Ss

“—%

——————-:S—:—tC“( Ot:

PROFICIENT YEARS AT SPORTS

of the major league players are included more than once in Who’s
Who in Baseball, it should be clearly understood that Figure 1 does
not present data for 3,126 different individuals. The 3,126 player-
years were contributed by perhaps 500 to 600 different individual
players. The following computation will enable the reader better to
understand the cross-sectional data that are revealed in Figure 1:

22 = Number of editions of Who’s Who that were canvassed.
3,126 = Total number of player-years during the 22-year period.
22) 3,126
142.09 = Number of player-years for each of the 22 seasons.
16 = Number of clubs in the two major leagues
16 ) 142.09
8.88 = Average number of players (excluding pitchers) included in
Who’s Who each year from each of the 16 major league
clubs.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

en 27

H 00% Log

80 80

60 60

40 40

L20 20

lo 18 20 8S SSCSC«SSC*SO 1015 20 8 30 3540 «45 50

Ficure 1. Chronological ages of major FicureE 2. Chronological ages of major

league baseball players (other than league baseball pitchers. A 22-year cross-
pitchers). A 22-year cross-sectional sectional study involving 1,666 pitcher-
study involving 3,126 player-years. years.

The foregoing computation reveals that, in compiling the annual
editions of Who’s Who in Baseball, the editors usually select an average
of slightly less than nine men (excluding pitchers) from each of the
sixteen major league baseball clubs. It seems obvious that, as a group,
the individuals whose names are included during a given year in Who’s
Who in Baseball are the most talented baseball players of the United —
States (and of the world).

skill was exhibited one year prior to the publication of a given edition of Who’s Who.
It was likewise necessary to allow for the fact that the baseball playing season does not
coincide with the calendar year. Since Who’s Who publishes the day and the month, as
well as the year, of birth, the latter computation afforded no insuperable difficulty.