The MLB has set the benchmark in sports analytics for a number of years, with some of the game's brightest minds having never stepped foot into the heat of a major or minor league baseball game. Theo Epstein of the Chicago Cubs is one of those minds who has never suited up in a professional baseball game; instead Epstein relies on his Yale University education and the numbers behind the game to make many of his decisions. Epstein, known for his role in ending two of baseball's most historic streaks (the Boston Red Sox curse of the Great Bambino in 2004, and as recently as the 2016 World Series, helping end the 108-year drought between World Series wins for the Chicago Cubs), is a member of a growing community in major league baseball who do not rely on years of major league playing experience. This community has been able to grow thanks to the in depth collection of statistics that has existed in baseball for decades. With analytics being relatively common in the MLB, there are a breadth of statistics that have become vital in the analysis of the game, which include: