The professional baseball season lasts from early April to the end of September. This table shows the batting averages of one team's entire infield. Listed are the batting averages at the end of April and at the end of the season along with each player's career average. Each player's end-of-season average is much closer to his lifetime average than his April average. What is a good explanation for this?

A) As the season goes on, the players wear down and their average drops.

B) As the season goes on, the players get re-accustomed to playing and their average rises.

C) The number of at-bats (trials) for each player is small at the end of April and not statistically meaningful.

D) Fans, management, and media let a player know when his performance differs from what is expected and the player adjusts his performance accordingly.

Question

Mathematics

Hugh Osborne

9 September, 01:46

The professional baseball season lasts from early April to the end of September. This table shows the batting averages of one team's entire infield. Listed are the batting averages at the end of April and at the end of the season along with each player's career average. Each player's end-of-season average is much closer to his lifetime average than his April average. What is a good explanation for this?

A) As the season goes on, the players wear down and their average drops.

B) As the season goes on, the players get re-accustomed to playing and their average rises.

C) The number of at-bats (trials) for each player is small at the end of April and not statistically meaningful.

D) Fans, management, and media let a player know when his performance differs from what is expected and the player adjusts his performance accordingly.

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Answers (1)

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Case Ryan · Answer 1

C seems like the most mathematically correct answer. If baseball season started in April, the April results aren't going to be statistically meaningful, because it is such a small time-frame. However, at the end of the season, there is a lot more data so that an average can be accurately calculated for each player, and this average is likely going to be closer to their lifetime average.