Q:

The professional baseball season lasts from early April to the end of September. This table shows the batting averages of one team’s entire infield. Listed are the batting averages at the end of April and at the end of the season along with each player’s career average. Each player’s end-of-season average is much closer to his lifetime average than his April average. What is a good explanation for this?A)As the season goes on, the players wear down and their average drops. EliminateB)As the season goes on, the players get re-accustomed to playing and their average rises. C)The number of at-bats (trials) for each player is small at the end of April and not statistically meaningful. D)Fans, management, and media let a player know when his performance differs from what is expected and the player adjusts his performance accordingly.

Accepted Solution

A:
The correct answer is Choice C: The number of at-bats for each player is small at the end of April and not statistically meaningful.

When the number of trials is small, there is a greater chance for variance in the data. We get a more reliable value as the number of trials increases.