Read the opposing argument from Babe Ruthless.
I cannot tell you how many times I have had a casual conversation with someone about baseball in general when someone says “The game just isn’t what it used to be” or “That was back in the good ole days.” What era or eras are they referring to? The great home run chase of 1998, which is one of my fondest memories growing up? The decade of dominance by the Big Red Machine in the 1970s? The pre-steroid era in general? Any of those three would suffice as “the good ole days” by some, but what is certain is that baseball is not near the top of its game.
Major League Baseball has had its doors blown off by the NFL in terms of popularity. As a lifelong baseball fan, that is disturbing. Granted there are many good things going on in baseball, and there are many new ways to produce revenue for teams that were simply not technologically possible in “the good ole days.” Nevertheless, there are a few disturbing trends going on with baseball.
During the 2009 MLB season, attendance at games was down six percent. I am well aware of how bad the economy was last year. But many teams were down a whopping 20 percent during the 2009 season. That is a significant loss of revenue for teams, especially those in smaller markets where money made at the gate supplies a huge part of the revenue stream. Nearly all of the teams promoted ticket specials and food discounts to try and get people out to the ballpark. As a whole, it really was not that effective.
Ratings for the 2009 season declined as a whole. FOX declined over ten percent for its Saturday afternoon games. The economy cannot be blamed for this because it costs absolutely nothing to watch baseball on cable or satellite (minus the obvious of paying your monthly cable or satellite bill). It boilds down to choice.
And year after year the same teams are at the top of the heap in baseball. Every year, all we hear about are the Yankees and the Red Sox. At times, it is almost as if no other teams exist. Yes, I know they spend the money to get the best product on the field. Obviously, they have the resources. But when there is a $165 million difference between the highest payroll (Yankees) and the lowest payroll (the Florida Marlins), something is wrong. One of the NFL’s strongest assets is parity. Teams can go from last place one season to winning the division the following season. High draft picks help the teams in this rebuilding process. But if high draft picks truly were supposed to help turn a team around in baseball, why haven’t the Nationals finished any higher than fourth in the National League East in the past five years?
All of these are disturbing trends and something needs to be down to level the playing field. I think parity between teams will help bring more people back to the game. Let’s face it. Baseball lost a lot of fans with the 1994 strike, and by the time the sport starting getting some of its fans back allegations of steroid use surfaced – and any progress that was made came crashing down. Also, twenty years ago, who would have ever put “congressional hearing” and “baseball” in the same sentence?
I do not know what the answers are. I just know it is so tough for teams at the bottom to knock off the teams at the top. The odds are stacked against them before they even take the field. How are teams supposed to rebuild when the Nationals give serious thought to not drafting Stephen Strasburg because they do not think they can sign him?
I love the game of baseball. But it is tough to rebuild in the sport right now. If you are a fan of an annual bottom dweller (Nationals, Orioles, etc.), I hate it for you, too. Because you’re going to be there awhile!
Posted by Loyal Homer 
