Sunday, April 11, 2004

Does baseball refute the 1st law of demand? 

Someone at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram studied the factors which influence baseball attendance. The results, published in this story, demonstrate that regression analysis in the hands of a reporter can be a dangerous thing. Items that affect attendance according to the Star-Telegram:
• Every increase of 100 runs scored brought in 273,160 fans.

• Every $10 million increase in payroll brought in 130,000 fans.

• Every $10 increase in the cost of attending a game brought in 51,372 fans.
Ahem. Higher prices "brought in" fans? I believe we have a specification issue here!

The title of the story is "Runs, not victories, keep fans in stands." Fans like offense, no doubt, but I'm not ready to buy the Star-Telegram's analysis just yet.

permalink posted by Skip Sauer @ 11:34 AM