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Was There a Structural Break in Barry Bonds's Bat?

Author

Listed:
  • Nieswiadomy Michael L.

    (University of North Texas)

  • Strazicich Mark C.

    (Appalachian State University)

  • Clayton Stephen

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas)

Abstract

In a recent paper, Fair (2008) utilizes monthly data on on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) to estimate the expected age profile of batting performance in Major League Baseball (MLB) and finds a peak performance at 27.6 years. However, he notes that a small group of 18 players have age-performance profiles that deviate significantly from the expected profile, most notably Barry Bonds. In this paper, we extend the work of Fair (2008) by investigating the time series properties of Bonds’s OPS to test for a deterministic or stochastic trend and to search for structural breaks. While Bonds’s performance is above average, we should not expect that deviations in his age-performance profile from that of the typical batter should contain a deterministic trend. In our investigation, we utilize unit root tests that estimate breaks using monthly data from 1986 to 2007. We find that Bonds’s OPS deviations follow a deterministic trend with two structural breaks. In particular, we find that Bonds’s OPS follows a positive trend to the age of 28.9 (June 1993), which coincides closely with the expected peak performance age. Following this, we find that Bonds’s OPS was on a plateau until a second break in September 2000. At this point, at the age of 36.1, Bonds’s OPS increases unexpectedly and then declines thereafter until his retirement in September 2007 at age 43.

Suggested Citation

  • Nieswiadomy Michael L. & Strazicich Mark C. & Clayton Stephen, 2012. "Was There a Structural Break in Barry Bonds's Bat?," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, De Gruyter, vol. 8(3), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:jqsprt:v:8:y:2012:i:3:n:6
    DOI: 10.1515/1559-0410.1305
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    Cited by:

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    2. Peter A. Groothuis & Kurt W. Rotthoff & Mark C. Strazicich, 2017. "Structural Breaks in the Game," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(6), pages 622-637, August.
    3. Mark C. Strazicich & Peter A. Groothuis & Tiberiu S.V. Ungureanu, 2024. "A Rising Tide Raises all Boats: The changing distribution of salaries in the NBA over time," Working Papers 24-20, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
    4. Craig A. Depken II & Peter A. Groothuis & Mark C. Strazicich, 2016. "The Rise and Fall of the Enforcer in the National Hockey League," Working Papers 16-12, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
    5. Vock David Michael & Vock Laura Frances Boehm, 2018. "Estimating the effect of plate discipline using a causal inference framework: an application of the G-computation algorithm," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, De Gruyter, vol. 14(2), pages 37-56, June.
    6. Craig A. Depken & Peter A. Groothuis & Mark C. Strazicich, 2020. "Evolution Of Community Deterrence: Evidence From The National Hockey League," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(2), pages 289-303, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    age-effects; baseball; OPS; peak performance; structural break;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes

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