Measuring Circadian Advantage in Major League Baseball: A 10-Year Retrospective Study

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Christopher Winter ◽  
William R. Hammond ◽  
Noah H. Green ◽  
Zhiyong Zhang ◽  
Donald L. Bliwise
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Athletic Performance ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Time Zone ◽  
Winning Percentage ◽  
Circadian Time ◽  
Game Outcome ◽  
Time Zones ◽  
Home Field Advantage ◽  
Major League

Purpose:The effect of travel on athletic performance has been investigated in previous studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate this effect on game outcome over 10 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons.Methods:Using the convention that for every time zone crossed, synchronization requires 1 d, teams were assigned a daily number indicating the number of days away from circadian resynchronization. With these values, wins and losses for all games could be analyzed based on circadian values.Results:19,079 of the 24,121 games (79.1%) were played between teams at an equal circadian time. The remaining 5,042 games consisted of teams playing at different circadian times. The team with the circadian advantage won 2,620 games (52.0%, P = .005), a winning percentage that exceeded chance but was a smaller effect than home field advantage (53.7%, P < .0001). When teams held a 1-h circadian advantage, winning percentage was 51.7% (1,903–1,781). Winning percentage with a 2-h advantage was 51.8% (620–578) but increased to 60.6% (97–63) with a 3-h advantage (3-h advantage > 2-hadvantage = 1-h advantage, P = .036). Direction of advantage showed teams traveling from Western time zones to Eastern time zones were more likely to win (winning percentage = .530) than teams traveling from Eastern time zones to Western time zones (winning percentage = .509) with a winning odds 1.14 (P = .027).Conclusion:These results suggest that in the same way home field advantage influences likelihood of success, so too does the magnitude and direction of circadian advantage. Teams with greater circadian advantage were more likely to win.

Professional Playing Experience Does Not Lead to Professional Coaching Success

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Schempp ◽  
Bryan A. McCullick ◽  
Matthew A. Grant ◽  
Cornell Foo ◽  
Kelly Wieser
Keyword(s):  
Significant Relationship ◽  
National Football League ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
National Basketball Association ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
Winning Percentage ◽  
Professional Coaching ◽  
Major League ◽  
The Relationship

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between coaches’ professional playing experience and their professional coaching success. The sample (n = 134) included coaches who had the equivalent of three full seasons of head coaching experience in either Major League Baseball (MLB) (n = 46), the National Basketball Association (NBA) (n = 38) or the National Football League (NFL) (n = 50) as determined by the total number of games coached between the years 1997-2007. ANOVAs revealed no significant differences between coaches with more or less professional playing experience and professional coaching success as determined by professional winning percentage. Further, no significant relationship was found between professional playing experience and professional coaching success in MLB (r = -0.16), NBA (r = -0.05) or NFL (r = 0.00). It was concluded that professional playing experience was not a predictor of professional level coaching success. These findings support the notion that sources of knowledge other than playing experience may be necessary and useful in developing coaching expertise.

scholarly journals Utilizing the National Basketball Association’s COVID-19 restart “bubble” to uncover the impact of travel and circadian disruption on athletic performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W. McHill ◽  
Evan D. Chinoy
Keyword(s):  
Athletic Performance ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Circadian Disruption ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
General Effect ◽  
Professional Basketball ◽  
Home Team ◽  
Winning Percentage ◽  
Time Zones ◽  
The Impact

AbstractOn March 11th, 2020, the National Basketball Association (NBA) paused its season after ~ 64 games due to the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, only to resume ~ 5 months later with the top 22 teams isolated together (known as the “bubble”) in Orlando, Florida to play eight games each as an end to the regular season. This restart, with no new travel by teams, provided a natural experiment whereby the impact of travel and home-court advantage could be systematically examined. We show here that in the pre-COVID-19 regular season, traveling across time zones reduces winning percentage, team shooting accuracy, and turnover percentage, whereas traveling in general reduces offensive rebounding and increases the number of points the opposing (home) team scores. Moreover, we demonstrate that competition in a scenario where no teams travel (restart bubble) reduces the typical effects of travel and home-court advantage on winning percentage, shooting accuracy, and rebounding. Thus, home-court advantage in professional basketball appears to be linked with the away team’s impaired shooting accuracy (i.e., movement precision) and rebounding, which may be separately influenced by either circadian disruption or the general effect of travel, as these differences manifest differently when teams travel within or across multiple time zones.

