Making the show--and staying there: baseball careers are not compressed versions of normal careers--rather they are skewed substantially toward early exit.

• Author: Witnauer, William D.
• Position: Athletic Arena - Essay

SEVERAL characteristics distinguish professional sports careers from most others. Notably, players know--but do not necessarily accept--that the role is quite temporary, exit often is involuntary, and the elite smuts conferred by the role is difficult to achieve after leaving. The odds of becoming a professional athlete are low and, even after a rigorous selection process, a major league career may be brief. Just two of 10,000 males aged 15 to 39 reach professional athlete status.

A normal work career typically involves a gradual ascent followed by a slow decline, but baseball careers are characterized by rapid ascent followed by rapid decline, or, more accurately, as an inevitably short time on a very slippery slope. For different ages there are different performance expectations, and failure to meet these expectations likely will end a baseball career. In the minor leagues, it is easier to determine the future of baseball players at performance extremes: exceptional players are promoted to higher leagues and subpar ones sometimes are demoted, but more often are dropped from the organization. Players near the margins may linger at the same level, too good to let go but not good enough to promote. Research indicates that the age of peak performance is between 27 and 30 and that star players peak earlier and maintain their peak performance longer.

Ballplayers leave the game for a wide variety of reasons, including retirement, other career opportunities, injuries, drag and alcohol abuse, gambling difficulties, and death. Many wish to continue to play because they love the game; some, became of low levels of education and little job experience, may lack alternate career choices. Many professional athletes retire because of injuries. One study established that eight 20th-century players had their careers significantly altered after being struck by a pitch. Another study of retired baseball players demonstrated that 45.2% indicated forced retirement. This number seems low considering the numerous anecdotal accounts in baseball literature and other role exit studies that show leaving the status of professional athlete as undesirable and difficult. For instance, following a 24-year career, Pete Rose, the game's all-time hits leader, stated, "I would walk through hell in a gasoline suit to keep playing baseball."

Of course, there are more unfortunate reasons why some players' careers are cut short. After extensive archival research on players from 1900 through 1992, one study cites 20 sex scandals, numerous gambling malefactions, 31 individuals banned for life, 63 players who were "named, arrested, treated, or have admitted to having used cocaine," and numerous drinking problems. One player died of on-field injuries; 18 died within 12 months of having played; four active players have been murdered, and five have committed suicide.

Baseball has witnessed both expansions and contractions during its history, changes that have affected players' career prospects. We examine the Early, Golden Age, and Modem eras. In the Early Era, between...