Baseball must change!

[Just Gus]

Baseball at one time was America's game....its National Pastime.

Do you think the game is broken and needs fixing or do you think it is great the way it is?

[Just Gus]

IMHO--Baseball needs a salary cap--both for teams and players, it needs real revenue sharing.... to start.  To make all teams competitive again.  The beauty of football is any given Sunday....the ugliness of baseball is that money can (doesn't necessarily though) buy pennants.  Small- and medium-sized markets are screwed and have to be  managed better (front office and field)  to even have a small chance.

[Just Gus]

A few years ago....A-Rod made as much as the entire Pittsburgh Pirate roster....that's just sick.  Growing up KC and Pittsburgh had quality teams that went to the Show...impossible today.  If they won a WS, the bigger-markets would buy away their star players.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/pirates/2010-08-22-pitts...

[Ando]

Here's a dubious offshoot argument, I admit, but it's difficult to substantiate anything in the entertainment industry. And baseball is
entertainment, no?

[Just Gus]

Thanks, Ando...interesting.

I don't care how much A-Rod makes.  What I want are 30 (I think it should expand to 32 teams--4  four team divisions in the NL and AL---NO WILDCAT NONSENSE killing pennant races) competitive teams....with market-size not mattering much.

[Ando]

Well, does that exist in any sports league?

[Just Gus]

The NFL has something close...the revenue sharing is real as are the salary cap and floor seem to work.  No team is considered handicapped by market size and a team like Green Bay (one of the most successful franchises) is publicly owned and a very small market (with enthusiastic fans).

Baseball doesn't have it b/c the owners have a monopoly on decision-making and a legally recognized right to be a lawful monopoly....and they're myopic!

[Ando]

Yes, yes...

The NFL cap/floor

[Scone]

Football will change drastically due to head injuries.

[Scone]

baseball has the most affordable ticket prices of any of the major pro sports

[Scone]

Overall, Major League Baseball has drawn 18,637,924 fans this season through 617 dates (30,207 per game), representing a 6.7 percent increase over the same point in the 2011 season.

“With historic performances by our players and strong competitive balance evident in the standings, Major League Baseball has enjoyed an outstanding start to the 2012 season,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “I thank baseball fans for their remarkable support and I join them in looking forward to a great summer for our game.”

[Just Gus]

But could it be better, if there was more competition?  I think yes.  I also take as measure of baseball's future ancecotal evidence of who is playing baseball, football and basketball among the youth.   I've seen football playing, basketball and even soccer increasing and baseball declining.  Kids think the game is too slow and not as exciting as other sports.

[Scone]

Looking at the 2012 attendance numbers,  3 of the bottom 4 teams, are contenders.

 

What is going on in Cleveland, Chicago (Sox) and Tampa Bay?  Why aren't their fans supporting their year?   

Cubbies fans are outdrawing Sox fans by over 15K per game.