Comparison of Mortality Rates Between Major League Baseball Players and the General Population

Abstract

All previous “internal” analyses in this book have compared select groups of Major League Baseball players within the study cohort. To better contextualize the study findings uncovered thus far, it is useful to conduct “external” analyses that compare mortality rates for the study cohort to those for the general population. This can be done using Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) based on US mortality statistics for males in the general population that are race- and age-matched. Previous published studies of elite athletes, including participants in a range of international sports as well as research addressing professional baseball, football, and basketball players, provide consistent evidence that athletes fare significantly better mortality-wise relative to general populations.

Empirical SMR results from the current study indicate that mortality rates are significantly lower among non-Hispanic white cohorts compared to non-Hispanic whites in the general population. The same is true for African-American players and their general population counterparts. Within Hispanics, however, while the results are directionally consistent with the other 2 study groups, the difference between the baseball players and the general population is not significant. Overall, comparisons between Major League Baseball players and the general population are consistent with results from previously published literature on elite athletes that show mortality advantages for the athletes.