Baseball Analyst: Since the 2000 season, the average number of strikeo

Dear emmafoster,

I'm happy to respond.

I will say that, within Magoosh, we discontinued this question, because answering it correctly at least may depend on some general knowledge about baseball, and for someone who, for whatever reason, knows absolutely nothing about baseball, this question could be construed as unfair. The GMAT would not do this to students.

A couple salient baseball facts of which you may or may not be aware. The pitcher throws the ball that the batter is trying to hit, so they are, in some sense, adversaries: the pitcher is trying to get the hitter to miss the ball or not to hit it well, and the batter is trying to hit is well. They have directly antithetical purposes with one another.

The core argument is that the pitchers have an advantage here because they have some extra knowledge about the batters, their adversaries. This knowledge comes from watching the videos. Knowledge is always power, and this power gives them an advantage in this athletic confrontation.

Now, let's look at (D) & (E).
(D) Most batters also watch video of each and every pitcher, learning to detect what pitches he throws and how he releases each pitch.
The prompt argument is that the pitcher's big advantage is the knowledge he has of the batter. Well, if the batter also has knowledge of the pitcher, then that seems as if it might cancel out the pitcher's advantage. It certainly doesn't strengthen the argument, because the pitcher's adversary gets the same kind of advantage that the pitcher has.
Suppose the prompt were about Company F and Company G, two rival companies, and the prompt argument said that Company F had a clear advantage over Company G because Company F has XYZ, some amazing benefit or strength. Well, if one of the choices tells us that Company G also has XYZ, that would seem to take away the reason that Company F had any advantage. That would be a weakener.
This choice is similar to that. This may be a weakener, but it certainly is NOT a strengthen, so it is wrong.

(E) Catchers and pitching coaches watch the same video that pitchers watch, and they are in a position to advise pitchers on different batters throughout the game.
Think about it. Suppose I need to know some collection of facts to do my job well. Well, if I just have to have all these facts in my head by myself and can only depend on myself, then that could be hard: especially under pressure, it's hard to remember everything one needs to know. It's an extraordinary advantage if I have helpers or colleagues who can support me, helping me to remember what I need to know, helpers who have my back in a pressure situation That's huge! That makes it much more like that, at the crucial moment of action, I will have all the knowledge I need.
The fact that the catcher and pitching coach have all this knowledge also and can remind the pitcher during the course of the game makes it much more likely that the pitcher won't forget or get confused, and therefore much more likely that he will be able to retain and apply the knowledge that gives him a competitive advantage.
This is a strengthener, and this is the OA.

Does this make sense?
Mike