scholarly journals Salaries and Race/Ethnicity in Major League Baseball: The Pitching Component

1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-162
Author(s):  
Wilbert M. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Regression Coefficients ◽  
Systematic Testing ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
Major League ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Race Ethnicity

This study refined and extended Christiano’s recent inquiry on race and salaries in major league baseball. Instead of merely dichotomizing the independent variable into black and white, the data were trichotomized into white, black, and Hispanic categories; pitchers, because they were not studied, provided the focal point. A model of salary for pitchers was both specified and tested. Unstandardized regression coefficients (after disaggregating the units of analysis by race/ethnicity) revealed several instances of salary inequities but small ns precluded systematic testing. Hence, the verdict is still out as to whether or not the salaries of baseball pitchers varying in race/ethnicity are consistently different while holding other theoretically relevant variables constant.

Salaries and Race in Professional Baseball: The Hispanic Component

1988 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilbert M. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Regression Coefficients ◽  
Professional Baseball ◽  
Free Agency ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Major League ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Race Ethnicity

This study replicated Christiano’s inquiry on race and salaries in major league baseball in 1987. However, instead of merely dichotomizing the independent variable into black and white, the data were trichotomized into white, black, and Hispanic categories. Unstandardized regression coefficients (after disaggregating the observations by race / ethnicity, position, and free agency status) revealed several instances of salary inequities but no systematic patterning. The conclusion: The salaries of baseball players varying in race / ethnicity were not consistently different even while holding other theoretically relevant variables constant.

scholarly journals Strike Three: Discrimination, Incentives, and Evaluation

2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 1410-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A Parsons ◽  
Johan Sulaeman ◽  
Michael C Yates ◽  
Daniel S Hamermesh
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measures ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Wage Discrimination ◽  
Direct And Indirect Effects ◽  
Subjective Judgment ◽  
Major League ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Major League Baseball umpires express their racial/ethnic prefer ences when they evaluate pitchers. Strikes are called less often if the umpire and pitcher do not match race/ethnicity, but mainly where there is little scrutiny of umpires. Pitchers understand the incentives and throw pitches that allow umpires less subjective judgment (e.g., fastballs over home plate) when they anticipate bias. These direct and indirect effects bias performance measures of minorities downward. The results suggest how discrimination alters discriminated groups' behavior generally. They imply that biases in measured productivity must be accounted for in generating measures of wage discrimination. (JEL J15, J31, J44, J71, L83)

Quantile Insights on Market Structure and Worker Salaries: The Case of Major League Baseball

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1066-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Fort ◽  
Young Hoon Lee ◽  
Taeyeon Oh
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Marginal Revenue ◽  
Total Revenue ◽  
Marginal Revenue Product ◽  
Major League ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Do So ◽  
Revenue Product

The vast majority of the empirical investigation of player marginal revenue product (MRP) and monopsony exploitation rates (MER) implicitly assumed that MRP is constant across the revenue distribution of teams. The few works that do attempt to capture the impact of revenue variation across teams do so via independent variable specification. We bring quantile estimation to bear that allows MRP to vary across the entire revenue distribution in Major League Baseball. Completely in keeping with economic common sense, MRP increases as total revenue rises (to higher and higher quantiles). As with past findings, there is interesting MER dispersion over the length of player tenure in the league and between star and mediocre players. Heretofore unexplored, we also find interesting dispersion in MRP and MER between larger revenue and smaller revenue markets. Our results suggest that independent variable specifications overstate MRP and MER for smaller revenue teams and understate the same for larger revenue team.

Salaries and Race in Professional Baseball: Discrimination 10 Years Later

1988 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Christiano
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Market Power ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Regression Coefficients ◽  
Professional Baseball ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Free Agency ◽  
Economic Discrimination ◽  
Major League

A series of multiple regression analyses using the most recent publicly available data on the salaries of veteran hitters in major league baseball uncovers little evidence of economic discrimination by race. Comparisons of unstandardized regression coefficients for player variables, by race and position, reveal a number of instances of inequality. However, these inequalities do not occur consistently with respect to the same type of performance, nor do they always place blacks at a disadvantage. Furthermore, blacks who do not enjoy the market power granted to players by the advent of free agency are not uniformly victimized by discrimination in salaries. Instead, the newest evidence suggests that signs of salary discrimination that were found in data on hitters from the 1977 season are not manifest 10 years later.

Salary Discrimination in Major League Baseball: The Effect of Race

1986 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Christiano
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Regression Coefficients ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Major League ◽  
Using Data

Using data on the salaries of 212 nonpitchers appearing in team lineups on major league baseball’s 1977 Opening Day, this article explores how rewards to veteran professionals are influenced by race. Multiple regression analyses and separate comparisons of regression coefficients for returns to performances by blacks and by whites reveal a single indication of salary discrimination against blacks. White infielders are apparently paid more for each home run they hit than are their black counterparts.

Note on 1993 Salaries of Major League Baseball Players

1994 ◽  
Vol 78 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1085-1086
Author(s):  
Robert Fudin ◽  
Hillel Levinson
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Median Salary ◽  
Major League ◽  
The Mean

The title of Chass's 1993 article gives the spurious impression that all Major League baseball players earned at least $1,000,000 during the 1993 season. More importantly, the distribution of salaries for that season is positively skewed to a nonmoderate degree The median salary, $481,250, therefore, is a better representation of the “typical” salary of a Major Leaguer in 1993 than the mean, $1,116,946, used by Chass. A discussion of an aspect of 1993 salaries of Major Leaguers is offered using the median rather than the mean as focal point.

Salaries, Race/Ethnicity, and Pitchers in Major League Baseball: A Correction and Comment

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Lavoie ◽  
Wilbert M. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Major League ◽  
Race Ethnicity

The distinction between starting and relief pitchers is crucial for a correct assessment of pay determination. Nevertheless, making this distinction does not alter the trend of empirical findings, namely that there is no salary discrimination against blacks in baseball.

A Reexamination of Salary Discrimination in Major League Baseball by Race/Ethnicity

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean A. Purdy ◽  
Wilbert M. Leonard ◽  
D. Stanley Eitzen
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Analysis Of Variance ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Major League ◽  
Salary Determination ◽  
Race Ethnicity

This paper extends previous research examining salary differentials by race/ethnicity in major league baseball. Our analysis adds to previous research by using career statistics for both hitters and pitchers, and, for the pitcher category, both starters and relievers. We also examined race/ethnicity two ways: (a) according to the standard three categories of white, black, and Hispanic and (b) according to five categories—white, black U.S. born, black foreign born, Hispanic U.S. born, and Hispanic foreign born. Using analysis of variance and regression analysis we found that race/ethnicity did not play a statistically significant role in salary determination, no matter how race/ethnicity was coded.

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