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Competitive Balance in the Aftermath of the 1994 Players’ Strike

Author

Listed:
  • Lawrence Hadley

    (University of Dayton)

  • James Ciecka
  • Anthony C. Krautmann

    (DePaul University)

Abstract

A new interseasonal measure of competitive balance in a sports league is presented. It is based on a Markov model of a team’s probability of qualifying for postseason play given the performance of the team in the previous season. Transitional probabilities are estimated for Major League Baseball teams before and after the 1994 players’ strike. The results indicate that there has been a significant deterioration in competitive balance for the seasons following the strike. Probability density functions for the prestrike and poststrike eras are also presented.

Suggested Citation

  • Lawrence Hadley & James Ciecka & Anthony C. Krautmann, 2005. "Competitive Balance in the Aftermath of the 1994 Players’ Strike," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 6(4), pages 379-389, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:6:y:2005:i:4:p:379-389
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002504267435
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Mizak & Anthony Stair & John Neral, 2007. "The adjusted churn: an index of competitive balance for sports leagues based on changes in team standings over time," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 26(3), pages 1-7.
    2. Richard Evans, 2014. "A review of measures of competitive balance in the ‘analysis of competitive balance’ literature," Birkbeck Sports Business Centre Working Papers 9, Birkbeck College, Department of Management.
    3. Liam J. A. Lenten, 2017. "A Formal Test for Asymmetry in the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(3), pages 253-270, April.
    4. Jeroen Schokkaert & Johan Swinnen, 2013. "It is Harder, not Easier, to Predict the Winner of the Champions League," LICOS Discussion Papers 32913, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    5. Manasis Vasileios & Ntzoufras Ioannis, 2014. "Between-seasons competitive balance in European football: review of existing and development of specially designed indices," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, June.
    6. Oliver Budzinski & Arne Feddersen, 2020. "Measuring competitive balance in Formula One racing," Chapters, in: Plácido Rodríguez & Stefan Kesenne & Brad R. Humphreys (ed.), Outcome Uncertainty in Sporting Events, chapter 1, pages 5-26, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Liam J. A. Lenten, 2009. "Towards a New Dynamic Measure of Competitive Balance: A Study Applied to Australia’s Two Major Professional ‘Football’ Leagues," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 407-428, December.
    8. 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.
    9. Rodney Fort & Young Hoon Lee, 2013. "Major League Baseball attendance time series: league policy lessons," Chapters, in: Plácido Rodríguez & Stefan Késenne & Jaume García (ed.), The Econometrics of Sport, chapter 2, pages 35-50, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Lee, Travis, 2020. "Competitive Balance in the National Hockey League after Unrestricted Free Agency and the Salary Cap," MPRA Paper 108400, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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