From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball
Subject: The Pennant Race
Date: 17 Apr 92 14:30:08 GMT
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations

In article <IdvZJjS00WBNQ=jZIF@andrew.cmu.edu> King-Han Yao <ky0l+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>A study was done by Kahn and Sherer that proved that in the NBA, if a
>black and white player had equal skill, the white player would earn from
>16 to 23 percent more.  Part of the reason for this, they hypothesize,
>is discrimination among basketball fans.  

Anecdotal evidence of such: In the Miami Heat's first season, they had
fan balloting to determine the team's most valuable player.  The winner
was something like the ninth-highest scoring player on the team, and he
averaged maybe fifteen minutes a game.  Quick, can you guess the skin
color of the team's top eight scorers, and their MVP?

(They changed the fan balloting competition to "Most Popular Player.")

Nardinelli and Simon had a study of racial discrimination in baseball
cards in 105 Quarterly J Econ 575 (1990).  The study has some flaws that
may be fatal, but they found a similar premium among baseball cards of
white players.





They also found "that
>replacing a black player with a white player of equal skill raised
>attendance and revenues by amoungs roughly comparable to the 16-23
>percent premium paid to whites!" (Ehrenberg and Smith). 
>In another study, on starting pitchers, (I don't remember who did it, or
>what the exact figures were, I just remember the gist of the article),
>it was found that attendance was down considerable when the home team's
>starting pitcher was a minority (i.e., black and hispanic) based on
>comparable skills.
>   
>
>>I think Rickey is a jerk.
>>He is also a GREAT ballplayer. Rob Dibble is a white jerk. Great pitcher
>>Racism is a huge problem in our society (heck, the world), and I hate
>>to see that. It is truly unfair and terrible. It makes matters worse
>>when every time two people are compared that happen to be of different
>>race, the inequities are attributed to racism. The issues in this
>>argument are:
>>          1) Who is a better ballplayer. Rickey is getting the
>>             overwhelming majority of votes here.
>>          2) Who is a better person. Not the original question, but it
>>             evolved to this. Nolan is winning this one.
>>If we were comparing Kirby Puckett and Jack Clark, what does Jack Clark
>>have to attribute Puckett's popularity to? Better market? Racism?
>>Assholes don't get endorsements because they have a bad public image
>>(rightfully so). Guys with a good image get endorsemants and interviews,
>>etc. Racism is a bad enough problem without it unnecessarily being
>>thrown into an argument. I am 100% sure that Rickey Henderson has been
>>a victim of racism in his life. I don't think this is one of those
>>times.
>> 
>>Chuck
>
>
>-------------
>King Yao                       
>Economics 
>Class of '92                   
>Carnegie Mellon 
>


-- 
Ted Frank          + "Question whether attorney's filing claim for 'stud fee'
1307 E 60 St, #109 +  as countersuit to paternity action was improperly
U o' C Law Skool   +  motivated required remand."  Headnote 9, Committee on
Chi, IL 60637      +  Legal Ethics of WVa State Bar v Douglas, 370 SE2d 325.
Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball