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The Spread of Integration in Major League Baseball

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  • 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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Simon Rottenberg, 1956. "The Baseball Players' Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64, 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. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. F. Andrew Hanssen & James W. Meehan Jr, 2010. "Response to Coyne et al," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(2), pages 232-235, April.
    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.
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    Cited by:

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

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