TD 251: Midsummer Classic- [Final Standings Posted]

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

Welcome to TD 251: Midsummer Classic, a TD that's going to play like a baseball game, but fortunately for all of you non-baseball fans, deep knowledge of baseball trivia is not a requirement to play!

In baseball, teams try to prevent scoring in one half of an inning, and try to score in the other half of the inning. This game will play similarly. This game will consist of 9 questions (innings), but each inning will have a top half and a bottom half. In the top half of the inning, you are on defense, so want to minimize the runs you "give up" by coming up with the most unique answer (like a traditional Think Different question). In the bottom half of the inning, you are on offense, so you want to score a lot of runs by picking the most popular answer (like in a Match Game). The player with the greatest run differential at the end of nine innings will be the MVP of the Midsummer Classic. Other awards may also be given.

To try to put it simply: In the top half of the inning, singletons are good, sheep are bad. In the bottom half of the inning, sheep are good, singletons are bad.

Scores themselves will also be a little different from the norm, and will be based on rank, with the "best" answer giving up the fewest runs in the top of an inning, and scoring the most runs in the bottom half of the inning. For example, if in the top half of an inning there are 3 different answers given, anyone who gave the least popular answer(s) would "give up" 0 runs, players who gave the middle answer would give up 1 run, and players who gave the most popular answer (sheep) would give up 2 runs. Conversely, in the bottom half of the inning, you want to give the most popular answer, and will score runs instead of giving up runs. The worst answer(s) in the bottom half of an inning will score 0 runs, and scores will progress for the more popular answers.

Wrong answers will be 4 runs worse than the worst correct answer for that half of the inning, either 4 more or 4 less depending upon whether it is the top half or bottom half of an inning.

You can use ONE of the following two save options in one half-inning some time during the game: Use a RELIEF PITCHER in the top half of any inning to get a 0 in that half of the inning, or use a PINCH HITTER in the bottom half of any inning to get the same score as the highest scorers in that half of the inning. If you attempt to use more than one save option, only the first one will be counted, and any after that will be counted as wrong answers.

The first tiebreaker will be ERA, aka fewest points scored in the top halves (the ones played TD-style) of all innings combined. Second tiebreaker will be order of entry.

As usual, you are not allowed to use any outside references to help answer these questions. Your only allowable resource is the information in your own head. You may use paper and a writing utensil to help you work out your answer for questions if desired.

Please (Please, Please, Please) submit your answers via this Google Form.

The deadline for answers will be Monday, July 13, 2015 at 1:00pm Central Time.

The Questions (note that the questions, without the witty banter, can also be found in the Google Form.)

1. The Star Spangled Banner: Everyone should know that the 50 stars on the US flag represent the 50 states, right? Name a state admitted to the Union between 1800 and 1865. (20 correct answers)
Top of the 1st: Think Different
Bottom of the 1st: Match Game
2. Oh! Canada!: So our Canadian friends don’t feel excluded. Name a Canadian province, or a city that is a capital of a Canadian province. (20 correct answers)
Top of the 2nd: Think Different
Bottom of the 2nd: Match Game
3. Play Ball: Give a word found in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary besides “walk” that is 3- 5 letters long and ends in the letters “lk”. (22 answers that I have identified)
Top of the 3rd: Think Different
Bottom of the 3rd: Match Game
4. Baseball: Name a player who has won either the National League or American League batting Triple Crown, or a horse that has won the American horse racing triple crown. (26 correct answers)
Top of the 4th: Think Different
Bottom of the 4th: Match Game
5. Hot Dogs: On their website, the American Kennel Club describes the Sporting dog group like this: “Naturally active and alert, Sporting dogs make likeable, well-rounded companions. <next sentence redacted to retain some mystery> Remarkable for their instincts in water and woods, many of these breeds actively continue to participate in hunting and other field activities. Potential owners of Sporting dogs need to realize that most require regular, invigorating exercise.” Name a breed listed by the AKC in the Sporting group. (29 correct answers)
Top of the 5th: Think Different
Bottom of the 5th: Match Game
6. Apple Pie: Name one of the top 19 apple varieties grown in the United States. (by number of bushels grown, US Apple Association, 2011)
Top of the 6th: Think Different
Bottom of the 6th: Match Game
7. Chevrolet: Name a current (2015) model of Chevrolet car, crossover, SUV or truck sold in the US. (16 correct answers)
Top of the 7th: Think Different
Bottom of the 7th: Match Game
8. Kiss Cam: Name one of the pictured people, first and last name please.(18 correct answers)
Top of the 8th: Think Different
Bottom of the 8th: Match Game

