Is There Such a Thing as Streakiness in Baseball?

Areas of Science	Pure Mathematics
Difficulty
Time Required	Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites	Basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel and statistics
Material Availability	Readily Available
Cost	Very Low (under $20)

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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.

Credits

Gabriel Desjardins

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MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "Is There Such a Thing as Streakiness in Baseball?" Science Buddies, 28 July 2017, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Math_p004/pure-mathematics/baseball-streaks. Accessed 30 Sep. 2020.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff. (2017, July 28). 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: 2017-07-28

Experimental Procedure

For this science project you will need to develop your own experimental procedure. Use the information in the summary tab as a starting place. If you would like to discuss your ideas or need help troubleshooting, use the Ask An Expert forum. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions and offer guidance if you come to them with specific questions.

If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk (*) at the end of the title.

Variations

For the team study, adjust their probability of winning by their opponents winning percentage.

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Is There Such a Thing as Streakiness in Baseball? *

Abstract

Credits