Age and Level of Performance in Major League Baseball

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-232
Author(s):  
Ray Over
Keyword(s):  
Athletic Performance ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Component Skills ◽  
Major League ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Batting Performance ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between age and the level of performance of major league baseball players was assessed through quasi-experimental designs. Whereas cross-sectional comparisons revealed no differences in batting and fielding statistics between younger and older players, longitudinal analysis showed significant decrements in batting performance as players aged from 30 to 35 years. A decline in performance with age was found even among elite players. Age decrements in achievement need to be studied not only in the context of molar measures such as batting statistics but also at a microanalytic level through reference to component skills. This paper outlines a methodology that can be used in assessing the nature and basis of age decrements in skilled athletic performance.

Body Composition and Peak VO2 in Major League Baseball Players: A Retrospective Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Lewis ◽  
Mitchell J. Rauh ◽  
Louis R. Osternig ◽  
Rick Griffin ◽  
Mitchel D. Storey
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Peak Vo2 ◽  
Major League

294 Impacts of travel and time zone differences in the National Hockey League (NHL)

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A117-A118
Author(s):  
Jonathan Charest ◽  
Charles Samuels ◽  
Célyne Bastien ◽  
Doug Lawson ◽  
Michael Grandner
Keyword(s):  
Elite Athletes ◽  
National Hockey League ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Time Zone ◽  
Winning Percentage ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Time Zones ◽  
Logistic Regressions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction Elite athletes are at risk of poor sleep which can be exacerbated by frequent travel. The present exploratory study investigated the impact of travel on the winning percentage, number of goals scored in the 3rd period and the number of penalties in the 3rd period over the 2013–2020 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Methods Data from away and home games from the 2013–2020 seasons in the NHL were included in this study. The outcomes were based on winning percentage with additional covariates including home and away games; timing of the game (afternoon/17:30 or earlier; evening/18:00 or later; number of time zones travelled (one, two or three); direction of the travel (eastward or westward); length of the game (regular, overtime or shootout). Additionally, data exclusively from the 3rd period were assessed for the number of penalties received and the number of goals scored for and against. Data were analyzed with logistic regressions to evaluate the effects of the aforementioned variables on winning percentage for both eastern and western conference teams. Results Regardless of the length of the game, results indicated no difference between eastern and western teams on winning percentage. However, there was a significant impact of home-ice on winning percentage for both conferences (p&lt;0.001). In addition, there was no difference on the winning percentage based on the travel direction and the number of time zones crossed (p = 0.747) or the time of the day (p=0.991). Moreover, visiting teams received significantly more 3rd period penalties than home teams (p&lt;0.001), regardless of travel and while travelling within the same time zone compared to eastward travel (p&lt;0.001) but not westward travel (p=0.078). Finally, there was an increased risk of being scored against when team travelled three time zones (p=0.03), regardless of the direction. Conclusion This 7-year investigation of data from the NHL demonstrates an unexplored aspect of the impact that travel and circadian factors may have on emotion regulation and performance. Translational application of this knowledge to enhance general public health and performance would be warranted. Support (if any):

scholarly journals How jet lag impairs Major League Baseball performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 1407-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Song ◽  
Thomas Severini ◽  
Ravi Allada
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Athletic Performance ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Jet Lag ◽  
Single Measure ◽  
Lag Effects ◽  
Home Team ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Major League

