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| Lenny Polanco (right) helps students solve a math problem about the movement of a baseball bat. Mary Knox Merrill – staff  The Science of Baseball |
University offers 'Science of Baseball' class
The math and science of baseball can help improve your game.
By Amy Brittainfrom the August 14, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 2
Do you think that the only math involved in baseball is counting one, two, three strikes, and you're out? Don't tell that to a group of 24 Boston-area middle school boys enrolled in the "Science of Baseball" summer program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.
Their detailed homework problems – including equations and sketches of baseball field dimensions – suggest that math and science play quite a prominent role in America's favorite pastime.
The program devotes morning hours to math and science instruction and reserves the afternoon for on-the-field fun. Teachers double as coaches and encourage campers to sharpen their academic skills with methods beyond the usual chalkboard equations.
A typical morning's work may include calculating a player's batting average and using the ball's speed and angle to determine the trajectory of the ball.
"I've been so impressed with their willingness to challenge different topics," says program coordinator and former catcher for the Harvard University baseball team, Jason Larocque. "This is more than baseball skills. You show them how it relates [to math and science], and you hook them."
But coaches admit it's not that difficult to hook Boston students on anything baseball-related. Many campers don Boston Red Sox caps or T-shirts and talk about their favorite players. Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is a popular player among the middle-schoolers, and Mr. Larocque himself is a former Red Sox bullpen catcher.
All students receive "playbooks" that detail class lessons and expectations. But it's not just a book of equations and physics problems. It includes the history of baseball, as well as inspirational passages from Jackie Robinson – the first African-American to play in the modern major leagues – that speak of the sport's relevance to American culture.
To get kids in the spirit of things, baseball signals are used in class: A closed fist, which usually signals zero outs, prompts students to listen. Two fingers raised, or the two-out signal, indicates voices should be lowered to "dugout voices."
The lesson finalizing end-of-camp presentations finds one group of students examining the science behind Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's famed "gyroball" pitch. Coach Matt Borushko's group prepares a poster about the math behind base stealing. It shows that a simple equation can predict whether a catcher will be able to "throw out" a potential base stealer.
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