Law of large numbers

Toss
Heads or
number
Tails?
1

Name:
Total # of
heads

Percent of heads (total

# of heads/toss #)

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Do Catchers Wear Out?

A common claim in baseball is that catchers tend to wear down as the
season progresses because of the physical demands of the position. This
claim seems to have even more validity for catchers who rarely get time off
and who play in warm, humid climates.
In 1996, Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers exemplified these
conditions. He played in 153 of his teams 162 games (a very high proportion
for a catcher), and the heat and humidity in the Dallas area can be extremely
high for weeks at a time. It would seem reasonable to expect that his
ABILITY to hit would decrease toward the end of such a physically
challenging season.
During the seasons first five months (April-August), Ivan Rodriquez
had a batting average of 0.317 (170 hits in 536 at-bats), but in the last
month of the season (September) his batting average was only 0.214 (22
hits in 103 at-bats).
1. Make a bar chart to compare Rodriquezs PERFORMANCES in the first
five months with the last month of the 1996 season. Briefly describe
what you see.

2. Suppose that Rodriquezs ABILITY to get a hit in 1996 is actually 0.317.

Explain what ABILITY means in this context.

3. The dotplot given is a simulation of 100 trials of the 103 at bats he had
in September with an ABILITY of 0.317. Describe what information is
provided by the dotplot.

4. Based on the results of the simulation, does Rodriguezs actual

PERFORMANCE of 22 hits in 103 at-bats provide convincing evidence
that his ABILITY to get his decreased in September?

5. If we conclude that his ABILITY did go down in September, can we say

that the wear and tear of the season is the cause of the decline?