Harrelson News–2000


Who Has The Better Batting Average?

Suppose we have two baseball players, Babe and Hank. In the first half of the season Babe bats .350 and Hank bats ..325, while in the second half of t he season Babe bats .250 and Hank bats .180. The total number of at bats is the same for each player. Does it follow that Babe has a better batting average for the season than Hank? Perhaps surprisingly the answer may be NO! The following table indicates a situation where Hank has a better batting average than Babe.

 Babe Hank
Hits At Bats Average Hits At Bats Average
First Half 35 100 0.350  130 400 0.325
Second Half 100 400 0.250  18 100 0.180
Season 135 500 0.270  148 500 0.296