|
Abstract:
|
For professional sporting teams, player injuries are an unavoidable reality, even in sports that are broadly classified as "non-contact," such as Major League Baseball (MLB). However, injuries vary broadly in terms of severity, and congruently in terms of injury recovery time. If many injuries, especially severe injuries, occur across the 162 game season, it is plausible to assume there may be some associated influence on a MLB team's performance. Additionally, to whom the injury befalls would likely have some effect on the team's overall performance as the on-field quality of play may wane due to missing all-star caliber players for prolonged amounts of time. This study examines the effect of player injuries on overall MLB team regular season performance in terms of wins for the 2014-2017 regular seasons. In addition to number of injuries and time spent injured, other team and player specific covariates are considered, including player position, minor league player quality, presumed capability or willingness to sign top players, and predicted "Wins Above Replacement" as a metric of perceived MLB player quality. Results, interpretations, implications, and future research.
|
