Exit Discrimination in Major League Baseball: 1990–2004

Abstract

Using a panel study of annual Major League Baseball (MLB) data (1990‐2004), we do not find evidence that race affects the career duration of black hitters. Our findings are inconsistent with results from a study by Jiobu (1988) who used 1971‐1985 data that found that race decreased career length, ceteris paribus, for black hitters but not Hispanics. The difference in results could be due to our use of seasonal‐variant data; Jiobu used only career statistics in his research. Another interpretation of the differing results is that market competition overcame discrimination. This could be interpreted as an affirmation of Becker's theoretical work on discrimination. Our results for pitchers also do not indicate any exit discrimination against the minority groups.

A multilevel perspective on faultlines: Differentiating the effects between group- and organizational-level faultlines.

“…First, both age and racial diversity have been studied in their connection to team performance in professional sports teams, including baseball teams (Timmerman, 2000). In particular, a number of studies have identified race as a particularly salient feature in sports teams (Cunningham, Choi, & Sagas, 2008; Groothuis & Hill, 2008; Kahn & Sherer, 1988; Stone, Lynch, Sjomeling, & Darley, 1999). Other sports studies have highlighted the importance of country of origin and identified it as a growing phenomenon—the unmistakable influx of international professional sports players in both the MLB and in the National Basketball Association (NBA; Eschker, Perez, & Siegler, 2004; Sakuda, 2012).…”