IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jospec/v24y2023i3p271-284.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Spread of Integration in Major League Baseball

Author

Listed:
  • Paul M. Holmes
  • Robert F. Kane

Abstract

After the initial integration of Major League Baseball (MLB), teams introduced black players at different rates. We examine whether, and to what extent, team performance affected the rate of spread of integration. Our theoretical model predicts that teams of moderate talent will integrate fastest. We confirm this prediction using data from the first twenty years of MLB integration. However we show that relatively little of the spread of integration can be explained by differences in talent/performance, suggesting that competitive rivalry (as we measure it) was not the primary driver of the pace of integration in MLB.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul M. Holmes & Robert F. Kane, 2023. "The Spread of Integration in Major League Baseball," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 24(3), pages 271-284, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:24:y:2023:i:3:p:271-284
    DOI: 10.1177/15270025221120588
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15270025221120588
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/15270025221120588?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simon Rottenberg, 1956. "The Baseball Players' Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(3), pages 242-242.
    2. Brian L. Goff & Robert E. McCormick & Robert D. Tollison, 2002. "Racial Integration as an Innovation: Empirical Evidence from Sports Leagues," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 16-26, March.
    3. Christopher Coyne & Justin Isaacs & Jeremy Schwartz, 2010. "Entrepreneurship and the taste for discrimination," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 609-627, August.
    4. F. Andrew Hanssen & James W. Meehan Jr, 2009. "Who Integrated Major League Baseball Faster," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 10(2), pages 141-154, April.
    5. F. Andrew Hanssen & James W. Meehan Jr, 2010. "Response to Coyne et al," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(2), pages 232-235, April.
    6. Brian L. Goff & Robert D. Tollison, 2010. "Who Integrated Major League Baseball Faster Winning Teams or Losing Teams? A Comment," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(2), pages 236-238, April.
    7. Christopher J. Coyne & Justin P. Isaacs & Jeremy T. Schwartz, 2010. "Comment on Hanssen and Meehan, ‘‘Who Integrated Major League Baseball Faster Winning Teams or Losing Teams?’’," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(2), pages 227-231, April.
    8. Andrew Hanssen, 1998. "The Cost of Discrimination: A Study of Major League Baseball," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(3), pages 603-627, January.
    9. Christopher Coyne & Justin Isaacs & Jeremy Schwartz & Anthony Carilli, 2007. "Put me in, Coach, I’m ready to play," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 20(4), pages 237-246, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brunello, Giorgio & Yamamura, Eiji, 2023. "Desperately Seeking a Japanese Yokozuna," IZA Discussion Papers 16536, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Amanda Olsen & Michael A. Leeds, 2024. "Integration and Team Performance in the NBA," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(2), pages 257-278, February.

    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. Akihiko Kawaura & Sumner La Croix, 2016. "Integration Of North And South American Players In Japan'S Professional Baseball Leagues," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57(3), pages 1107-1130, August.
    2. Akihiko Kawaura & Sumner La Croix, 2011. "Integration of North and South American Players in Japan's Professional Baseball Leagues Teams in Japan’s two professional baseball leagues began to add foreign players to their rosters in the early 1," Working Papers 2011-14, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
    3. Brian L. Goff & Robert D. Tollison, 2010. "Who Integrated Major League Baseball Faster Winning Teams or Losing Teams? A Comment," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(2), pages 236-238, April.
    4. Christopher J. Coyne & Justin P. Isaacs & Jeremy T. Schwartz, 2010. "Comment on Hanssen and Meehan, ‘‘Who Integrated Major League Baseball Faster Winning Teams or Losing Teams?’’," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(2), pages 227-231, April.
    5. Amanda Olsen & Michael A. Leeds, 2024. "Integration and Team Performance in the NBA," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(2), pages 257-278, February.
    6. Brunello, Giorgio & Yamamura, Eiji, 2023. "Desperately Seeking a Japanese Yokozuna," IZA Discussion Papers 16536, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Alex Bryson & Bernd Frick & Rob Simmons, 2015. "Sports Economics: It May be Fun but What's the Point?," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 232(1), pages 1-3, May.
    8. Raymond D. Sauer, 2017. "Robert D. Tollison: Father of sportometrics, friend and colleague," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 67-70, April.
    9. Martin Schmidt, 2006. "On the evolution of competition: an application of nonlinear tests," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 1-12.
    10. F. Andrew Hanssen & James W. Meehan Jr, 2009. "Who Integrated Major League Baseball Faster," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 10(2), pages 141-154, April.
    11. Walker Wright, 2022. "Illiberal economic institutions and racial intolerance in the United States," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 307-326, June.
    12. Lawrence M. Kahn, 2000. "The Sports Business as a Labor Market Laboratory," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 75-94, Summer.
    13. Bryce Kanago & David George Surdam, 2020. "Intimidation, Discrimination, and Retaliation: Hit-by-Pitches during the Integration of Major League Baseball," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 48(1), pages 67-85, March.
    14. Christopher Coyne & Justin Isaacs & Jeremy Schwartz, 2010. "Entrepreneurship and the taste for discrimination," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 609-627, August.
    15. Francesco Addesa & Matteo Pazzona & Giambattista Rossi, 2022. "Migrant diversity and team performance in a high‐skilled labour market," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(3), pages 365-384, August.
    16. Brian M. Mills & Steven Salaga, 2015. "Historical Time Series Perspectives on Competitive Balance in NCAA Division I Basketball," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(6), pages 614-646, August.
    17. Todd M. Nesbit & Kerry A. King-Adzima, 2012. "Major League Baseball Attendance and the Role of Fantasy Baseball," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(5), pages 494-514, October.
    18. Meletakos, Panagiotis & Chatzicharistos, Dimitrios & Apostolidis, Nikolaos & Manasis, Vasilios & Bayios, Ioannis, 2016. "Foreign players and competitive balance in Greek basketball and handball championships," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 391-401.
    19. Martin B. Schmidt, 2021. "The Competitive Returns To The Global Search For Talent: Professional Sports Markets And Foreigners," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(1), pages 396-419, January.
    20. Dominik Schreyer, 2019. "Football spectator no-show behaviour in the German Bundesliga," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(45), pages 4882-4901, September.

    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:sae:jospec:v:24:y:2023:i:3:p:271-284. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.