Batting lineup against any one particular team Research Paper

Batting lineup against any one particular team - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that statistics are useful in almost any area of life. Consider the workplace, home, social organization, or sports arena. Statistical analysis enables us to consider where we have been, where we are going, and how effective we have been at both stages. It is a process that allows us to consider and realize trends, either positive or negative, and lead us to conclusions about what to do next. Owing to this reality, it is therefore important to consider the myriad of uses that statistics brings to everyday life. To accomplish this, this paper will examine a hypothetical problem and propose a research question that can be solved through statistical analysis. Consider the sport of baseball. Each team has a manager who bases many of his decisions on various pieces of statistics that are given to him. A team’s batting lineup, for example, often is a critical piece to the number of runs a team scores, and their ability to win games. It can be said, therefore, that a team’s batting lineup depends upon statistical analysis and affects their ability to score runs, hit off certain pitchers, and avoid putting hitters in situations where they are likely to fail. The problem in baseball, like many of life’s situations, is that basing a decision on wrong assumptions can be disastrous. The batting lineup in baseball is a critical component. All aspects of the hitter and the opposing team’s pitcher must be considered when making out the lineup.... Research Question The research question for this problem would be: What batting lineup will prove the most effective against any one particular team? Data Collection To answer this question, there is a plethora of data the collected in order to assist in the statistical analysis that will lead to the formation of an effective batting order. To begin, the manager would need to collect various components of a player’s batting average. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, the following items: 1) A hitters overall batting average, 2) A hitters average with runners in scoring position, 3) A hitters average against right handed pitchers, 4) A hitters average against left handed pitchers, and 5) A hitters average against the specific opposing pitcher assigned to any one particular game (Albright, 1993, p. 1178). The data to be collected can be gathered by taking a look at a player’s combined batting averages over the course of a season. In today’s day and age , this is usually simplified with the use of technology. It is important to collect the data from one season only, as a hitters performance tends to fluctuate season by season, so their performance in previous years may not reflect on this current ability, or inability, to hit well against a particular pitcher this year (Talsma, 1999, p. 738). When thinking about much how much data is needed to solve this problem, more is definitely better. The more data that can be covered, in as many relevant areas as possible, the more benefit the statistical analysis can be to provide a manager with the accurate picture they need to assess player performance as the season progresses. Data Analysis It is not enough to simply collect a bunch of data related to hitting in baseball. The data must then be analyzed