美國職業棒球大聯盟 (MLB) 成立至今一百多年，百年來似乎存在主場優勢，不少研究認為主場優勢來自於現場球迷觀賽為主場球隊加油，形成激勵效果同時給予客隊外在壓力，因而提升主場球隊勝率形成主場優勢。本研究探討MLB球迷觀賽是否帶來主場優勢，蒐集全部30支球隊於2011年至2020年共計10年間賽事資料，以計量模型進行統計分析，探討主場優勢是否存在，有無觀眾進場觀賽及觀眾滿場程度對主場球隊勝率的影響。
本文的實證研究首先利用成對樣本平均數檢定 (group mean test) 的方式來檢視主場和客場之間勝率及各項攻擊守備數據是否相同，結果呈現存在明顯主場優勢。接著以2020年無觀眾為實驗組對照其它9年 (2011-2019) 觀眾正常入場為控制組，以追蹤資料多元迴歸方式檢定是否存在主場優勢，結果皆顯示為無球迷觀賽對主場球隊勝率反而呈顯著正面效果。最後，排除2020年無觀眾入場的極端數據資料，利用正常開放觀眾入場 (2011-2019年) 的數據以追蹤資料多元迴歸方式檢定是否存在主場優勢，研究結果皆顯示觀眾滿場程度無顯著影響主場球隊勝率。
本研究成果說明球迷現場觀賽對MLB主場優勢無顯著影響，觀眾似乎並非棒球運動主場優勢之關鍵因素。比賽環境場地或許才是影響主場勝率的關鍵因素，且球員團隊合作表現至關重要。本研究透過實證分析科學論證的方式檢視眾人對棒球比賽主場優勢的觀點，並提供棒球訓練準備之參考。

Major League Baseball (MLB) has been established for more than 100 years and it seems that home field advantage has existed for long. This study explores whether audience serves the main source of the home field advantage. We collect all 30 teams from 2011 to 2020 in a total of 10 years of game data, and apply a panel data fixed effect estimator for the empirical application.
The group mean test shows that there is a significant home field advantage by comparing games at home and on the road. Taking advantage of no audience in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, we estimate the impact of allowing audience to watch games physically on home teams’ winning percentage. Our fixed effect results show that the no audience has significant positive impact on the home field advantage. Furthermore, the number of audience in ball park is not the associated with the winning percentage at home.
In a nutshell, this study shows that fans watching the game have no significant effect on MLB’s home field advantage, and the audience does not seem to be the key factor in baseball’s home field advantage. The venue of the game may be the key factor affecting the home winning percentage, and the teamwork performance of the players is crucial.

論文摘要....I
Abstract....II
致謝....III
目錄....IV
圖目錄....V
表目錄....VI
第壹章 緒論....1
第貳章 主場優勢的文獻回顧....4
第一節 主場優勢的成因....4
第二節 觀眾對主場的影響....5
第參章 資料、變數與模型設定....8
第一節 資料來源與變數說明....8
第二節 敘述統計....9
第三節 實證模型設定....10
第肆章 實證分析與討論....13
第一節 美國職業棒球大聯盟主場優勢....13
第二節 觀眾進場對主場優勢之影響....14
第三節 觀眾滿場程度對主場優勢之影響....16
第四節 實證結果綜合討論....17
第伍章 結論與政策建議....19
第一節 結論....19
第二節 政策建議....20

黃文祥 (2005): “運動競賽主場優勢之分析,” 《大專體育》, 79, 176-180。
蔡岱亨 (2003): “台灣職業棒球運動發展之研究,” 屏東師範學院體育系碩士論文。
Ben, L. (2020): “The Home Advantage Removing Fans Didn’t Remove MLB’s Home-Field Advantage,” The Ringer,
https://www.theringer.com/2020/9/30/21494861/playoffs-home-field-advantage-wild-card
Bray, S.R. and A.V. Carron (1993): “The home Advantage in Alpine Skiing,” The Australian Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 25(4), 76-81.
Bray, S.R. (1999): “The Home Advantage from an Individual Team Perspective,” Applied Sport Psychology, 11, 116-125.
Chiu, Y. C. and C. K. Chang (2022): “Major League Baseball during the COVID-19 pandemic: does a lack of spectators affect home advantage?,” Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 178(2022).
Courneya, K.S. and A.V. Carron (1992): “The Home Advantage in Sport Competitions
A Literature Review,” Sport Exercise Psychology, 14, 13-27
Fischer, K. and H. Justus (2020): “Does Crowd Support Drive the Home Advantage in Professional Football? Evidence from German Ghost Games during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” CESifo Working Paper, e8549.
Glamser, F.D. (1990): “Contest Location, Player Misconduct, and Race: A Case from
English Soccer,” Journal of Sport Behavior, 13, 41-49.
Higgs, N. and I. Stavness (2021): “Bayesian Analysis of Home Advantage in North American Professional Sports Before and During COVID-19,” Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-11.
Losak, J.M. and J. Sabel (2021): “Baseball Home Field Advantage Without Fans in The Stands,” International Journal of Sport Finance, 13(3), 148-162.
Nevill, A.M. and R.L. Holder (1999): “Home Advantage in Sport: An Overview of Studies on The Advantage of Playing at Home,” Sport Medicine, 28(4), 221-237.
Schwartz, B. and S.F. Barsky (1977): “The Home Advantage,” Journal of Social Forces, 55, 641-661.
Scoppa, V. (2021): “Social Pressure in The Stadiums: Do Agents Change Behavior Without Crowd Support?,” Journal of Economic Psychology, 82, e102344.
Silva, J.M. and J.A. Andrew (1987): “An Analysis of Game Location and Basketball Performance in the Atlantic Coast Conference,” International Journal of Sport Psychology, 3, 188-204.
Smith, D.R. (2005): “Disconnects Between Popular Discourse and Home Advantage Research: What Can Fans and Media Tell Us About the Home Advantage Phenomenon?,” Journal of Sport Science, 23(4), 351-364.
Varca, P.E. (1980): “An Analysis of Home and Away Game Performance of Male College Basketball Team,” Journal of Sport Psychology, 2, 245-257.
Wallace, H.M., R.F. Baumeister and K.D. Vohs (2005): “Audience Support and Choking Under Pressure: A home Disadvantage,” Journal of Sport Science, 23(4), 429-438.
Wolfson, S., D. Wakelin and M. Lewis (2005): “Football Supporters’ Perceptions of Their Role in The Home Advantage,” Journal of Sport Science, 23(4), 365-374.
Wunderlich, F., M. Weigelt, R. Rein and D. Memmert (2021): “How Does Spectator Presence Affect Football? Home Advantage Remains in European Top-Class Football Matches Played Without Spectators During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” PLoS One, 16(3), e0248590.