The Designated Hitter Rule and Team Defensive Strategy in Japan's Professional Baseball Leagues

Akihiko Kawaura and Sumner La Croix

No 80, Economics Study Area Working Papers from East-West Center, Economics Study Area

Abstract: Economists have debated whether and why the designated hitter (DH) rule in North American major league baseball led to an increase in hit-batsmen. We use data from Japan's professional baseball leagues, the Pacific League (DH rule) and the Central League (no DH rule), to re-examine this question. Our empirical findings reveal increases in hit-batsmen in the Pacific League after we control for the DH's effect on team batting performance. We argue that the DH rule induced changes in managerial defensive strategies that led to more hit-batsmen. Subsequent rule changes reduced the effectiveness of these strategies.

JEL-codes: D81 J28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: pages
Date: 2005-05
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Designated Hitter Rule and Team Defensive Strategy in Japan's Professional Baseball Leagues (2007)
Working Paper: The Designated Hitter Rule and Team Defensive Strategy in Japan’s Professional Baseball Leagues (2006)
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