The Spread of Integration in Major League Baseball

Abstract

After the initial integration of Major League Baseball (MLB), teams introduced black players at different rates. We examine whether, and to what extent, team performance affected the rate of spread of integration. Our theoretical model predicts that teams of moderate talent will integrate fastest. We confirm this prediction using data from the first twenty years of MLB integration. However we show that relatively little of the spread of integration can be explained by differences in talent/performance, suggesting that competitive rivalry (as we measure it) was not the primary driver of the pace of integration in MLB.