This posting will use four baseball statistics, batting average (AVG), in-play batting average (IPBA), strike-out average (SOA) and home-run average (HRA). Their definitions are AVG = #H/#AB, IPBA = #H/(#AB−#SO), SOA =#SO/#AB and HRA = #HR/#AB. It turns out that AVG = IPBA*(1−SOA). The two figures below show these four statistics for the years 1901 thru …
One of my all-time favorite quotes comes from the great football coach Bill Parcells. When referring to a team’s performance Parcells said, “You are what your won-loss record says you are.” Well as of June 24, 2013 the Yankees’ record is 41-34 and they are 2.5 games out of first place. According to Coach Parcells’ …
As we approach the 2013 All-Star game, it would be fitting to look back at the last All-Star game held in NYC at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008. The following post, written by one of my Baseball and Statistics students, recounts her experience at the 2008 All-Star weekend. Out of every baseball game I …
My wife Tara and I traveled from our home in Naples, FL to meet my baseball buddy in Sarasota, Florida. My baseball buddy is John-Norman Tuck who is a renowned artist and hair stylist from Sarasota. John-Norman and I traveled for about one hour to Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, FL. Two blocks from the …
After writing my April posting about the Rutgers athletic scandal and President Barchi, I thought the story was over. In my April posting I said, “Here is my take on the situation. Since Coach Rice reports to AD Pernetti and Pernetti reports to Barchi, Rutgers is trying to stop the damage at the AD level. …
Can Miguel be the first .400 hitter in 72 years? After playing in 45 games this year he had a BA = .391, an IPBA = .447 and a SOA = .133. Since his IPBA is 20 points higher than .427 all Miguel needs to do (Ha! Ha!) is for the rest of the season …
The first feat is ending a season with at least 502 plate appearances and a batting average BA ≥ .400. The second feat is accomplishing baseball’s Triple Crown by leading their league in HR, RBI and BA. This posting and the following posting will examine the chances of Miguel Cabrera achieving both these feats in 2013. …
Disappointment number one is the Toronto Blue Jays. A week before Thanksgiving Toronto conducted a trade with Miami receiving Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and Emilio Bonafacio for prospects. Add to that the acquisition of R.A. Dickey, the NL Cy Young Winner in 2012, from the Mets. It seemed to be a no-brainer to make …
On opening day of the season all the teams are tied for first place in their respective divisions. Sportswriters and ordinary fans digest all of the off-season team personal changes and use this information to make predictions about how the teams will finish in their respective divisions after the 162 games are played. Now that …
As I did in the previous posting for the Yankees, I would like to compare the performance of the April, 2013 Mets with the April, 2012 Mets. The Mets, like the Yankees, were expected to finish the season either last or next to last in the NL East. Unlike the Yankees, the Mets were very …