Once upon a time, there was a young statistician named Sam who loved to play baseball. Sam was fascinated by numbers and loved to calculate the performance of different players. One day, while watching a baseball game, Sam noticed that the players' performance was measured using a statistic called the "Earned Run Average" (ERA).

The ERA is a ratio that compares the number of earned runs a pitcher gives up to the number of innings they've pitched. Sam was determined to understand this calculation, so he asked his teacher for help.

His teacher explained that the ERA was a decimal number and to calculate it, they needed to find the lowest common denominator. Sam was determined to understand this concept, so he worked hard and learned about decimals, ratios, and how to find the lowest common denominator.

After a few days of practice, Sam became an expert in finding the lowest common denominator and calculating the ERA. He then decided to calculate the ERA of all the players on his favorite team.

To his disappointment, he found that the team's ERA was abysmal, meaning it was extremely low and not good. Sam knew that he had to help the team improve their performance, so he shared his findings with the coach and offered his help.

The coach was impressed by Sam's knowledge and asked him to work with the team to improve their performance. Sam was over the moon, and he worked tirelessly with the players, helping them understand the importance of the ERA and how to improve it.

In no time, the team's ERA improved dramatically, and they started winning more games. Sam was hailed as a hero, and the players thanked him for his help. From that day on, Sam continued to use his skills as a statistician to help teams and players improve their performance.

The End.

Reflections

1. What was Sam's favorite thing to do?
2. What did Sam learn about while watching a baseball game?
3. How did Sam help the baseball team improve their performance?
4. What was the result of Sam's help to the team?
5. Can you explain what the "Earned Run Average" is?
6. What did Sam have to do to become an expert in calculating the ERA?
7. Why was Sam considered a hero by the players and the coach?
8. Can you think of another sport where statistics play an important role?
9. Why do you think it's important to understand statistics in sports?
10. Can you think of a real-life situation where calculating ratios and finding the lowest common denominator might be helpful?