9. Beer Man!: Name one of the 20 most popular beer brands in the US in 2014 by $ in sales (according to data compiled by ICI Marketing) .
Top of the 9th: Think Different
Bottom of the 9th: Match Game

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

Clarifications:

4th inning: I am looking for batting triple crown winners (leading the league in batting average, homeruns and RBI), not pitching triple crown winners.

8th inning: Only name ONE PERSON.

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

List of players (47):

MarkBarrett
9021amyers
DadofTwins
Abraxas
Gamawire
immaf
geolawyerman
quarterrican
Category 13
Ryno
Vermonter
Caboom
ElendilPickle
patkav
mennoknight
dott888
MitchO
nklotz
dnbguy
Blue Lion
Woof
Peggles
Rackme32
mahatma
jpsultan
brick
squizzle
clprez
Peachbox
Bamaman
PowerofHoodoo
econgator
jjwaymee
J-Wife
coolcah36
BobF
sillymonkey
whatisbishkek
Magna
tjconn728
ouachiouat
BigDaddyMatty
barandall800
dragonscale333
colonialrampage
Vanya
schoe

[immaf]

So, for each question, we are to provide a guess as to the least popular answer AND the most popular answer?

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

So, for each question, we are to provide a guess as to the least popular answer AND the most popular answer?

Yes. In the top half of each inning, you are trying not to match anyone. In the bottom half of the inning, you are trying to match everyone. The answers for each half of the inning will be counted separately.

[goforthetie]

So if 1 player answers X and 49 players answer Y, the 1 player gets 0 runs and the 49 players get 1 run? Whereas, if 1 player answers X, 2 players answer Y, 3 players answer Z, 4 players answer W, 5 players answer V, 6 players answer U, 7 players answer T, 8 players answer S, and 14 players answer R, then the 14 players answering R get 8 runs? This makes little sense to me.

You also haven't said what happens when answers tie.

[9021amyers]

Question about the 9th inning (which won't help me in any way, as I made an error-filled submission while half-asleep overnight): are the beers ranked on that list necessarily American-brewed, or does the list include imports as well?

[immaf]

Are "Beer" and "Beer Lite" counted as different answers?

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

So if 1 player answers X and 49 players answer Y, the 1 player gets 0 runs and the 49 players get 1 run? Whereas, if 1 player answers X, 2 players answer Y, 3 players answer Z, 4 players answer W, 5 players answer V, 6 players answer U, 7 players answer T, 8 players answer S, and 14 players answer R, then the 14 players answering R get 8 runs? This makes little sense to me.

That is correct for the top half of the inning. Players answering R "give up" 8 runs because they selected the 9th least popular answer.
If this were a bottom half of an inning, players answering R would score 8 runs because they selected the most popular answer. If the 1 player had selected X in the bottom half of the inning, that player would have scored 0 runs in the bottom half.

Since you have correctly stated the way that the scoring will work, I will assume that your statement "This makes little sense to me" is referring to your distaste for the scoring method? My intent with scoring this way is mostly to prevent 1 bad answer from totally ruining someone's chances of winning (but partially just to do something different).

You also haven't said what happens when answers tie.

Tied answers will score the same number of runs, but if, for example, 2 answers tie, 1 rank will be skipped, e.g., if 2 answers tie for first, they will both be scored as a first place answer, and the next best answer will be scored as a 3rd place answer. So taking your original example and modifying it slightly:

If, in the top half of an inning, 1 player answers X, 1 player answers Y, 1 player answers Z, 4 players answer W, 5 players answer V, 6 players answer U, 7 players answer T, 8 players answer S, and 14 players answer R:
*Players who answered X, Y and Z would all give up 0 runs,
*The players who answered W would give up 3 runs (since W was the 4th best answer),
*The players who answered V would give up 4 runs, etc.

