Where Ichiro Hits: Cluster Analysis

Google research scientist Peter Hauck used Weka and k-means cluster analysis to describe where Mariners right-fielder Ichiro favours hitting the baseball. He then used R to visualize the 6 clusters the k-means analysis identified:

I sometimes find K-means clustering tough to explain as a statistical technique, but this makes for a great example: if you’re a fielder facing Ichiro, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on those six spots when he hits. See the full ananlysis on the Infochimps blog at the link below.

Infochimps blog: Clustering Baseball Data with Weka