Related papers: The hardest-hit home run?
Ranking sportsmen whose careers took place in different eras is often a contentious issue and the topic of much debate. In this paper we focus on cricket and examine what conclusions may be drawn about the ranking of Test batsmen using data…
The problem of determining the angle at which a point mass launched from ground level with a given speed is a standard exercise in mechanics. Similar, yet conceptually and calculationally more difficult problems have been suggested to…
The problem of the longest head run was introduced and solved by Abraham de Moivre in the second edition of his book Doctrine of Chances (de Moivre, 1738). The closed-form solution as a finite sum involving binomial coefficients was…
Batting average is one of the principle performance measures for an individual baseball player. It is natural to statistically model this as a binomial-variable proportion, with a given (observed) number of qualifying attempts (called…
The field of quantitative analytics has transformed the world of sports over the last decade. To date, these analytic approaches are statistical at their core, characterizing what is and what was, while using this information to drive…
The purpose of this research is to create a machine learning-based smart coaching approach for football that can replace manual analysis with real-time feedback for trainers. In-depth analysis of football player data by humans is…
Mis\`ere games in general have little algebraic structure, but if the games under consideration have properties then some algebraic structure re-appears. In 2023, the class of Blocking games was identified. Mis\`ere Cricket Pitch was…
In his 1972 book Science At the Crossroads, Helbert Dingle attacked the consistency of special relativity through a fallacious argument championed by the crank community even to this day. Dingle's affair is a curious chapter in the history…
Sports are a popular and effective way to illustrate physics principles. Baseball in particular presents a number of opportunities to motivate student interest and teach concepts. Several articles have appeared in this journal on this…
A common problem faced in statistical inference is drawing conclusions from paired comparisons, in which two objects compete and one is declared the victor. A probabilistic approach to such a problem is the Bradley-Terry model, first…
A classic problem of the motion of a projectile thrown at an angle to the horizon is studied. Air resistance force is taken into account with the use of the quadratic resistance law. The projectile motion is described analytically with…
Can one understand the statistics of wins and losses of baseball teams? Are their consecutive-game winning and losing streaks self-reinforcing or can they be described statistically? We apply the Bradley-Terry model, which incorporates the…
Quarterback performance can be difficult to rank, and much effort has been spent in creating new rating systems. However, the input statistics for such ratings are subject to randomness and factors outside the quarterback's control. To…
From 2020 to 2023, Major League Baseball changed rules affecting team composition, player positioning, and game time. Understanding the effects of these rules is crucial for leagues, teams, players, and other relevant parties to assess…
In modern physical education, data-driven evaluation methods have gradually attracted attention, especially the quantitative prediction of students' sports performance through machine learning model. The purpose of this study is to use a…
There is a long standing debate over how to objectively compare the career achievements of professional athletes from different historical eras. Developing an objective approach will be of particular importance over the next decade as Major…
Clearly-defined rules are often assumed to be straightforward to automate and evaluate. We challenge this assumption through an in-depth study of Major League Baseball's (MLB) seven-year experimentation with the Automated Ball-Strike System…
In this paper, we examine team ball sports to investigate how the likelihood of weaker teams winning against stronger ones, referred to as underdog achievement, is influenced by inherent randomness factors that affect match outcomes in such…
Professional baseball players are increasingly guaranteed expensive long-term contracts, with over 70 deals signed in excess of \$90 million, mostly in the last decade. These are substantial sums compared to a typical franchise valuation of…
A ball can be hit faster if it is projected without spin but it can be hit farther if it is projected with backspin. Measurements are presented in this paper of the tradeoff between speed and spin for a baseball impacting a baseball bat.…