Analytics and baseball card values

Abstract

PurposeThe authors contrast Beckett and Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) baseball card valuations. Also, the authors contrast the Bill James statistics for winshares (WIN) and reference.com statistics for wins above replacement (WAR).Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the impact of analytics on Topps 1957 baseball card values.FindingsThe authors' examination of variables that influence Topps 1957 baseball card values yields similar results for mint and very good rated cards over the early period (1982), pre-strike (1989), post-strike (1998) and recent (2009) periods. In single variable and multiple regressions, Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) membership and New York Yankee (NYY) nostalgia coefficient are significant at the 5% level or higher for mint and very good rated cards over all reported periods. The Brooklyn Dodger (BD) parameter is significant at the 5% level or higher in single variable regressions for all reported periods and for 1982 and 1989 for multiple regressions. Reflecting a lack of nostalgia, the New York Giant card coefficients are statistically insignificant over all periods. Also, the authors see a lack of negative bias for Black-player cards. The authors observe that Black-player card coefficients are positive and sometimes statistically significant. This indicates a positive relationship between Black-player cards and prices.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine the impact of WINS and WAR analytics on baseball card values.