Incentives and League Structure in Minor League Baseball

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Medcalfe

The purpose of this article is to analyze the effect of different ways of organizing sports leagues on team effort. Double A minor league baseball in the United States is organized either as geographical leagues or as split season leagues. The evidence presented in this article suggests that teams in geographical leagues reduce their effort for longer periods of time (up to twice as long) than their counterparts in split season leagues. However, more teams give up trying to catch the leader in split season leagues than in geographical leagues. In fact, up to one third of teams in the split season league give up whereas no teams give up in the geographical league. This information will be of use to owners, managers, and coaches of sports teams because they will be able to identify periods of time when extra incentives to win may be required.

Significance The lockout followed failure to reach a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and pitches a cartel of owners against arguably the most powerful labour union in the United States. The two sides are far apart and disruption to the 2022 season cannot be ruled out. Impacts Even a contract agreement by February 1 would leave little time for free agents to find clubs and other players to secure terms. Should a players' strike happen, it will not be likely until after the season has begun, giving the players' union more leverage. Pressure to unionise minor league baseball will grow.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152700252110227
Author(s):  
John Charles Bradbury

Major League Soccer (MLS) is the top-tier professional soccer league serving the United States and Canada. This study examines factors hypothesized to impact consumer demand for professional sports on team revenue in this nascent league. The estimates are consistent with positive returns to performance, novelty effects from newer teams, and varying impacts from roster quality and composition. Other factors hypothesized to be important for MLS teams (e.g., stadium quality and market demographics) are not associated with team revenue. The estimates are similar to findings in other major North American sports leagues, even though MLS operates with a unique single-entity ownership structure that has the potential to disincentivize individual team investments by league owners.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-53
Author(s):  
Daniel Braaten ◽  
Maui Orozco ◽  
Jonathan R. Strand

This article examines the drivers of American support for environmental projects in the multilateral development banks (MDBs). We first describe how U.S. Executive Directors are guided by Congressional directives regarding environmental aspects of MDB projects. The article then turns to statistical analysis of the strategic and normative drivers of U.S. positions on MDB projects. Our analysis finds mixed support for environmental factors driving U.S. votes. The United States is more inclined to vote against “dirty” projects (i.e., mining, coal, and oil) rather than specifically support “green” projects (i.e., projects related toward climate change or biodiversity). The overall environmental performance of a country had a minor influence on whether the United States would support proposals from that country, but the United States was much more likely to disapprove of a project if a project failed to undergo an environmental analysis or failed the analysis in anyway.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nola Agha ◽  
Daniel A. Rascher

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand why some sports show a positive economic impact and other sports do not, and to identify a common set of explanatory factors explaining the differences. Design/methodology/approach – This explanatory research reviews the economic impact literature to identify the underlying conditions that would theoretically allow any sport, large or small, to generate positive economic effects. Findings – Nine conditions are identified that, when present, could allow a community to experience a positive economic impact from a team or stadium. These are then used to explain the discrepancy in known empirical outcomes in major and minor league baseball (MiLB). It appears as if major league teams are more likely to violate the conditions than minor league teams. This research finds theoretical support for previous suggestions that smaller teams and events may be beneficial to local economies. In doing so, it also explains previous empirical results that found some MiLB classifications are associated with positive gains in per capita income. Practical implications – Stakeholders can use the nine conditions to understand expected economic impact of their relevant sports. This research provides a comprehensive guide to understanding when economic impact can be positive. Social implications – This research helps explain some of the existing controversy regarding economic impact analysis. Originality/value – It is the first research to help provide a pre-set of conditions that can help predict whether positive economic impact will occur for specific sports teams or stadium projects.


2003 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Durtschi

You are auditing the books of the Tallahassee BeanCounters (TBC), a minor league baseball team in Tallahassee, Florida. During your audit the team's owner, Franklin Kennedy, approaches you and offers an additional fee if you will quietly investigate the possibility of fraud within the firm. Mr. Kennedy reports that he received an anonymous tip and, based on that information, believes that someone within the firm could be perpetrating fraud. Your task is to use the information given here (the financial books and back-up documents) as a starting point for your investigation. From that starting point, use creativity and investigative skills to determine what other information you need. After obtaining requested information, use all the material you have gathered to determine whether fraud was committed. To completely solve a fraud, you must show the following: who committed the fraud, how it was committed, that it was intentional (not error), the economic impact of the fraud, and that it was your suspect who gained financially from the fraud.


Author(s):  
Gérard Camy ◽  
Camilla Wasserman

Here, representations of suicide in fiction film from the United States, Europe, and South East Asia are presented. Films are helpful in addressing discourses on suicide worldwide. Typically, the sufferings of the characters considering suicide or taking their lives occupy a minor part of the plot in scenarios highlighting action, cultural, and social reflection or existential interrogations. In Hollywood dramas, redemption, punishment, lost love, and solitude are major reasons for suicides; often the consequence of genuine injustice. In the European films discussed, suicides on screen often open to comments and reflections on many tragic circumstances explaining the protagonists’ actions. Not recognizing oneself in and by society seems an important reason for suicide. Wanting to understand the motives behind the voluntary death of a peer is recurrent. Much South East Asian cinema reflects the malaise of a society, its interiorized violence, death’ fascination, and the distress of a youth lacking excitement.


Author(s):  
Andrew Preston

By the end of the nineteenth century, the United States had become the world’s preeminent economic power. Yet for such a large and wealthy country, by 1890 the United States was in a curious position: it was an economic colossus, but a diplomatic and military dwarf. In comparison to the great powers of Europe or Japan, America was a minor actor on the world stage. That would all soon change. ‘Global America’ explores two phenomena—globalization and world war—that brought America deeper into world affairs. By the end of the period, in 1919, the United States had become one of the greatest powers of the world—and yet refused to play its part.


Inclusion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 234-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy McConkey ◽  
Cheryl Peng ◽  
Marie Merritt ◽  
Amy Shellard

Abstract Sport can be a means for promoting social inclusion but to date, the perspectives of participants have been rarely sought. Focus groups interviews were held with 6 Special Olympic, Unified Sports teams in the United States as well as one each in Germany and India. In all, 49 athletes with intellectual disability and 39 team-mates without disability participated. From a thematic content analysis, a core concept of togetherness emerged, with five subthemes of equality, friendships, participation, connections, and assistance. Four main feelings were associated with togetherness: happy, relaxed, confident, and cared for. The players gave specific examples of how these outcomes were realised in sport and community settings. Their insights could guide future attempts to promote social inclusion in sports and the wider community.


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