Do the math

Found this quiz created Prof. Stephen R. Shalom from the William Paterson University via a link on the Mental Floss blog. Enjoy. There was a question about football, but I removed it as per my “mission statement.”

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These are not your standard sports trivia questions. To answer these you’ll need to know only the rules of the game and apply logic.

What is the fewest number of runs that can be scored in a half inning of baseball in which 15 officially scored errors occur?
What are the most balls (that is, pitches called by the umpire as balls) that can be called in one scoreless half inning of baseball?
What are the most strikes that can be recorded in one scoreless half inning of baseball? (A foul ball when a batter already has two strikes is not recorded as a strike.)
What is the fewest number of pitches that can be thrown in a regulation baseball game, not called on account of rain, in which neither team forfeits, and in which no players are declared out for such things as batting out of order or insulting the umpire?
In a single half inning of baseball, a team hits four triples, a double, and a single, but not a single run scores. How could this be?

(KK Note: This is why I can’t be trusted with numbers. I was only close on one answer.)

Answers:

1. 0. A runner can get on base and then be the subject of 15 pick-off attempts, each one failing because a fielder drops the ball. The fielder is charged with an error each time even though the runner doesn’t advance. Likewise, dropped foul pops count as errors, though no one reaches base.

2. 23. Three players walk (4 balls x 3 = 12), two are picked off, two more players walk (4 x 2 = 8), and the next player gets three balls before getting out.

3. 18. A batter swings at a third strike and the catcher drops the ball, the batter reaching first. The batter then steals second (leaving first open, since you can’t go to first on a dropped third strike unless first base is open) and the next batter also gets to first on a dropped third strike. The runners then execute a double steal, advancing to second and third and again leaving first open. The next batter reaches on a dropped third strike, loading the bases. The next three batters strike out.

4. 52. One pitch per out for 8 1/2 innings = 17 x 3 = 51. But at least one run must be scored if the game is to end, therefore, one more pitch is needed for a homerun for the hometeam in one of the first eight innings.

5. The first batter hits a triple and is picked off base. The same happens to the second batter. The third batter hits a triple. The next batter hits a double with the runner on third not advancing (going back to tag up, but then the ball drops in – you get the idea). The next batter bunts and gets to first when the fielders hold the runners. Now with bases loaded and two outs, the next batter hits a ball into the left field corner. The runner from third pulls a hamstring and slowly limps toward home; the runners from second and first round third and are waiting behind their injured teammate. The batter gets to third, the ball is gotten back to the infield, and the runner who began on first is tagged out. Since no one crossed home plate before the out, no runs scored. Since the runner from first was not forced out, the batter is still credited with getting a triple.