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

Question about the 9th inning (which won't help me in any way, as I made an error-filled submission while half-asleep overnight): are the beers ranked on that list necessarily American-brewed, or does the list include imports as well?

There are import names on the list. I can't state for certain where the beers were actually brewed, since some brands are brewed in several different countries. The sales are referring to US sales.

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

Are "Beer" and "Beer Lite" counted as different answers?

Yes. The question is brand specific, and "Beer" and "Beer Lite" are considered different brands for this question.

[BigDaddyMatty]

9. Beer Man!: Name one of the 20 most popular beer brands in the US in 2014 by $ in sales (according to data compiled by ICI Marketing) .

Everybody knows you can't buy beer after the 7th inning.

[MitchO]

I'm assuming that, in a jolt of extreme desperation, we are technically allowed to use the same answer for the top and the bottom of an inning?

[Bamaman]

I like the scoring system. I love that a wrong answer when you are batting gives you -4 runs. (I assume this is correct).

[goforthetie]

So if 1 player answers X and 49 players answer Y, the 1 player gets 0 runs and the 49 players get 1 run? Whereas, if 1 player answers X, 2 players answer Y, 3 players answer Z, 4 players answer W, 5 players answer V, 6 players answer U, 7 players answer T, 8 players answer S, and 14 players answer R, then the 14 players answering R get 8 runs? This makes little sense to me.

That is correct for the top half of the inning. Players answering R "give up" 8 runs because they selected the 9th least popular answer.
If this were a bottom half of an inning, players answering R would score 8 runs because they selected the most popular answer. If the 1 player had selected X in the bottom half of the inning, that player would have scored 0 runs in the bottom half.

Since you have correctly stated the way that the scoring will work, I will assume that your statement "This makes little sense to me" is referring to your distaste for the scoring method? My intent with scoring this way is mostly to prevent 1 bad answer from totally ruining someone's chances of winning (but partially just to do something different).

Yes, I think this scoring system is poorly designed.

Let's talk about the top, think-different half for a moment. Let's say that 20 answers are doubletons and one answer is a tripleton. Then the three players get 20 points, a massive hit. OTOH, if 1 answer is a singleton and all 49 other players give the same answer, then the 49 players get a very tiny penalty of one point. Hitting a 49-person sheep clearly should not be better than hitting a tripleton when almost all other players are at doubletons.

Or, one could argue this way. Let's say the answer distribution goes 1, 1, 3, 5, 17. Scores are 0, 0, 2, 3, 4. But now the 17 players who gave the sheep answer would be better off relative to everyone else if one of the singleton answerers switched to the sheep answer, since then the scores would be 0, (n/a), 1, 2, 3. This is backwards!

If you want to limit the penalty of one really bad sheep answer, there are much better ways of doing it.

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

I'm assuming that, in a jolt of extreme desperation, we are technically allowed to use the same answer for the top and the bottom of an inning?

Yes, this is allowable. As you infer, might not be great strategically (but strange things happen in this game, so who knows), but if you can only come up with 1 correct answer to the question, answering the same answer for both halves of the inning may be your only option.

[MitchO]

Thanks. There are currently two questions I only have a single answer for, so I'm considering the options of "maybe answer" vs the "same top/bottom". I also have some time to let it rattle around in my brain, so we'll see if it comes to that.

[Vermonter]

Given that it is a new approach to the game, I think it's fair to give the scoring format a try. MrKid can always run the scoring in different ways at the end (as I did with TD 248) to see which might be best in hindsight. If the scoring is unfair, it is unfair equally for everyone at the outset.

For my last TD, I was toying with a "mixed" format like this. The Match Game component would have set the SHEEP score to 0, and all other scores equal to SHEEP responses minus these responses.

For example, in the "Match Game" segment, these answers:
Alpha – 6
Bravo – 4
Charlie – 9
Delta – 3
Echo – 5

would have yielded a minimum of 0 (for Charlie) and a maximum of 6 (for Delta).

[9021amyers]

[brick]

Question about Pinch Hitter scoring. Suppose the highest scoring answer is RED and 9 people say RED, and 4 people say Pinch Hitter. Is RED worth 9 points or 13 points?