The Effects of Closed-door Baseball Games

Abstract

With the ongoing trend of closed-door baseball games, we researched to discover the actual effect of the crowd during this isolated season. Taking advantage of the current data provided by three reliable sports-related websites, we obtained significant results comparing previous years’ home team winning percentage data to this year’s. Initially, we found that the overall home team winning percentage of 2020 (the crowd-less season) was lower than that of the previous year (with crowds). From this finding, additional analyses were conducted, each controlling for another different factor of home winning percentage. Analysis 1 found that holding for skill difference amongst teams, the matchup of teams with a similar skill level showed a positive effect of crowds, aiding the home team wins. Analysis 2 found that home-field advantage of home teams in 2020 had decreased compared to 2019, proving once again that crowd does have a positive effect on home winning percentage. Thus, it was ultimately determined through the multiple qualifications and subsequent tests that there was evidence of a positive correlation between crowds and increased home winning.