In 2009 the American League’s New York Yankees won the World Series. The Yankees have played in a total of 40 World Series. Of those 40 appearances the Yankees have won 27 championships. Based solely on this data, what is the probability that the New York Yankees will represent the American League in the 2010 World Series and win the championship? Express your answer as a common fraction.
To calculate the probability, we need to consider the number of times the Yankees won the championship and appeared in the World Series out of the total number of World Series played.
Given that the Yankees have played in 40 World Series and have won 27 championships, we can find the probability of them representing the American League in the 2010 World Series and winning the championship.
To find the probability of both events happening, we multiply the probabilities of each event occurring individually.
1. Probability of the Yankees representing the American League in the 2010 World Series:
Since we don't have any information specific to the 2010 season, we assume that each team in the American League has an equal chance of reaching the World Series. There are 30 teams in the American League, so the probability of the Yankees representing the American League would be 1/30.
2. Probability of the Yankees winning the championship:
The Yankees have won 27 out of 40 World Series they have played. So the probability of them winning the championship would be 27/40.
Now we multiply these probabilities together:
(1/30) * (27/40) = 27/1200
Simplifying the fraction, we get the final answer:
27/1200 is the probability, which cannot be further simplified.
So, based solely on the given data, the probability that the New York Yankees will represent the American League in the 2010 World Series and win the championship is 27/1200.