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COMMENTARY | Noah Brier

Baseball Prisoner's Dilemma

October 28, 2009 | RSS | EMAIL | PRINT | 9 COMMENTS

Inspired by this comic I was having a conversation with my co-worker Ryan, a devout Red Sox fan, about what it would take for him to root for the Yankees. I couldn't come up with a real scenario where that would make sense other than it being the last game of the season with a tie in records between the Rays and Red Sox with the Yankees playing the Rays for the last game. In that scenario, where the Yankees are already out of the playoffs, I imagine even a Red Sox fan could root for them.

But, what if by some strange turn of events it was announced that there were going to be two World Series champions in the year 2022 (no idea why that year, but bear with me). As a Red Sox fan the choice would go like this: Either the Red Sox AND the Yankees win the World Series that season or it goes to the two teams the Red Sox fan hates after the Yankees (I imagine there's a pretty big gap in that list). It's sort of like baseball prisoner's dilemma. For argument's sake, let's say neither team has won a world series since their last and that years win will carry the same level of prestige as any other year. What would a Red Sox fan (or a Yankees fan, for that matter) choose?

Tags: baseball, psychology


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COMMENTS

1Ryan McManus

OK, you've got me. If somehow the Rays (or hell, why not, the Orioles) find themselves in first place going into the playoffs, and the Red Sox are trailing the Rangers by one game for the Wild Card, and the Yankees (who are in DEAD LAST by at LEAST 20 games) are playing the Rangers in the last three games of the season - they literally decide whether the Sox go to the postseason or not - sigh - I'd have to hope the Yankees would win.

Christ, I feel dirty.

This is like that Saw movie.

October 28, 2009

2Ryan McManus

As for this insanely ludicrous, Death Race 2000-level dystopic future vision where there are 2 WS winners in a year, and we're all eating the genetically cloned offal of Joba Chamberlain?

Shit. Of course I'd root for the Sox/Yankees domination. I welcome it. I only hope in the last 15 minutes of the movie, Ortiz hurls his bat through a screen showing the projected reanimated face of George Steinbrenner VI, and the 2020 Red Sox went all James Caan at the end of Rollerball on the Yanks.

TWO MEN ENTER, ONE MAN LEAVE!

October 28, 2009

3Curt

Ryan's first comment is exactly right, though I find it's not that rare. It's tough but there have been quite a few times where I've rooted for the Yanks when they've been playing a team giving the Sox a run for their money in the wild card race. It gives me no pleasure and it's purely a business decision.

October 28, 2009

4Bill Petti

Technically speaking, this a dilemma, not a prisoner's dilemma. While choosing from two unwanted outcomes is certainly a dilemma, it lacks the strategic element of the prisoner's dilemma. Speaking as a Met's fan, my optimal strategy does not take into account how someone else is going to cheer. Both are suboptimal, the question is simply which is less painful :)

October 28, 2009

5Jon Spooner

Not sure why but my AL vs NL bias is stronger than my Yankee hatred.

At least if the Yankees win it that puts the Red Sox in the same hemisphere as the World Champs.

And next years NYY v BOS series will be btw the World Champs and the Sox - so therein more coverage as the Sox get it together over the winter and win the Series next year!

October 29, 2009

6Abe

Isn't it a lot easier to just use this years world series? As a Mets fan it's a lose-lose proposition. City rivals versus Division rivals. The only way we can win this year is if there is a bench clearing brawl where the teams decide to bring their bats into the ruckus...

The interesting thing for me is that when I'm living out of town it's actually not to hard to get me to root for the Yanks. But when I'm living in NYC... I had assumed I'd wind up rooting for the Yanks over the Phils, but when the game was actually on I sort of to my shock found myself rooting for the Phillies... man what an awful year for baseball...

October 29, 2009

7Abe

Incidentally I had a Yankee's fan tell me he felt the exact same way in 86 when the Met's played the Sox.

October 29, 2009

8Ryan McManus

Yeah, I will admit - I rooted for the Mets in 1986. But I was a Mets fan at the time. And living in New York. Also, I was 9.

October 29, 2009

9Bill Petti

The rational choice for a Mets fan is to root against the Phillies. The Phillies have a more direct impact on the Mets chances of winning a pennant (they play more head to head games, compete for a win and in playoff spot, etc.).

Additionally, the relative impact of another championship for Philly is greater than for the Yankees given the history of both franchises. There is marginal value in adding another ring to the Yankees, but back to back championships further elevates the Phillies--benefits would include greater media exposure, commercial deals (which leads to greater funding to attack free agents and retain talent), and increase their attractiveness to free agents vis-a-vis the Mets. (Given the Yankees's distant and near-term history, perennial deep pockets, etc, another win would not significant impact there already plentiful resources).

At least, this is how I am justifying it to myself...

October 29, 2009