Monday, July 22, 2002

Mathematical analysis of optimal batting order: Mathematician Bruce Bukiet has determined that baseball managers should place their best hitter 2nd in the lineup, not 4th. And the worst batter (usually the pitcher in the NL) should be 7th or 8th, not 9th. Here's why. According to his calculations, optimizing the batting order could swing as many as ten games in a typical major league team's season.