Exploring Power and Speed in Baseball (UMAP)

In this module students will: 1) use basic tools of Exploratory Data Analysis; 2) compare similar data sets with respect to variability and median average; 3) determine if paired data indicates a relationship between two data sets; 4) discriminate informally between two populations; 5) gain some understanding of the term outlier; and 6) appreciate the need to explore data before employing formal confirmatory analysis.

Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION
The Home Run Controversy of 1987
Exploratory Data Analysis

EXPLORING A SINGLE DATA SET
Team Home Run Totals for 1986
Stem-and-leaf Plots and Histograms
Chopped Data
Depth, the Median, and Quartiles
Summary Tables
The Range and the Interquartile Range
The Box Plot
Outliers
Team Stolen Base Totals for 1986

EXPLORING COMPARISONS BETWEEN DATA SETS
Comparing Home Run Totals
Comparing Stolen Base Totals
Comparing the Leagues

EXPLORING LARGER DATA SETS
Player Data
Player Home Run Totals
Should You Teach Your Child to Switch-hit?

CONCLUDING REMARKS

SOLUTIONS TO THE EXERCISES

REFERENCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR