Not So Black and White: Race and Promotion in Major League Baseball, 1951-1955
Journal of Sport and Social Issues
Published online on February 26, 2016
Abstract
Jackie Robinson was the first acknowledged Black player in 20th century Major League Baseball (MLB). By 1951, a few Black players had performed credibly at the Major League level, while others were integrating Minor League Baseball. Unlike other labor situations where proxies for productivity must be used, Minor League players at the AAA level—the level just below the Major Leagues—performed and compiled their playing statistics under similar competitive environments. Using regression analysis, we test whether there is evidence of discrimination in promoting Black players to the Major Leagues, based on productivity data from the early 1950s.