Baseball: The Game of Statistics

By: Jenna Hannoosh and Katie Higgins

Math and Baseball• Math is such an important subject to understand

because it can be found just about anywhere!– In our presentation, we created 20 different

math problems that can be related to baseball. It is important when teaching math to make meaningful connections for students because this will help them understand the content on a more in depth level.

Batting Average

-Batting Average is the amount of hits a player gets divided by the total number of times they are up to bat.

1. If Coco Crisp has 30 hits in 80 at bats, what is his batting average?

2. What would his batting average be as a percent?

Prices 3. Purchasing items at a baseball game can

add up quickly.– If you bought a hot dog for $7.00 and a soda

for $3.50, how much did you spend on your meal?

– If you then bought a baseball hat for $25 and an official team jersey for $75, how much did you spend in total at this game?

Angles of Walls- The walls in all baseball parks have

different angles and may affect how the ball bounces off of it.4. The wall in centerfield of Fenway Park

measures 115 degrees. Is this an obtuse, right or acute angle?

5. The wall behind home plate is 45 degrees. Is this an obtuse, right, or acute angle?

Running the Bases

6. A player’s speed often determines whether he will be safe or out while running the bases.– If a player runs at 10 mph and it is 90 feet to

first base, how long would it take him to get there?

Hitting for the Cycle

7. When a baseball player hits for the cycle, he gets a single, double, triple, and a homerun in one game. The distance between each base is 90 feet.– How far would the player run if he hit for the

cycle?

Fielding Percentage8. Fielding percentage is the percentage of

times a player properly handles a ball in the field.

• If a player has a fielding percentage of .954, what is the probability that he will field the next ball without error?

Park Capacity

9. Fenway Park in Boston is one of the smallest parks in the Major Leagues. It seats 39,928 people.– If 39,743 people show up to the game, how

many empty seats are there?

Parking10. It is always a struggle to find parking

near Fenway Park because Boston is an old city without much parking areas.

-If you parked ¾ of a mile away from the park, how many feet would you have to walk to get there?

Length of the Game11. The longest Major League baseball

game in history lasted 8 hours and 6 minutes.

-How many total minutes did the game last?

Baseballs

12. At the start of each game there are 500 balls that can be used in the game.

• If 3 players hit home runs, 4 get ground rule doubles, and 115 balls were fouled into the stands, how many balls are left over?

Wins and Losses

13. In a division of 5 teams, the best team is decided based on their number of wins compared to their number of losses.

• Which team was the best?– Toronto: 86 wins 76 losses– Boston: 95 wins 67 losses– Baltimore: 68 wins 93 losses– Tampa Bay: 97 wins 65 losses– New York: 89 wins 73 losses

Baseball Teams and Divisions

14. There are 6 divisions in baseball (3 in the American League and 3 in the National League).

• If there are 5 teams in each division, how many teams are there in the entire major leagues?

Games and Innings

15. If there are 9 innings in a game, and a team plays 162 games in a regular season, how many innings do they play in total?

Perfect Game16. A perfect game is when a pitcher does

not allow anybody to get on base or score.

• If there are 3 outs in an inning, 9 innings in a game, and the pitcher throws 132 pitches to complete a perfect game, how many pitches did he throw on average per inning?

Average Bat Length17. All batters use their own bats and all

prefer different bat lengths.

• If out of 9 players, 2 prefer 32 inch bats, 1 prefers a 30 inch bat, 2 prefer a 31 inch bat, 3 prefer a 28 inch bat, and 1 prefers a 25 inch bat, what is the average preferred bat length?

Measurement of Bat Length

18. As stated earlier, players prefer bats of different lengths. Can you measure the two bats below and find out which is longer and by how much?

Baseball Diamond Area

19. A baseball diamond has equal sides of 90 feet. Can you find the area of a baseball diamond?

Traveling in Baseball

20. If the Boston Red Sox were to play the Philadelphia Phillies in interleague play, they would have to travel 269 miles.

• How many feet are in 269 miles?