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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Sep 14.
Published in final edited form as: Soc Sci Q. 2008 Jul 17;89(3):817–830. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00562.x

TABLE 1.

Percentage of Selected Characteristics, Major League Baseball Players, 1902–2004

Characteristics Percentage
Age Group
20–24 4.23
25–29 11.82
30–34 12.70
35–39 11.89
40–44 10.91
45–49 9.91
50–54 8.85
55–59 7.73
60–64 6.58
65–69 5.39
70–74 4.16
75–79 2.94
80–84 1.79
85+ 1.11
Period
< 1910 0.85
1910–1919 3.98
1920–1929 6.42
1930–1939 8.36
1940–1949 10.13
1950–1959 11.22
1960–1969 11.73
1970–2004 47.31
Cohort
Early Era 56.19
Golden Era 23.74
Modern Era 20.07
Anthropometric Variables
Body Mass Index
 Normal (18.5–<25.0) 58.80
 Overweight (25.0–<30.0) 40.92
 Obese Class I (30.0–<35.0) 0.28
Height
 <6 feet 54.81
 ≥ 6 feet 45.19
Handedness
 Right handed 86.47
 Left handed 13.53
Performance Measures
Career Rating
 Negative 86.03
 Positive 13.97
First-Year Rating
 Negative 77.51
 Positive 22.49
Seasons Played
 < 10 years 76.46
 10+years 23.54

Note: Based on person-years.

Source: Derived from Total Baseball, 8th edition, 2004. 822 Social Science Quarterly