A recent study published in the prestigious journal Economic Inquiry sheds new light on how Major League Baseball (MLB) teams manage player injuries, revealing a striking discrepancy based on the employment status of players. Analyzing data spanning nearly a decade, from 2009 to 2017, the research highlights that athletes bound by temporary contracts miss significantly fewer games due to injuries compared to their permanently contracted counterparts. This pattern suggests that teams may be less willing to invest in the long-term health and well-being of transient players, a finding laden with broader implications for labor economics and human capital investment across various industries.
The investigators leveraged an extensive dataset comprising 4,125 individual observations from 1,184 unique MLB players. On average, these players had data available for approximately 3.5 seasons each, enabling a robust longitudinal analysis of injury incidence and management strategies. The data richness allowed researchers to disentangle the nuanced relationship between contract type and injury outcomes, controlling for confounding factors like player age, position, and historical injury record.
One of the most compelling insights from the study is the apparent reluctance of organizations to allocate resources toward protecting and rehabilitating temporary players. This contrasts sharply with the more substantial injury downtime observed among permanently contracted players, who presumably receive greater medical attention and rehabilitative support. From an economic perspective, the findings underscore how firms’ incentives may be closely tied to the expected tenure of employees, influencing their willingness to safeguard human capital investments.
The analysis delves deeper into the economic rationale underpinning these behaviors. Temporary employees, such as short-term contract players in MLB, often lack the security and assurances that come with permanent positions. Thus, teams may perceive these players as less valuable over the long term and optimize their resource allocation accordingly. The reduced playtime lost to injury among temporary players may reflect a form of underreporting or accelerated return-to-play policies, highlighting a potential sacrifice of health for immediate performance gains.
These findings reverberate beyond the sports domain, provoking critical discourse on the treatment of temporary or contingent workers in the broader labor market. Temporary employment arrangements have proliferated across myriad sectors, from technology to healthcare, intensifying debates about fairness, occupational risk management, and ethical labor practices. If professional sports franchises, with their access to elite medical care and substantial financial incentives, demonstrate divergent treatment based on employment status, what might this imply for industries with fewer safeguards?
Dr. Richard Paulsen, the study’s corresponding author and a distinguished economist at the University of Michigan, contextualizes these insights with broader labor market concerns. He notes that firms have intrinsically weak incentives to prioritize the health of temporary employees, often because any lasting ill effects are unlikely to burden the employer once the contract terminates. This observation raises troubling questions about worker exploitation and the sustainability of human capital investments under increasingly flexible labor regimes.
Methodologically, the study employed rigorous econometric techniques to isolate the causal impact of contract status on injury management outcomes. Controlling for player-specific fixed effects, seasonality patterns, and team-level policies allowed the authors to build a comprehensive picture of how contractual conditions shape organizational behaviors. Such intricate analysis demonstrates the power of economic inquiry to reveal underlying mechanisms in labor economics, emphasizing the interplay between incentive structures and human capital deployment.
Beyond injury incidence, the research prompts reflection on broader strategic considerations in professional sports franchises. Decisions regarding investment in medical treatment and injury prevention are not solely athletic but hinge on complex economic calculations. The study suggests that these decisions can perpetuate inequities, where players on temporary contracts effectively bear higher health risks without commensurate protections.
Importantly, the scope of this research situates sports labor markets within the larger frame of economic theory on employment contracts and investment in human capital. Temporary workers represent a growing segment of the global workforce, yet they frequently face diminished access to health benefits and career development support. The parallels drawn from MLB’s ecosystem offer a microcosm of these systemic challenges, providing a data-driven basis for policy discussions on worker protection.
The implications of the findings extend to organizational management and corporate social responsibility. Firms seeking to optimize performance must grapple with the ethical dimensions of workforce management, especially in the context of temporary employment. The study’s results encourage stakeholders, from team owners to labor regulators, to consider reforms that balance short-term economic incentives with long-term well-being and equity.
This research also invites future studies to explore intervention strategies that could mitigate disparities in injury outcomes. For example, standardized health protocols or contractual reforms might ensure more uniform attention to all players, regardless of tenure. Such initiatives could prove instrumental in fostering a more equitable and sustainable labor environment within and outside sports.
In conclusion, the study titled “Temporary Employment and the Protection of Investments in Human Capital: Examining the Major League Baseball Player Market” offers compelling evidence that contract status significantly influences injury management and human capital investment in MLB. The research not only advances academic understanding of labor economics but also serves as a powerful narrative on the ethical treatment of temporary workers—an issue with wide-reaching societal relevance. As labor markets evolve, these insights will be invaluable for shaping policies that promote fairness, health, and productivity across industries.
Subject of Research: The economic impact of contract status on injury management and human capital investment among Major League Baseball players.
Article Title: Temporary Employment and the Protection of Investments in Human Capital: Examining the Major League Baseball Player Market
News Publication Date: 3-Sep-2025
Web References:
- Economic Inquiry Journal: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14657295
- DOI Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70016
References:
Paulsen, R. (2025). Temporary Employment and the Protection of Investments in Human Capital: Examining the Major League Baseball Player Market. Economic Inquiry. DOI:10.1111/ecin.70016
Keywords: Sports, Economics, Human Resources, Corporations
