The impact of the elimination of the reserve clause on domination, economics, and labor-management relations in Major League Baseball

In this study three major issues in Major League Baseball are examined for the effect of what the elimination of the reserve clause had upon them or caused them to be created. These issues were domination, economics, and labor-management relations. Regression analysis on home and away attendance equations used by Hunt and Lewis (1976) was compared to current regression conducted on these equations. Correlation coefficients for the variables in this study’s equations were also conducted. A dominance statistic was also calculated and compared to Hunt and Lewis’ findings. The findings on the home and away attendance equations found significant changes in the regression analysis. Correlation coefficients of these variables were found to have logical effects on home and away attendance. Domination was found to have decreased after the elimination of the reserve clause. The conclusion was that domination, as feared by the advent of free agency, was not baseball’s main problem. Through the studies in the literature it can be demonstrated that baseball’s main concern is free agency and its effect on labor-management negotiations and inflation of salaries.