Baseball: The Game of Statistics

Math and Baseball Math is such an important subject to understand because it can be found just about anywhere!

Batting Average -Batting Average is the amount of hits a player gets divided by the total number of times they are up to bat. If Derek Jeter has 30 hits in 80 at bats, what is his batting average? What would his batting average be as a percent?

Prices 3. To purchase two jerseys and two sodas at a baseball game will cost you $44. To buy one jersey and three sodas will cost you $30. How much is one soda? How much is one jersey?

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 Percentage 8. 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 with the highest average ticket price of $142.59. The Washington Nationals have the lowest average ticket price of $49 and Nationals Stadium holds 41,421. If both parks were sold out, how much does each park make in ticket sales and how much more does one park make than the other?

Parking 10. 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 Game 11. 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? If 1 dozen MLB baseballs cost $159.98, how much does one baseball cost? How much money in baseballs was lost at the ball park during the game?

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: 66 wins 96 losses New York: 97 wins 65 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 Game 16. 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 Length 17. 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 between bases. Can you find the area of a baseball diamond? Using the Pythagorean theorem How far is it from home plate to second base?

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?