IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/jqsprt/v5y2009i1n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Importance of Teammate Fit: Frescoball Example

Author

Listed:
  • Oliver Dean

    (Basketball on Paper)

  • Fienen Mike N

    (University of Wisconsin - Madison)

Abstract

The concept of teammates whose skills `fit' together is explored through frescoball, the beach paddleball game with two people hitting a ball back and forth trying to keep it in the air. This simple game can be analyzed through Markov Chains to obtain the expected number of hits between the two players as a function of two skills, which we label as `athleticism' and `consistency.' Using this theoretical model and conceptual values of parameters, we examine various combinations where the complementarity of skills between teammates enhances the performance of the team. Given the conceptual model of team performance commonly used in sports analysis - that the sum of player ability equals team performance - we look at how such a conceptual model mismatches team performance, leaving the difference as `fit' of teammates. We choose three examples to illustrate characteristics of fit, particularly where player marginal value varies depending on who they are paired with. Further, simulating 50-player leagues where player movement is simulated by keeping players together if the team is successful and moving them if not, we show how estimates of `fit' and player ability can be confounded. Ultimately, we seek to frame the discussion on teammate `fit,' for which there is no attempt to quantify in sports literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Oliver Dean & Fienen Mike N, 2009. "Importance of Teammate Fit: Frescoball Example," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-30, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:bpj:jqsprt:v:5:y:2009:i:1:n:1
    DOI: 10.2202/1559-0410.1098
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2202/1559-0410.1098
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2202/1559-0410.1098?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David J. Berri & Martin B. Schmidt & Stacey L. Brook, 2004. "Stars at the Gate," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 5(1), pages 33-50, February.
    2. Krautmann, Anthony C, 1999. "What's Wrong with Scully-Estimates of a Player's Marginal Revenue Product," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(2), pages 369-381, April.
    3. Scully, Gerald W, 1974. "Pay and Performance in Major League Baseball," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(6), pages 915-930, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pelnar, Gregory, 2007. "Antitrust Analysis of Sports Leagues," MPRA Paper 5382, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Jadrian J. Wooten & Dustin R. White, 2018. "An In-Class Experiment to Teach Marginal Revenue Product Using the Baseball Labor Market and Moneyball," Journal of Economics Teaching, Journal of Economics Teaching, vol. 3(1), pages 115-133, May.
    3. Michael A. Roach, 2018. "Testing Labor Market Efficiency Across Position Groups in the NFL," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(8), pages 1093-1121, December.
    4. Paul Gift, 2020. "Moving the Needle in MMA: On the Marginal Revenue Product of UFC Fighters," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 21(2), pages 176-209, February.
    5. Michael Lewis & Yeujun Yoon, 2018. "An Empirical Examination of the Development and Impact of Star Power in Major League Baseball," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(2), pages 155-187, February.
    6. Stacey L. Brook, 2021. "A Comparison of NCAA FBS Head Coaches Salary Determination From New and Modified Contracts," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(5), pages 491-513, June.
    7. Roberto Pedace & Curtis M. Hall, 2012. "Home Safe: No-Trade Clauses and Player Salaries in Major League Baseball," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 627-644, July.
    8. John Charles Bradbury, 2007. "Does the Baseball Labor Market Properly Value Pitchers?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 8(6), pages 616-632, December.
    9. John D. Burger & Stephen J. K. Walters, 2008. "The Existence and Persistence of a Winner's Curse: New Evidence from the (Baseball) Field," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(1), pages 232-245, July.
    10. James Alm & William H. Kaempfer & Edward Batte Sennoga, 2012. "Baseball Salaries and Income Taxes," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(6), pages 619-634, December.
    11. Babatunde Buraimo & David Forrest & Robert Simmons, 2007. "Freedom of Entry, Market Size, and Competitive Outcome: Evidence from English Soccer," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(1), pages 204-213, July.
    12. Thomas Zimmerfaust, 2018. "Are Workers Willing To Pay To Join A Better Team?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1278-1295, April.
    13. Trung Minh Dang & Ross Booth & Robert Brooks & Adi Schnytzer, 2015. "Do TV Viewers Value Uncertainty of Outcome? Evidence from the Australian Football League," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 91(295), pages 523-535, December.
    14. Kevin Caves & Ted Tatos & Augustus Urschel, 2022. "Are the Lowest-Paid UFC Fighters Really Overpaid? A Comment on Gift (2019)," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 23(3), pages 355-365, April.
    15. Haupert, Michael & Murray, James, 2011. "Regime Switching and Wages in Major League Baseball under the Reserve Clause," MPRA Paper 29094, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Peter von Allmen & Michael A . Leeds & Brad R. Humphreys, 2011. "Sports Economics as Applied Microeconomics," Chapters, in: Gail M. Hoyt & KimMarie McGoldrick (ed.), International Handbook on Teaching and Learning Economics, chapter 64, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Anthony C. Krautmann & Elizabeth Gustafson & Lawrence Hadley, 2003. "A Note on the Structural Stability of Salary Equations," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 4(1), pages 56-63, February.
    18. Joseph Kuehn, 2017. "Accounting For Complementary Skill Sets: Evaluating Individual Marginal Value To A Team In The National Basketball Association," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(3), pages 1556-1578, July.
    19. Jin Lee & Young Hoon Lee, 2021. "Development of a Win Production Function and Evaluation of Cross-Sectional Dependence," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 412-431, May.
    20. Anthony C. Krautmann, 2013. "What Is Right With Scully Estimates of a Player’s Marginal Revenue Product," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 14(1), pages 97-105, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:jqsprt:v:5:y:2009:i:1:n:1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.