The Institutionalization of Fame: Achievement, Recognition, and Cultural Consecration in Baseball

Abstract

This article examines the history of the Baseball Hall of Fame as a cultural consecration project. It argues that the legitimacy of any consecration project depends on the cultural authority of the organization initiating the project, the rigorous selection procedures used by this organization, the relative selectivity of its outcomes, and the existence of objective differences in merit between the consecrated and the unconsecrated. However, prior research suggests that the relationship between merit and consecration is mediated by a series of social characteristics and contextual factors. This study proposes a theory of cumulative recognition, which asserts that the likelihood of consecration is affected by the cumulative effects of social characteristics and circumstances, prior social recognition, and media discourse, as well as by objective differences in achievement. The results of discrete-time event-history analyses of the outcomes of the Hall of Fame elections over the past four decades provide substantial confirmation of this theory. Overall, it is concluded that the procedural and substantive rationality exhibited by the Hall of Fame contributes greatly to its cultural legitimacy as a consecration project.

Toward a Comparative Sociology of Valuation and Evaluation

“…To wit: 1) Under Bourdieu [1993]"s influence, cultural sociologists have conducted studies of the cultural valuation of symbolic goods and social practices (e.g. art [Heinich 1997]; film [Baumann 2007], popular music [Regev & Seroussi 2004], popular culture [Illouz 2003], and baseball [Allen & Parsons 2006]); 2) Economic sociologists analyze the workings of markets for the production of value (e.g., Zuckerman 1999Zuckerman , 2004, as well as the commodification process by which objects become amenable to valuation and trade through the market (e.g., Carruthers & Stinchcombe 1999;Zelizer 1979Zelizer , 1994; 3) Sociologists of knowledge and science consider the growth and decline of intellectual reputations (e.g. Latour 1988;Collins 1998;Gross 2008;Lamont 1987), bandwagon effects in scientific fields (Fujimura 1988), as well as the institutionalization of academic fields; 4) Students of inequality research the distribution of status and social honor (Abbott 1981;Collins 2004;Ridgeway 2006;Sauder 2005, Zhou 2005) and competing definitions of worth across social groups (Lamont 1992;; 5) Social psychologists study how social identity is given value and meaning through comparison (Ashmore et al (2004) for a review); 6) Sociologists of organizations have studied how novelty (e.g., in governance) appears and how it generalizes (Campbell 1997); and how measuring rods and entities get selected out, who survives, and how order stabilizes.…”

“…By specifying steps in a legitimation process, one engages in theory building. For instance, Allen and Parsons (2006) study of reputation of pitchers and hitters in US major league baseball proposes a theory of cumulative recognition which leads to induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame. They break down the process that leads to the final stage of valorization in sport, distinguishing between achievement, recognition and consecration.…”

When Does Medici Hurt Da Vinci? Mitigating the Signaling Effect of Extraneous Stakeholder Relationships in the Field of Cultural Production

“…For example, Glynn & Lounsbury (2005) investigated how alterations in the evaluations of a symphony orchestra were triggered by a shift in the field's institutional logic. In a similar way, Allen & Parsons (2006) studied the institutionalization of systemic evaluation in the field of baseball. These studies shed light on the institutional mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of social evaluation and bridge the gap between processes and practices (Lamont, 2012).…”

“…Cultural consecration depends on instruments that progressively acquire legitimacy (Allen & Parsons, 2006). Among the multitude of devices that support social structures in cultural fields, professional awards like 'The Guild of Actors' award, the 'Grammy' award or the 'National Critics' Book' award epitomize the idea of peer recognition and offer symbolic capital to those who build upon orthodox rules of production (Kremp, 2010).…”

Seeing Stars: Matthew Effects and Status Bias in Major League Baseball Umpiring

“…Status is highly visible in most sports and has a considerable influence over the behavior of all actors involved. Baseball in particular is a sport that is steeped in tradition, and status distinctions such as the Hall of Fame and All-Stars have been an integral part of the sport's prominence in American culture (Allen and Parsons 2006). Our analysis focuses specifically on baseball umpires' calls of nonswinging pitches during at-bats in Major League baseball games.…”