The Many Dimensions Of Competitive Balance And The Attendance Of Major League Baseball

This research proposed a set of measures of Competitive Balance which aims to address three dimensions of Competitive Balance: Closeness, Dominance and Consistency. Longitudinal MLB data is used for empirical evaluation purpose. The matched pair of teams is used as the basic research object in this study, and the growth model is applied to analyze the relationship between game attendances and the proposed measures of Competitive Balance. Research confirmed that Competitive Balance is multidimensional, and not every dimension of Competitive Balance is correlated with game attendance. Fans prefer changes, and they are not attracted by consecutive wins or losses. Rather fans are more like to go to games that can potentially affect teams0́9 standings in their divisions or league. Fans show no specific preferences to upset games.