Which Team Batting Statistic Predicts Run Production Best?
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 5:22 pm
Hello,
I have begun the project "Which Team Batting Statistic Predicts Run Production Best?" On Baseball Archive.com I found team batting data from the year 2013 and ran a correlation analysis. The goal was to find which statics correlated most closely to runs. I narrowed down these to RBI, OBP, SLG,OPS, OBS+, TB and BRA. The next step is to make a linear regression. The instructions say, "You can only do a linear regression analysis on one pair of variables at a time — runs (R) and one other variable...Your goal is to calculate r2 values, make a scatter plot with a trendline, and make a residual plot, like the one in the Introduction, for each combination of variables (remember that one variable will always be "runs," or R)."
At first I took my confusion about these directions to my math teacher and when he could not help me I set out to hunt for the answers I needed on the internet. Unfortunately, what I could find about linear regressions was too complicated for me to understand. My questions are as follows.
1.) What is a linear regression? What purpose does it serve?
2.) When the direction says variables, does that mean the statistics I am testing ie.) RBI?
3.) What are the actual values I am plugging in? Is it the whole sheet, an entire column or just one number? (I have attached to this a picture of my correlation analysis spreadsheet. It would be most helpful if you would provide an example, I learn best from seeing things done out once.)
4.) What do the instructions mean by r2 values?
Thank you very much for your time and your help.
I have begun the project "Which Team Batting Statistic Predicts Run Production Best?" On Baseball Archive.com I found team batting data from the year 2013 and ran a correlation analysis. The goal was to find which statics correlated most closely to runs. I narrowed down these to RBI, OBP, SLG,OPS, OBS+, TB and BRA. The next step is to make a linear regression. The instructions say, "You can only do a linear regression analysis on one pair of variables at a time — runs (R) and one other variable...Your goal is to calculate r2 values, make a scatter plot with a trendline, and make a residual plot, like the one in the Introduction, for each combination of variables (remember that one variable will always be "runs," or R)."
At first I took my confusion about these directions to my math teacher and when he could not help me I set out to hunt for the answers I needed on the internet. Unfortunately, what I could find about linear regressions was too complicated for me to understand. My questions are as follows.
1.) What is a linear regression? What purpose does it serve?
2.) When the direction says variables, does that mean the statistics I am testing ie.) RBI?
3.) What are the actual values I am plugging in? Is it the whole sheet, an entire column or just one number? (I have attached to this a picture of my correlation analysis spreadsheet. It would be most helpful if you would provide an example, I learn best from seeing things done out once.)
4.) What do the instructions mean by r2 values?
Thank you very much for your time and your help.