diamond-data-in-projection-game/|url-status=live}} in order to optimize their sleep schedules.{{cite news|url=http://www.news-leader.com/article/20080424/SPORTS02/102260011/Cards-turn-analytical-draft-decisions|date=April 23, 2008|access-date=December 14, 2012|title=Cards turn analytical for draft decisions|first=Kary|last=Booher|publisher=News-Leader|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714194521/http://www.news-leader.com/article/20080424/SPORTS02/102260011/Cards-turn-analytical-draft-decisions|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Reality Check|newspaper=Sports Illustrated|first=Sam|last=Walker|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/03/14/fantasy.book0320/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070813055221/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/03/14/fantasy.book0320/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 13, 2007|access-date=December 14, 2012}}

While working for NASA, Mejdal took a side job as the chief quantitative analyst for Sam Walker's fantasy baseball team Streetwalkers Baseball Club,{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115031062874880292?mod=googlewsj|first=Sam|last=Walker|title=A Different Kind of Draft Day|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 15, 2006|access-date=December 14, 2012|archive-date=October 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024213649/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115031062874880292?mod=googlewsj|url-status=live}} which was participating in the Tout Wars competition's "Battle of the Experts." The fantasy team would later become the subject of Walker's book: Fantasyland: A Sportswriter's Obsessive Bid to Win the World's Most Ruthless Fantasy Baseball.

In 2005, Sig Mejdal was recruited to do sabermetrics for the St. Louis Cardinals' new analytics department.{{cite news|title=Interview: Cards Scout Head Kantrovitz: Pt. 1|url=http://cubs.scout.com/2/1148414.html|first=Brian|last=Walton|date=January 13, 2012|access-date=December 14, 2012|archive-date=August 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821080735/http://cubs.scout.com/2/1148414.html|url-status=live}} He analyzed years of data from college baseball games using an algorithm designed to project the likely performance and statistics of baseball players.{{cite web | last=Enterprises | first=Lee | title=Analytics at heart of Cards' success, federal probe : Sports | website=stltoday.com | date=July 3, 2015 | url=http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/analytics-at-heart-of-cards-success-federal-probe/article_4ffcc5ba-7eb1-5f79-9d19-435c3b89eaf0.html | access-date=July 12, 2015 | archive-date=February 3, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203021612/http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/analytics-at-heart-of-cards-success-federal-probe/article_4ffcc5ba-7eb1-5f79-9d19-435c3b89eaf0.html | url-status=live }} This analytical approach was utilized by the Cardinals to effectively identify talent in the later rounds of the drafts.

Over the next seven seasons, utilizing Mejdal's algorithm, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted more players who became major leaguers than any other organization.{{Cite web |last=Lindbergh |first=Ben |date=2019-06-03 |title=How the Astros Revolutionized Player Development |url=https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2019/6/3/18644512/mvp-machine-how-houston-astros-became-great-scouting |access-date=July 19, 2024 |website=The Ringer |language=en}} He was promoted to senior quantitative analyst in 2008{{cite news|date=March 7, 2008|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120485693123318577?mod=googlewsj|first=Darren|last=Everson|title=Baseball Taps Wisdom of Fans|access-date=December 14, 2012|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108010526/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120485693123318577?mod=googlewsj|url-status=live}} and director of amateur draft analysis in January 2011.{{cite news|publisher=CBS|title=Cards Promote Two in Baseball Ops|date=January 7, 2011|access-date=December 14, 2012|url=http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/01/07/cards-promote-two-in-baseball-operations/|archive-date=August 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822035544/http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/01/07/cards-promote-two-in-baseball-operations/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Cardinals Team Healthy Report 2011|newspaper=Sports Illustrated|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/will_carroll/02/28/cardinals-health-report/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130215174519/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/will_carroll/02/28/cardinals-health-report/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 15, 2013|first=Will|last=Carroll}} The Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 and 2011, with help from Mejdal.{{Cite web |last=McLaughlin |first=Corey |date=2019-01-28 |title=Inside the Mind of Former NASA Engineer Co-Piloting the Orioles' Rebuild |url=https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/inside-mind-of-nasa-engineer-orioles-sig-mejdal/ |access-date=July 19, 2024 |website=Baltimore Magazine |language=en-US}}

