The box score is the catechism of baseball, ready to surrender its truth to the knowing eye.
—Stanley Cohen, The Man in the Crowd
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03 April 2019
In the second, third, and fourth box scores appearing in this paper, the number for LOB (left on base) for Mudville should be 6, not 4.
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“The Entertainer,” Mathematical Intelligencer 40 (2018), no. 2, 76–80.
See, for example, joekisenwether.wordpress.com/non-chess-retrograde-analysis/.
We’re keeping things simple here. In general, there are five circumstances in which an at bat is not a plate appearance: a walk, being hit by a pitch, a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly, and fielder obstruction. When any of these occur, they are recorded in the box score.
Ike can’t pass other runners. That’s a rule.
The only other misplays besides errors and passed balls are “catcher interference” and “fielder obstruction.”
On an uncaught third strike, the batter is allowed to run if first base is unoccupied or if there are two outs, in which case running is always permitted. Weirdly, when this happens, the pitcher is recorded as having achieved a strikeout even though the runner isn’t out!
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This is a column about the mathematical structures that give us pleasure. Usefulness is irrelevant. Significance, depth, even truth are optional. If something appears in this column, it’s because it’s intriguing, or lovely, or just fun. Moreover, it is so intended.
Jim Henle, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Burton Hall, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063, USA. e-mail: pleasingmath@gmail.com
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Butters, J., Henle, J. Baseball Retrograde Analysis. Math Intelligencer 40, 71–76 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00283-018-9846-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00283-018-9846-y