math in the news: issue 62

Math in the News

The Washington Nationals

After decades, Washington, DC, has a baseball team in the playoffs. The Washington Nationals, after only eight seasons of being in DC are in the playoffs.

While the Nationals are not a new franchise (they used to be the Montreal Expos), they are still an example of new-team success.

In this issue we look at successful new franchises.

Math in the News

This chart shows the games won and lost for the National. Since their fourth year, they’ve been on a steady run toward the playoffs.SOURCE: http://www.baseball-reference.com

Math in the News

How dramatic is this? As the Montreal Expos, the last time they were in the playoffs was 1981!

Math in the News

Now let’s look at another team with early success, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Math in the News

From their start to this season they’ve been in the post-season five times and won the World Series once.

Math in the NewsInvestigate the data for the Miami Marlins using the Web site http://www.baseball-reference.com•Collect the data.•Create a double bar graph.•Highlight the bars that show the team’s playoff appearances.

What can you conclude about the success of new franchises?

Math in the NewsPart of the reason for new-franchise success is the so-called Expansion Draft. The newly formed teams can cull players from existing teams.Think about this: •How would culling players affect the team statistics of the team culled and the new team?•How could this account for new-team success?