Data Literacy Through Baseball: An Activity for Youth to Optimize Player Rosters

This article describes a hands-on, data-rich activity designed to foster data literacy among youth through the lens of baseball analytics. Grounded in the Growing Mathletes project, the “Build Your Own Baseball Roster” activity engages fourth- to eighth-grade youth in informal learning environments by challenging them to construct a nine-player Major League Baseball lineup under a fixed salary cap using real-world performance statistics and salary data. Youth work collaboratively to analyze data, make tradeoffs, and justify their decisions while developing mathematical reasoning, critical thinking, and teamwork skills in the process. Facilitators support learning through guided questioning and structured roles, encouraging youth to reflect on their decision-making biases, interpret complex metrics, and balance multiple data points. The activity highlights how culturally relevant contexts such as sports can make data meaningful and accessible, empowering youth to engage deeply with STEM concepts while building confidence in their ability to reason with data.