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Abstract
Here's a project that will teach you about math as you follow some of your favorite players or teams. You'll be comparing day-to-day performance with long-term averages, and trying to determine if the "streaks" and "slumps" over shorter time periods are due to random chance or something else. When you've finished, you'll have a better understanding of some important concepts in statistical analysis and baseball.
If a player goes 0-for-20, does that mean anything? Using probability theory, how often would you expect a .275 hitter to go 0-for-20? How much can streaks be explained by luck alone, and how much are they affected by a player? As for teams, do their runs of wins and losses mean anything?
Select a group of regular players and get their game logs from ESPN.com. Look at moving averages of their batting average over 2, 3, 4 or 5 games. Estimate the probability that they would exhibit this performance based on their career and season statistics. Or do the same for teams.
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Statisticians use the power of math and probability theory to answer questions that affect the lives of millions of people. They tell educators which teaching method works best, tell policy-makers what levels of pesticides are acceptable in fresh fruit, tell doctors which treatment works best, and tell builders which type of paint is the most durable. They are employed in virtually every type of industry imaginable, from engineering, manufacturing, and medicine to animal science, food…
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Life is full of risks to both people and property. Actuaries predict the chances that future negative events will occur in a person's life, and then think of ways to reduce those chances, or reduce the impact of those negative events. Actuaries help bring peace of mind to both families and to businesses.
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General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.
MLA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
"Is There Such a Thing as Streakiness in Baseball?" Science Buddies,
20 Nov. 2020,
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Math_p004/pure-mathematics/baseball-streaks.
Accessed 16 May 2022.
APA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
(2020, November 20).
Is There Such a Thing as Streakiness in Baseball?
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Math_p004/pure-mathematics/baseball-streaks
Last edit date: 2020-11-20
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