Laboratory studies have demonstrated that circadian clocks align physiology and behavior to 24-h environmental cycles. Examination of athletic performance has been used to discern the functions of these clocks in humans outside of controlled settings. Here, we examined the effects of jet lag, that is, travel that shifts the alignment of 24-h environmental cycles relative to the endogenous circadian clock, on specific performance metrics in Major League Baseball. Accounting for potential differences in home and away performance, travel direction, and team confounding variables, we observed that jet-lag effects were largely evident after eastward travel with very limited effects after westward travel, consistent with the >24-h period length of the human circadian clock. Surprisingly, we found that jet lag impaired major parameters of home-team offensive performance, for example, slugging percentage, but did not similarly affect away-team offensive performance. On the other hand, jet lag impacted both home and away defensive performance. Remarkably, the vast majority of these effects for both home and away teams could be explained by a single measure, home runs allowed. Rather than uniform effects, these results reveal surprisingly specific effects of circadian misalignment on athletic performance under natural conditions.

scholarly journals The Economics Of The Duration Of The Baseball World Series

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Alexander E. Cassuto ◽  
Franklin Lowenthal
Keyword(s):  
Historical Data ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Statistical Features ◽  
Expected Number ◽  
World Series ◽  
Home Field Advantage ◽  
Major League

This note examines some statistical features of the major league baseball World Series. We show that, based upon actual historical data, we cannot reject the hypothesis that the two World Series teams are evenly matched. Yet, we can also calculate the relative strengths of the teams that would best match the actual outcomes, and we find that those relative strengths are not equal. Including the home field advantage in the calculations indicates that the differential in relative strength between the competing teams can be explained by this advantage. We present the relative team strengths that would maximize the probability of four, five, six and seven game series. We find that a six or seven game series is most likely when the two teams are evenly matched, a four game series is most likely when the probability of the stronger team winning is one, while the probability of a five game series is maximized if one team has a relative strength of 0 .789. We also show that, on average, the expected number of World Series games will be between 4 and 5.81, depending upon the relative strengths of the teams and the home field advantage. Contracts that do not consider the likelihood of less than seven game Series will create windfall gains to MLB and marginal economic losses to broadcasters.

Baseball Home Field Advantage Without Fans in the Stands

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Losak ◽  
Joseph Sabel
Keyword(s):  
Market Efficiency ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Significant Evidence ◽  
Home Team ◽  
Home Field Advantage ◽  
Major League ◽  
Betting Markets ◽  
Home Conditions

Home field advantage is universally accepted across most major sports and levels of competition. However, exact causes of home field advantage have been difficult to disentangle. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique, natural experiment to isolate elements related to home field advantage since all 2020 regular season Major League Baseball games were played without fans. Results provide no statistically significant evidence of a difference in home field advantage between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, evidence that home crowd support is not a driver of home field advantage. There does appear to be a statistical advantage by the home team batting second in the inning. Travel fatigue seems to have no impact on home field advantage, and while home field advantage seems to increase throughout the 2020 season, we chalk that up to small sample noise. Despite lacking historical precedence, betting markets seemingly respond efficiently to the new home conditions. Keywords: home field advantage, market efficiency, baseball, ghost games

Major League Baseball Managers: Do They Matter?

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Smart ◽  
Jason Winfree ◽  
Richard Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Study Finding ◽  
Production Frontier ◽  
Limited Effect ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Winning Percentage ◽  
Major League ◽  
Manager Compensation

Smart and Wolfe (2003) assessed the concurrent contribution of leadership and human resources to Major League Baseball (MLB) team performance. They found that player resources (defense/pitching and offence/batting) explained 67% of the variance in winning percentage, whereas leadership explained very little (slightly more than 1%) of the variance. In discussing the minimal contribution of leadership to their results, the authors suggested that future studies expand their operationalization of leadership. That is what is done in this study. Finding that the expanded operationalization has limited effect in explaining the contribution of leadership, we take an alternative tack in attempting to understand leadership in MLB. In addition, we estimate a production frontier (based on offensive and defensive resources), determine the efficiency of MLB managers relative to that frontier, and investigate the extent to which manager efficiency can be explained by manager characteristics. Finally, manager characteristics are related to manager compensation.

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