Take me out to the ball game: Is there a real "home field advantage?"

by Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope

Dear Cecil:
Everyone's always talking about how great home-field advantage is in sports, but how important is it really? The mindless stats everyone repeats about how NFL teams with home-field advantage do better in the playoffs drive me crazy — the teams earned home-field advantage because they're better already! Also, are the home-field advantages different in different sports? — Doc, via e-mail

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Sabremetricians have made some very interesting discoveries about sports over the last 20 years or so. This is not one of them. Anyone that has played sports competively aleady knows that home field advantage is real. Sabremetricians have just proved this is correct.