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The League Standing Effect: The Case of a Split Season in Minor League Baseball

Author

Listed:
  • Nola Agha

    (Department of Sports Mangement, University of San Francisco)

  • Thomas Rhoads

    (Department of Economics, Towson University)

Abstract

Split season league design resets standings at the midpoint of the season thus allowing for two periods in which a team can potentially achieve success in a single season. This context allows us to test both the reputation of the first half winner and the league standing effect on demand. Examination of game-level data from the 2010 Southern League reveals fans are unaffected by measures of both team quality and league standing. On the other hand, the first half winners achieved attendance nearly 30% higher in the second half of the season suggesting that at this level of competition winning doesn't matter but winners do.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:tow:wpaper:2016-13
    as

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    File URL: http://webapps.towson.edu/cbe/economics/workingpapers/2016-13.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Demand; minor league baseball; league standing effect; split season.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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