Professional Baseball Team Starting Pitcher Selection Using AHP and TOPSIS Methods

Abstract

Selecting starting pitchers is a strategic issue with a significant effect on the performance of a professional team. Choosing optimal starting pitchers from many alternatives is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. This study develops an evaluation model, based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), to help managers and coaches of a professional baseball team make the optimal selection for starting pitchers. The AHP was used to analyze the structure of starting-pitcher selection and determines weights of the criteria, whereas the TOPSIS method makes the final ranking. Empirical analysis illustrates model utilization for selecting starting pitchers. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed model.