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Old 08-01-2007, 03:12 PM
shemp shemp is offline
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Default Re: Settle this Baseball Argument

[ QUOTE ]
If it's the 9th, you'll win 69.6% of the time. If you swing away in the 9th, you'll win 71.5% of the time. So, clearly swinging away is better in most situations in the 9th, nothing else known about the skill of the hitter, the pitcher, the defense, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

The flaw in the reasoning (as you've presented it) is that it was assumed that the people who bunted and failed 30.4% of the time would have failed at the same rate if they were hitting away as those who swung away and failed 28.5%-- they may have been selected to bunt because their skill set and the match up indicated a higher failure rate at swinging away. (This isn't a new thought for this thread, btw. It just indicates that that stat and argument doesn't clearly establish anything.)
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