Mejdal also created a formula to predict the risk of injury to baseball players{{cite news|date=March 4, 2008|publisher=Baseball Prospectus|first=Will|last=Carroll|url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7203|title=Team Health Reports|access-date=January 15, 2013|archive-date=September 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914010927/http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7203|url-status=live}} and contributed a section on injury probability to The Bill James Handbook.{{cite news|date=April 11, 2006|title=Under The Knife: Danger is Will's Middle Name|first=Will|last=Carroll|url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4961|publisher=Baseball Prospectus|access-date=December 14, 2012|archive-date=September 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911160927/http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4961|url-status=live}}

In 2012, Mejdal became the Director of Decision Sciences for the Houston Astros, where he supported recruitment decisions based on physical tests and historical player performance.{{cite news|title=Analyze this: Astros' Mejdal takes on unique role|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120131&content_id=26525316&vkey=news_hou&c_id=hou|first=Brian|last=McTaggart|work=MLB.com|date=January 31, 2012|access-date=December 14, 2012|archive-date=August 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821055224/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120131&content_id=26525316&vkey=news_hou&c_id=hou|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Astros GM Makes Up a Fancy Title for His "Moneyball" Stat Guy|url=http://www.tmdailypost.com/article/sports/astros-gm-makes-fancy-title-his-moneyball-stat-guy|first=Jason|last=Cohen|date=January 5, 2012|access-date=December 14, 2012|publisher=Daily Post|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115172943/http://www.tmdailypost.com/article/sports/astros-gm-makes-fancy-title-his-moneyball-stat-guy|archive-date=January 15, 2012}}{{citation|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/01/07/time-for-big-z-to-step-to-plate/|title=Time for Big Z to step to plate|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=January 7, 2012|first=Phil|last=Rogers|access-date=December 14, 2012|archive-date=June 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630024449/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-07/sports/sc-spt-0108-notes-rogers-baseball--20120108_1_ramirez-and-reyes-cubs-guillen-s-marlins|url-status=live}} Hiring Mejdal to apply an analytics-based decision tree on their player choices part of the front office's effort to revitalize the team and address performance issues from prior seasons. Employing his skills as a former NASA researcher, he helped create the STOUT system in St. Louis, named after the combination of "stat" and "scout," for making player choices.{{Cite news |last=Kepner |first=Tyler |date=2019-02-22 |title=After Hitting Rock Bottom, the Orioles Turn to Data, and a New G.M. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/sports/baltimore-orioles-mike-elias.html |access-date=July 22, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news|title=Baseball Draft: Cardinals get STOUT|first=Derrick|last=Goold|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=June 7, 2007}} In the time that Mejdal was with the Astros, they drafted more major leaguers than any other organization.{{Cite web |title=2022 Orioles Media Guide |url=https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/MLB%20Media%20Guides/2022%20Baltimore%20Orioles%20Media%20Guide.pdf |website=pressbox.athletics.com}} The system was criticized for de-humanizing players, but after trading off some players and making new recruits, the Astro's farm system became ranked among the best in baseball. The Astros also used analytics to persuade players that were uncomfortable with non-traditional positions on the field to embrace shifts, which the team now uses very heavily.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/13/sports/baseball/whos-on-third-in-baseballs-shifting-defenses-maybe-nobody.html?_r=0|newspaper=New York Times|date=May 12, 2014|first=David|last=Waldstein|access-date=June 27, 2014|title=Who's on Third? In Baseball's Shifting Defenses, Maybe Nobody|archive-date=May 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517030548/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/13/sports/baseball/whos-on-third-in-baseballs-shifting-defenses-maybe-nobody.html?_r=0|url-status=live}} Mejdal was instrumental in the development of the Houston Astros' farm system and the team's improvement from three consecutive seasons with at least 106 losses to winning the World Series in 2017. Additionally, he played an important role in introducing more intensive batting practice routines before games.{{Cite news |last=Lemire |first=Joe |date=2019-05-23 |title=A Novel Idea in the Majors: Using Batting Practice to Get Better |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/sports/batting-practice.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20191219051751/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/sports/batting-practice.html |archive-date=2019-12-19 |access-date=July 22, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

