Is It Just Enjoying Beer & Kettle Corn? The Correlation Between Spring Training Performance and Regular Season and World Series Performance

Abstract

MLB Spring Training draws much attention both in popular writing and academic research. Research on pre-season performance and its correlation to performance in the regular season following is not exclusive only to baseball. Still, no study has examined correlations between pre-season performance and playoffs performance. This study examines the correlation between Spring Training performance and performance during regular season and World Series. Analyzing 212 players statistics between the years 2008-2018 in Spring Training, regular season and World Series it was found that Spring Training performance has significant correlations with performance in regular season and more importantly in the World Series.