88th Annual Meeting (20-24 January 2008)

Sunday, 20 January 2008
Correlation of meteorological variables and Major League Baseball home runs
Exhibit Hall B (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)
Benjamin J. Ogle, Millersville University, Millersville, PA; and R. A. Bayer, B. J. Edwards, S. R. Gindhart, L. C. Valentine, and A. N. Wallace
Our research examines correlations between game-time meteorological variables and home runs for the 2006 Major League Baseball season. The data were gathered for every open-air, Major League Baseball stadium throughout the season. The meteorological variables used in the analysis include: temperature, dew point, pressure, long-wind (toward center field) and cross-wind (left to right field) components. Home-run statistics include: home runs per at bat, home runs per hit, and the percentage of home runs to left, right, and center fields. Scatter plots were then constructed between combinations of the meteorological variables and home-run statistics for each stadium, and for all stadiums combined. Correlations between the meteorological variables and home runs were analyzed and were determined to be weak or nonexistent for this dataset. The variance in home-run statistics due to meteorological factors appears to be minimal.

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