Average Major League Baseball Career: 5.6 Years

[Omaha Red Sox]

Average Major League Baseball Career: 5.6 Years
By LiveScience Staff

posted: 09 July 2007 02:54 pm ET

How does a 1-year career sound? The average career of a Major League Baseball player is 5.6 years, according to a new study from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

One in five position players (non-pitchers) will have only a single-year career, the researchers found. And at any time during a player's career, the chance that it's just about over is at least 11 percent.
Results of the study will be published in the August issue of the journal Population Research and Policy Review.

The study looked at career stats of 5,989 position players who played 33,272 man-years in the majors between 1902 and 1993. Pitchers were excluded because of their unique positions, career volatility and propensity for injuries.

"Everyone knows that Major League Baseball is highly competitive," said former CU-Boulder graduate student William Witnauer, who worked on the study. "But as Americans enjoy this year's All-Star game, they now have a definitive answer on the average length of a baseball career."

[Noggy]

The study was for players from 1903 - 1993? I'm not sure how much of a "definitive answer" this is considering expansion.

[Snakes Gould]

tough range, because it really doesnt show current major leaguers average, but how could you if their careers arent over. 5.6 yrs is longer than id expect.

[Art Vandelay]

The study was for players from 1903 - 1993? I'm not sure how much of a "definitive answer" this is considering expansion.

Also, the advancements that have been made in health and fitness--especially surgeries--allow modern players to play much longer than previous generations.

[Drunken Rhino]

The study was for players from 1903 - 1993? I'm not sure how much of a "definitive answer" this is considering expansion.

Also, the advancements that have been made in health and fitness--especially surgeries--allow modern players to play much longer than previous generations.

True, but for every Roger Clemens or Greg Maddux there's gotta be a handful of MLBers that only get a month or less of service time. I have a feeling that this number wouldn't change all that drastically if they did include the last 14 years.

[Art Vandelay]

The study was for players from 1903 - 1993? I'm not sure how much of a "definitive answer" this is considering expansion.

Also, the advancements that have been made in health and fitness--especially surgeries--allow modern players to play much longer than previous generations.

True, but for every Roger Clemens or Greg Maddux there's gotta be a handful of MLBers that only get a month or less of service time. I have a feeling that this number wouldn't change all that drastically if they did include the last 14 years.

I'm not saying include the last 14 years, I'm saying throw out the first 75. Obviously, if they are just trying to figure out the average career of players in the 20th century, then their method is fine, but if they are trying to relate that to today's players, then anything before the mid-seventies is pretty much obsolete.