Baseballs Napoleonic Complex

In 2000, three seasons after the institution of a revenue sharing plan, Major League Baseball commissioned the Blue Ribbon Panel to assess competitive balance within the league. Their report found that small market teams are at a considerable disadvantage due to the larger revenue bases of teams located in more heavily populated areas. However, these results have often been challenged. This thesis builds upon existing models in an attempt to determine the extent to which market size and local revenue independently affect competitive balance. Additionally, it seeks to analyze any effects of baseball's revenue sharing plan on competitive balance. While the findings support the claim that revenue sharing enhances competitive balance, they fail to establish market size as a positive determinant of local revenue.