The Wages of Wins

David J. Berri is Associate Professor of Economics at California State University, Bakersfield. Martin B. Schmidt is Associate Professor of Economics at the College of William and Mary. Stacey L. Brook is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Sioux Falls.

contentsList of Figures and TablesviiPrefacexiPreface to the Paperback EditionxvChapter 1Games with Numbers1Chapter 2Much Talking, Little Walking11Chapter 3Can You Buy the Fan's Love?30Chapter 4Baseball's Competitive Balance Problem?46Chapter 5The NBA's Competitive Balance Problem?69Chapter 6Shaq and Kobe90Chapter 7Who Is the Best?116Chapter 8A Few Chicago Stories146Chapter 9How Are Quarterbacks Like Mutual Funds?172Chapter 10Scoring to Score201Notes227References269Index279

"When I read the book, I was impressed by the amount of effort that went into compiling the reams of data that underlie the work ... The fundamental case the authors make is that the statistical analysis shows that the conventional wisdom about sports is dead wrong - that the data as the put it, "offers many surprises." - Joe Nocera, The New York Times "In The Wages of Wins, the authors attempt to puncture some popular myths - saying that payroll and wins are not highly correlated, and that in baseball, football.attendance hasn't been significantly affected by players strikes or owner lockouts." - Sue Kirchhoff, USA Today "In The Wages of Wins, the economists David J. Berri, Martin B. Schmidt, and Stacey L. Brook set out to solve the Iverson problem. Weighing the relative value of fouls, rebounds, shots taken, turnovers, and the like, they've created an algorithm that, they argue, comes closer than any previous statistical measure to capturing the true value of a basketball player ... Looking at the findings that Berri, Schmidt, and Brook present is enough to make one wonder what exactly basketball experts - coaches, managers, sportswriters - know about basketball." - Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker "Wages is provocative, stimulating and challenging." - Dick Friedman, Sports Illustrated "It is one thing when an obnoxious fan or sports talk show blowhard spouts off about who is the best player or why a certain team doesn't win games. It is quite another thing when three economics professors, which the authors of this book are, who love sports give you proof to back up their arguments. Not many casual basketball fans would agree that Allen Iverson isn't a very productive player, but the authors have the data to show otherwise. It is hard to argue when the cold hard facts are in front of your face... The Wages of Wins is a very important book in the field of sports economics and a very enjoyable and thought provoking read. It leaves you wanting a sequel to it (which, luckily, the writers hint at)." - CollegeHoops.net "Sports fans with an analytical bent shouldn't skip this book. And come to think of it, perhaps sports executives should be reading it as well." - The Free Lance-Star "This book presents complex economic analysis in a breezy manner that the casual sports fan and econophobe will appreciate and enjoy. I plan to assign it to students and recommend it to friends." - Michael Leeds, Temple University, and author of The Economics of Sports