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Cardboard Fans in the Stands: COVID and Compensation in Major League Baseball

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The pandemic’s impact on Major League Baseball (MLB) was especially dire. In 2020, a single player testing positive was enough to cancel the entire game, with a few teams sidelined for weeks. This paper looks at all free-agent contracts signed during the 2017–2023 off-season signing periods. Since this horizon spanned the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic seasons, we can examine the degree to which contract negotiations were affected by the pandemic. Using a sample of 643 free-agent signings, we found that contract compensation fell by as much as 20% during the pandemic. By 2022, however, player compensation had rebounded to pre-pandemic trends.

Source: International Journal of Empirical Economics

DOI: 10.1142/s2810943024500100

Author: Anthony Krautmann

Institution: DePaul University

Language: English

Topic: Sports Analytics and Performance

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4402067912

FWCI:

Cites: 17

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Related to: 10