How much should Manny’s stats have dropped? June 8, 2010
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball, Economics.Tags: Baseball, baseball-reference.com, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, sports economics, steroids in baseball
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In an earlier post, I used Manny Ramirez‘s differential line to make the case that discontinuing use of performance-enhancing drugs was largely responsible for his drop in production. That’s vulnerable to the criticism that Manny is 38, and that even the best 38-year-old player’s stats drop from his 37-year-old stats.
With that in mind, I queried Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index to find the stats of players from 1961 to 2009 who, like Manny, played 50% or more of their games in the outfield or as a designated hitter (where Manny might be if he played for an AL team). On average, the 37- and 38-year old players played about 105 games, so I scaled Manny’s drop in stats over the first 27 games to 105 games in order to make the comparison clear. The differential line is behind the cut.
Manny bidding Manny July 16, 2009
Posted by tomflesher in Academia, Baseball.Tags: Albuquerque Isotopes, auctions, Dodgers, Economics haiku, externalities, Manny Ramirez, Pigouvian tax, steroids in baseball, suspension
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There’s been some debate as to whether Manny Ramirez should have been allowed to make his rehab starts in AAA Albuquerque before returning to his Major League club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, after a 50-game suspension for drug use. Behind the cut, I’d like to think about some of the reasons behind the punishment and propose a solution.
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