scholarly journals Relative age effects in male Japanese professional athletes: A 25-year historical analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nao Sasano ◽  
Yoichi Katsumata ◽  
Hiroki Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Professional Athletes ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Japanese Male ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Biased Distribution

Abstract Background: The mechanisms underlying the relative age effect (RAE), a biased distribution of birth dates, in sport events have been investigated for more than two decades. The present study comprised an historical analysis involving the most recent quarter-century (1993-2018) on RAEs among Japanese male professional athletes (soccer, baseball, basketball, and volleyball) to clarify how the RAEs changed over time.Methods: Birth data were obtained from 7,805 Japanese male professional athletes registered in 1993, 2001, 2010, and 2018. The athletes were divided into four groups based on their month of birth: quartiles Q1 (April–June), Q2 (July–September), Q3 (October–December), and Q4 (January–March of the following year). In addition, based on the data in 1993 for soccer and baseball and in 2010 for basketball and volleyball, the expected numbers of players were calculated in 2001, 2010, and 2018 for soccer and baseball, and 2018 for basketball and volleyball.Results: Significant RAEs were observed among soccer and baseball players in 1993, 2001, 2010, and 2018, and strong tendencies of RAEs were found among basketball and volleyball players in 2010 and 2018. The magnitudes of the RAEs in soccer, baseball, and volleyball decreased over time, but not in basketball.Conclusion: The exact reasons for the decreasing or unchanging RAEs among these professional players remains unclear, but socio-culture factors, such as low birthrates and the popularity of sports in Japan, might be related to the changing RAEs.

scholarly journals Relative age effects in Japanese athletes: A 25-year historical analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nao Sasano ◽  
Yoichi Katsumata ◽  
Hiroki Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Professional Athletes ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Japanese Male ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Biased Distribution

Abstract Background: The mechanisms underlying the relative age effect (RAE), a biased distribution of birth dates, in sport events have been investigated for more than two decades. The present study comprised an historical analysis involving the most recent quarter-century (1993-2018) on RAEs among Japanese male professional athletes (soccer, baseball, basketball, and volleyball) to clarify how the RAEs changed over time. Methods: Birth data were obtained from 7,805 Japanese male professional athletes registered in 1993, 2001, 2010, and 2018. The athletes were divided into four groups based on their month of birth: quartiles Q1 (April–June), Q2 (July–September), Q3 (October–December), and Q4 (January–March of the following year). In addition, based on the data in 1993 for soccer and baseball and in 2010 for basketball and volleyball, the expected numbers of players were calculated in 2001, 2010, and 2018 for soccer and baseball, and 2018 for basketball and volleyball. Results: Significant RAEs were observed among soccer and baseball players in 1993, 2001, 2010, and 2018, and strong tendencies of RAEs were found among basketball and volleyball players in 2010 and 2018. The magnitudes of the RAEs in soccer, baseball, and volleyball decreased over time, but not in basketball. Conclusion: The exact reasons for the decreasing or unchanging RAEs among these professional players remains unclear, but socio-culture factors, such as low birthrates and the popularity of sports in Japan, might be related to the changing RAEs.

scholarly journals Relative Age Effects in Male Japanese Professional Athletes: a 25-Year Historical Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nao Sasano ◽  
Yoichi Katsumata ◽  
Hiroki Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Professional Athletes ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Japanese Male ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Biased Distribution

Abstract Background The mechanisms underlying the relative age effect (RAE), a biased distribution of birth dates, in sport events have been investigated for more than two decades. The present study comprised an historical analysis involving the most recent quarter-century (1993–2018) on RAEs among Japanese male professional athletes (soccer, baseball, basketball, and volleyball) to clarify how the RAEs changed over time. Methods Birth data were obtained from 7805 Japanese male professional athletes registered in 1993, 2001, 2010, and 2018. The athletes were divided into four groups based on their month of birth: quartiles Q1 (April–June), Q2 (July–September), Q3 (October–December), and Q4 (January–March of the following year). In addition, based on the data in 1993 for soccer and baseball and in 2010 for basketball and volleyball, the expected numbers of players were calculated in 2001, 2010, and 2018 for soccer and baseball, and 2018 for basketball and volleyball. Results Significant RAEs were observed among soccer and baseball players in 1993, 2001, 2010, and 2018, and strong tendencies of RAEs were found among basketball and volleyball players in 2010 and 2018. The magnitudes of the RAEs in soccer, baseball, and volleyball decreased over time, but not in basketball. Conclusion The exact reasons for the decreasing or unchanging RAEs among these professional players remain unclear, but socio-cultural factors, such as low birthrates and the popularity of sports in Japan, might be related to the changing RAEs.

Relative age effect in Brazilian soccer players: a historical analysis

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 563-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Teoldo Da Costa ◽  
R. Maicon Albuquerque ◽  
Júlio Garganta
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Soccer Players ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect

A Relative Age Effect in Men's but Not Women's Professional Baseball: 1943–1954

2011 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest L. Abel ◽  
Michael M. Kruger ◽  
Kalyani Pandya
Keyword(s):  
Age Effect ◽  
Professional Baseball ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Female Professionals ◽  
Cutoff Date

Birthdates of professional female and male baseball players active from 1943 to 1954 (the beginning and final years for professional female leagues) were matched for year of birth and league years and then compared by birth quarters, with a cutoff date beginning August 1. A relative age effect was noted for males, as there was a significantly different distribution of players across birth quarter, but there was no such effect for female professionals. Since players were matched for birth year and league play, the difference was unlikely to be due to seasonality differences in birth. Instead, the absence of a “relative age” effect for female players can be attributed to the absence of organized adolescent baseball for girls prior to the establishment of professional baseball leagues for women.

Relative Age Effect in Japanese Male Athletes

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 570-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Nakata ◽  
Kiwako Sakamoto
Keyword(s):  
Age Effect ◽  
Male Athletes ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Japanese Male

“Born to Play Ball” The Relative Age Effect and Major League Baseball

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus H. Thompson ◽  
Roger H. Barnsley ◽  
George Stebelsky
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Eligibility Criterion ◽  
Baseball Players ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Little League ◽  
Major League ◽  
The One

The records of 837 major league baseball players were examined in order to determine whether the Little League age eligibility criterion, based on the month of birth, affected participation rate at the professional level. The results indicated that major league players were more likely to have been born in the first months of the year, if that year corresponded to the one used for eligibility for Little League baseball (i.e., beginning in August and ending in July). A reanalysis of data presented in the literature (which suggested no effect) produced a similar result. These data are interpreted in terms of the relative age effect. That is, because of age cutoffs used in Little League baseball, some players gain a developmental advantage when competing against other youngsters who are considerably younger, although they are placed in the same age category for league play.

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