Covering Baseball like Climate Science
Amphibious vehicles were deployed when the Boston area was disrupted by a significant celebration in October 2007. Photo by Devin Ford, used under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.
What would stories about baseball look like if news organizations covered sports the way too many report on climate science? A speculation…
Boston Celebration Likely, Report Says
(Boston, October 23, 2018) The Boston Red Sox’s lead in the World Series has risen by one win, according to a report issued today by Major League Baseball.
The report says the Red Sox won the first game by 4 runs, though some baseball players question the accuracy of that evaluation. While an undetermined number of games must still be played before a champion is announced, this report means it is more likely that the Boston area will experience a significant celebration in the weeks to come.
The game was played in the influential baseball stadium Fenway Park and reviewed by Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires.
The MLB is an international organization established to coordinate the playing and evaluation of baseball games.
Chris Sale, a contributing lead player for the Red Sox, said after the game, “We really left it all out there on the field tonight. We gave a 110%.” Sale’s contribution to the game involved throwing the ball in highly precise ways.
Aaron Judge, a first baseman with the New York Yankees who was not involved in the game, said in an email, “Some impressive situational hitting. The Sox really put together good rallies.”
A rally involves multiple base hits in a row, leading to an increase in the score for one team at the expense of another. Judge has made base hits in umpire-reviewed games at Minute Maid Park, Camden Yards, and other leading stadiums.
“The Red Sox now hold a 1-0 lead in the World Series,” the MLB announced.
Other baseball players disagreed.
“They scored in less than half of the innings in the sample,” said Manny Machado, an infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. “And the Red Sox didn’t even bat in the bottom of the ninth inning. Who knows how that might have changed the score?” Machado noted that four of the last nine innings on record showed no increases in the Red Sox’s lead, while one inning actually had the Dodgers scoring more runs. “It’s awfully premature for them to claim a victory.”
Machado also questioned some of Sale’s calculations. “You can’t give more than 100%. That’s just basic math.”
John Smith, a fellow at the Heartland Institute said, “It’s just another example of Massachusetts watermelons distorting the game. They’re green monsters on the outside, but they have red socks underneath.”*
(*Correction, 10/24/2018: John Smith has never played baseball, though he attended four basketball games while in college.)
