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Top Prospects and Minor League Baseball Attendance

Author

Listed:
  • Seth R. Gitter

    (Department of Economics, Towson University, Towson, MD, USA, sgitter@towson.edu)

  • Thomas A. Rhoads

    (Department of Economics, Towson University, Towson, MD, USA)

Abstract

Minor League Baseball attracts over 40 million fans a year. One potentially important attendance draw is the ability for a fan to see a future major league baseball star. Each year Baseball America, a leading industry publication, ranks 100 top prospects that have yet to play substantially in the major leagues. Many of these top prospects continue to develop for a year or more in the minor leagues, which gives fans an opportunity to see potential future Major League Baseball (MLB) stars at their local minor league club. The authors use a data set encompassing all AA and AAA minor league baseball teams from 1992 to 2009 to estimate the impact of having a top 100 Baseball America prospect on a minor league team’s attendance. Their results suggest that only those prospects ranked in the top 5 and at the highest level (AAA) have an impact on their team’s attendance and their impact on attendance is small.

Suggested Citation

  • Seth R. Gitter & Thomas A. Rhoads, 2011. "Top Prospects and Minor League Baseball Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(3), pages 341-351, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:12:y:2011:i:3:p:341-351
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002511404780
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Seth R. Gitter & Thomas A. Rhoads, 2010. "Determinants of Minor League Baseball Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(6), pages 614-628, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Nola Agha & Thomas Rhoads, 2016. "The League Standing Effect: The Case of a Split Season in Minor League Baseball," Working Papers 2016-13, Towson University, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2016.
    3. Nola Agha, 2013. "The Economic Impact of Stadiums and Teams," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 14(3), pages 227-252, June.
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