2008 Baseball

Baseball Research

Bristow, Schneider and Sebastian's (2010) article compared the fan loyalty of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs during the 2008 season. These scholars were interested in finding a tool to measure baseball fans loyalty. Using a questionnaire asking the interests of fans, they compared these answers to win loss records and home stadium attendance. The sample population would demonstrate their loyalty through their knowledge, competitiveness, and how many times they would attend home games.

The questionnaire was issued in both Arizona and Chicago. In Chicago the researchers posed the questions in bars and restaurants around Wrigley Field, while in Phoenix, they questioned the population sample at the baseball stadium. The data was collected over various times throughout the season and during games with different teams. This technique may contain bias due to the quality of opponents possibly determining the quality of the experience. The data was either collected before the games in Chicago, or right before the game started inside the stadium in Arizona. These sampling methods seem to be both valid and reliable because of the minimal amount of differences occurring during the sampling procedure.

The questions on the test asked about the personal knowledge about the sport of baseball, their levels of information, experience and expertise. Respondents were to answer using a number 1 through 6, where 1 =strongly disagree and 6 = strongly agree. Other questions asked about their competitiveness and how many times they attended games. Using various statistical analysis the writers devised a means to compare these numbers and determine whose fans are more loyal and dedicated.