The Impact of Postseason Restructuring on the Competitive Balance and Fan Demand in Major League Baseball

초록

The author analyzed issues of playoff uncertainty (PU) by examining competitive balance and outcome uncertainty. Specifically, the author (a) developed an alternative measure of PU, (b) analyzed the relationship between PU and postseason structure in Major League Baseball (MLB), and (c) tested the PU of the Outcome hypothesis using our PU measure. The results provide empirical evidence that postseason restructurings in 1969 and 1995 enhanced the PU significantly and had positive effects on fan demand for MLB. This implies that the league office can partly control PU by revising the league structure and thus increasing fan demand.

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