The “Moneyball” hypothesis seems to be bouncing around. Michael Lewis’ best-selling book, in case you are unfamiliar, tells the story of how the Oakland A’s employed rigorous statistical analysis to defy the conventional wisdom of Major League Baseball and out-compete teams that are far better financed. In a recent feature story for 1to1 Magazine, I argued that the story has tremendous implications for the world of business, particularly for companies hoping to capitalize on customer analysis.

But it also seems to have important implications for other sports. As the most recent issue of the Economist suggests, statistical analysis is now driving performance measurement and innovation in all sorts of sports including football, basketball and even rugby. “Shrewd observers seek understanding not through received wisdom but from the statistics that accrue over weeks and seasons,” according to the publication. “Analyzing those statistics allows one better to determine which players are better than others or what the best strategy might be against a certain team.”

Of course, not everyone is thrilled about the trend. But so what? “While old-fashioned trainers may lament this technification of sport, a new generation of sports theorists, who range from economists publishing in refereed journals to fans of an analytical bent sharing their views via the web, see a beauty in their rigour,” the article states. The trend has even given rise to several scientific journals such as the Journal of Sports Economics and the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport.

Business people have always enjoyed sports analogies and metaphors. The question is: why stop there? The lead investment strategist for Credit Suisse/First Boston devoted an entire research report to the book. Venture capitalists have cited it in their speeches. Lewis himself suggests in an interesting interview that Hollywood probably has a lot to learn from the A’s. “The book is creating a dialogue...between the larger culture and the subculture [of baseball]," says Lewis.

One thing that is particularly interesting about the world of sports is the centrality of performance. As we are seeing, analytically driven, “performance management” also is the central issue now facing companies of all kinds. Maybe execs increasingly will look to the sports world not only for analogies but hints of the next wave of innovation.