In 2015, Mejdal was one of the team's advisers whose login credentials were believed to have been used to hack into the team's database.{{cite web | last=Schupak | first=Amanda | title=What the Houston Astros hack can teach you about cybersecurity | website=CBS News | date=June 24, 2015 | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-the-houston-astros-hack-can-teach-you-about-cybersecurity/ | access-date=July 12, 2015 | archive-date=July 21, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721185557/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-the-houston-astros-hack-can-teach-you-about-cybersecurity/ | url-status=live }}

In 2018, the Baltimore Orioles began rebuilding their team by hiring Mike Elias, previously from the Houston Astros, as General Manager. Elias subsequently hired Mejdal as Vice President and Assistant General Manager of Analytics.{{Cite web |url=https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/orioles-using-analytics-sign-of-culture-change |title=O's beef up analytics team as culture shifts |website=MLB.com |access-date=2021-11-08 |archive-date=2021-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106050651/https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/orioles-using-analytics-sign-of-culture-change |url-status=live }} Mejdal helped Elias by implementing advanced analytics and international scouting, similar to their successful approach with the Houston Astros. Their strategy involved dismantling the existing roster to rebuild it from the ground up, focusing on young, cost-effective talent.{{Cite news |last=Diamond |first=Jared |title=How the Baltimore Orioles Pulled Off an Astronomical Turnaround |url=https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/baltimore-orioles-david-rubenstein-3cdeb405 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240508181803/https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/baltimore-orioles-david-rubenstein-3cdeb405#selection-5875.152-5875.153 |archive-date=2024-05-08 |access-date=July 22, 2024 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}} Key acquisitions, such as trading for ace pitcher Corbin Burnes, have positioned the Orioles as a competitive team in Major League Baseball. The Orioles moved from 110 losses in 2021 to 100 wins in 2023 and progressed from being 61 games behind the first place in 2018 to winning the AL East in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Abraham |first=Peter |date=2023-09-30 |title=From losing 110 games to winning 101, Orioles complete impressive rebuild under manager Brandon Hyde - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/30/sports/losing-110-games-winning-100-orioles-complete-impressive-rebuild-under-manager-brandon-hyde/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001091146/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/30/sports/losing-110-games-winning-100-orioles-complete-impressive-rebuild-under-manager-brandon-hyde/ |archive-date=2023-10-01 |access-date=July 22, 2024 |website=Boston Globe |language=en-US}}

• {{cite journal

|first=Sig

|last=Mejdal |author2=Melissa M. Mallis |author3=Tammy T. Nguyen |author4=David F. Dinges

| title =Summary of the Key Features of Seven Biomathematical Models of Human Fatigue and Performance

| journal =Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine

| volume =75

| issue =3

| pages =4–14

| date =March 2004

|pmid=15018262 | url =https://www.ingentaconnect.com/search/download;jsessionid=n7u3fg059odo.alice?pub=infobike%3a%2f%2fasma%2fasem%2f2004%2f00000075%2fA00103s1%2fart00002&mimetype=text%2fhtml&exitTargetId=1355542332982 }}

• Feinsand, Mark. [https://www.mlb.com/news/executive-access-conversation-with-sig-mejdal Sig Mejdal: From blackjack to NASA to MLB]. MLB. (May, 2022)

• Vascellaro, Charlie [https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/big-fish-sig-mejdal-the-baltimore-orioles-number-one-numbers-cruncher-brings-the-franchise-to-the-new-frontier/ Big Fish: Sig Mejdal, the Baltimore Orioles' number one numbers-cruncher, brings the franchise to the new frontier]. Baltimore Fishbowl. (May, 2023).

{{reflist}}

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Category:1965 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from San Jose, California

Category:San Jose State University alumni

Category:University of California, Davis alumni

Category:Baseball statisticians

Category:NASA people

Category:St. Louis Cardinals executives

Category:Houston Astros executives

Category:Baltimore Orioles executives