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Dynasties versus pennant races: competitive balance in major league baseball

Author

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  • Anthony C. Krautmann

    (Department of Economics, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60604, USA)

  • Lawrence Hadley

    (Department of Economics, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469, USA)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of competitive balance on attendance in Major League Baseball. Two types of competitive balance are included in a single-equation model of attendance: intra-seasonal balance and inter-seasonal balance. The metric used to calibrate the first is the ratio of the actual standard deviation of season win percents divided by the ideal standard deviation. Inter-seasonal balance is calibrated with Markov transitional probabilities of teams making the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The results indicate that intra-seasonal balance does not significantly impact attendance, and that inter-seasonal balance has significant but small impacts on attendance in the American League. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony C. Krautmann & Lawrence Hadley, 2006. "Dynasties versus pennant races: competitive balance in major league baseball," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 287-292.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:27:y:2006:i:4:p:287-292
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.1260
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael R. Butler, 2002. "Interleague Play and Baseball Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 3(4), pages 320-334, November.
    2. Craig Depken, 1999. "Free-Agency and the Competitiveness of Major League Baseball," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 14(3), pages 205-217, May.
    3. Young Hoon Lee & Rodney Fort, 2005. "Structural Change in MLB Competitive Balance: The Depression, Team Location, and Integration," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 43(1), pages 158-169, January.
    4. Martin Schmidt & David Berri, 2002. "Competitive Balance and Market Size in Major League Baseball: A Response to Baseball's Blue Ribbon Panel," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 21(1), pages 41-54, August.
    5. Joshua Utt & Rodney Fort, 2002. "Pitfalls to Measuring Competitive Balance With Gini Coefficients," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 3(4), pages 367-373, November.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Young Hoon Lee, 2009. "The Impact of Postseason Restructuring on the Competitive Balance and Fan Demand in Major League Baseball," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 10(3), pages 219-235, June.
    3. Young Hoon Lee & Jigyu Chung & Joonho Kang, 2012. "Ex Ante and Ex Post Expectation of Outcome Uncertainty and Television Viewership of a Baseball Game," Working Papers 1206, Nam Duck-Woo Economic Research Institute, Sogang University (Former Research Institute for Market Economy).
    4. Hayley Jang & Young Hoon Lee & Rodney Fort, 2019. "Winning In Professional Team Sports: Historical Moments," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(1), pages 103-120, January.
    5. repec:lic:licosd:32913 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Brian Mills & Rodney Fort, 2014. "League-Level Attendance And Outcome Uncertainty In U.S. Pro Sports Leagues," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(1), pages 205-218, January.
    7. Anthony C. Krautmann & Young Hoon Lee & Kevin Quinn, 2011. "Playoff Uncertainty and Pennant Races," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(5), pages 495-514, October.
    8. Braun, Erik & Gyimesi, András, 2021. "Van-e esélyük a feljutó csapatoknak a bennmaradásra? Az európai labdarúgó-bajnokságok összehasonlítása az első osztály előnye alapján [Do novice top teams have a chance of remaining?]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(7), pages 863-889.
    9. András Gyimesi, 2020. "League Ranking Mobility Affects Attendance: Evidence From European Soccer Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 21(8), pages 808-828, December.
    10. Gyimesi, András, 2021. "Hosszú távú versenyegyensúly egy csapatsportliga közgazdasági modelljében [Long-term competitive balance in an economic model of a team sports league]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(6), pages 585-616.
    11. Timothy E. Zimmer & Allison Snyder & Lawrence Bukenya, 2021. "American Baseball Fans Do Not Influence Game Outcomes," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(2), pages 741-750.
    12. Evan Osborne, 2012. "Upsets," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(3), pages 314-320, June.

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