In July 2023, Will Melville remembers feeling both nervous and excited as he watched the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Dodgers take the field on television.
The Major League Baseball contest was more than just a game for Melville, a graduate student at Brigham Young University and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Like something out of the 2011 film “Moneyball,” Melville had spent months developing sophisticated formulas and equations to optimize the Rangers’ outfield positions and prevent more runs by opposing teams. Texas was also on a six-game winning streak at the time, with a realistic opportunity to reach the World Series, and good teams rarely want to change something that is already working.
Melville’s calculated defensive analysis helped Texas to prevent runs and ultimately defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series, 4-1. He joined the Rangers for the World Series games in Arlington, Texas, according to BYU University Communications News.
“It was stressful, but it was also an amazing experience to be with the whole organization and to all be working together toward the common goal,” says Melville. “And amazing to watch some of the best players in the world making plays all over the field.”
Melville, whose parents met at BYU and raised him as a Cougar fan, was brought up in the Church in New Mexico.
His unexpected career path started when he was a freshman.
“One of my professors mentioned working in baseball and statistics would be an option for me, and until that point I didn’t even know that type of career path existed,” he said.
His first chance to conduct baseball research came during his junior year in BYU’s IDeA Lab. After distinguishing himself, he got an internship with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019.
Melville was hired by the Rangers in an apprenticeship role in May 2021 and promoted to full time in November later that year. The baseball team allowed him to continue working remotely while completing his doctorate degree at BYU.
When finished, Melville plans to return to his role with the Rangers’ front office. He is grateful for his experience at BYU, where he learned humility and how to serve others.
“The lessons I’ve learned at BYU have helped me fit in with the Rangers culture of being a good teammate and competing passionately,” he said.
Read the entire article at news.byu.edu.
