The Winning versus Wealth Debate

September 9, 2010

Read the opposing arguments from Babe Ruthless and Loyal Homer.

It has been a while, but we have another TSD first on our hands.

They said it couldn’t be done. But I, Bleacher Fan – for the first time in The Sports Debates history – am about to include a Broadway Musical reference in today’s article.

In Mel Brook’s hit Broadway musical The Producers, main character Max Bialystock is a theater producer who discovers a loophole where he can actually make more money by producing flops than if he were to produce hits. Armed with that knowledge, Max convinces accountant Leo Bloom to partner and embark on the ultimate scheme: Find the world’s worst play, hire the worst director, raise a bunch of money, hire the worst actors, close the play after it flops and take all the extra money raised and run.

Now I am sure you are wondering how this could possibly be related to sports. Well, have you ever heard of the Pittsburgh Pirates?

In a recent reporting of their financial records, it was found that the Pirates, owned by Bob Nutting, are actually PROFITING despite being deep in the throes of having the longest streak of consecutive losing seasons – not just in baseball – but in ANY major American sport in history.

The team continues to lose on the field, but has a history of being a successful business.

Pirates’ officials claim they have simply been unlucky in developing their talent, but some are now saying that the Pirates have stopped trying to win.

For the few fans of the Pirates that still exist, it would be extremely heartbreaking to think that Nutting was following Max Bialystock’s lead in the running of their beloved baseball team.

Which brings us to our question of the day: Should governing bodies in sports, such as the MLB or NFL, force teams to pursue a winning strategy, rather than simply a profitable one?

This question is not intended to focus on what the rules would or should look like, but rather to ask whether these major sports organizations should tolerate teams that consistently take cost-cutting measures which appear to directly lead to poor performance on the field.

Loyal Homer will argue that leagues should enforce policies where winning always takes precedent over profitability, while Babe Ruthless will argue that profitability is a form of success that can and should also be pursued.

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

The Winning versus Wealth Debate… Money On The Field, Not In The Pocket

September 9, 2010

Read the opposing argument from Babe Ruthless.

It’s appropriate that we’re doing this debate today because, as I gathered my overall thoughts on the topic, I had the displeasure of watching the majority of a three game series featuring the Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates over past three days. It was unfortunate for two reasons. One reason is the Braves lost two out of three to the lowly and dirt cheap Pirates. Two, it was extremely sad to see such pathetic crowds (a combined 39,513 for the just completed three game series, including a holiday crowd on Monday) on hand at beautiful PNC Park. It surely seemed like there were more people canoeing up and down the Allegheny River than were at the actual park. It’s depressing because, as Sports Geek and I can attest to thanks to a trip to PNC Park in 2006, it really is a beautiful park.

Why the sparse crowd you ask, especially with a good team in town to play the Pirates? Quite frankly, the home team is not any good as anyone can see by taking a look at the team’s 47-92 record. You also don’t have losing seasons for seventeen consecutive seasons by accident. Why is this happening? Because ownership, despite the fact that the city of Pittsburgh has proven in other leagues that it will support a winner, refuses to spend enough money to operate a “successful” franchise in terms of putting a winning product on the field.

Obviously, Bleacher Fan’s question isn’t solely about the Pirates organization (or about Broadway for that matter). But that franchise, more so than perhaps any other franchise in all of sports, is Exhibit A on what is wrong with this situation, and it’s why governing bodies must take some sort of action.

The revenue sharing system currently in place in Major League Baseball allows for teams like the Yankees (ugh, I am giving credit to Babe Ruthless’ favorite team) to pay a luxury tax and a portion of their profits (yes, it really is a profit sharing system) back into a pool set up by the league. It’s not much different than the profit-sharing plan you may have at your place of employment. That money is then sent out to other franchises, with much of it going to small market teams and low payroll teams like the Pirates. It’s essentially free money. It’s set up as a way to promote parity and competitive balance within the sport. It’s not set up as a way to make a team more profitable just for the sake of that money going into the owner’s pocket. That money is supposed to be put to good use. Putting in one’s pocket-sized wallet is not what I would call “good use.”

Most teams, including Pittsburgh, have stadiums like PNC Park that were at least partially funded by taxpayer dollars. As a fan, if my taxes have been spent on building that stadium, I want a quality product out there… within reason of course as it’s unrealistic to expect every team to have a $100M payroll. As a taxpayer in this country I want my tax money put to good use. I don’t want the funds wasted.

The Pirates made close to $30M in 2007 and 2008. That money, which likely indirectly came straight from the Yankees, could have been spent on payroll. But instead the organization hides behind a blanket statement like, “We’re building for the future.” Folks, Pittsburgh has been building for the future for 18 years, ever since Sid Bream slid into home plate in game seven of the 1992 NLCS. Tampa Bay correctly built for the future the past several years and are reaping the benefits now. Pittsburgh, however, continues to face the demons of another 100 game losing season.

The leagues have to do something. Obviously, the bottom line should be to make money. That’s usually what matters to owners. Believe me, I fully understand that, and the average person does too. But it’s possible to make money and still field a quality team. There are examples in every league. A happy medium is within reach. It’s up to the respective leagues to make the owners understand this.

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Posted by Loyal Homer

The MLB Team Rebuilding Debate Verdict… Give Me a Reason to Cheer

March 26, 2010

Read the opposing arguments from Babe Ruthless and Loyal Homer.

Baseball is America’s pastime. It has a history as rich in tradition as our own great nation, and Babe Ruthless’ argument does a tremendous job of capturing the diversity that has made the United States what it is today.

Unfortunately for the Babe, that was not enough to seal a victory in this debate. The victory is awarded to Loyal Homer.

As pointed out in the winning argument, baseball may be America’s pastime, but it is clearly lacking at present time.

Across the board, baseball has struggled in terms of both attendance and television ratings. For many different reasons, the game has failed to attract and retain fans at the same levels as other sports. Baseball needs to make LEGITIMATE changes, quickly, if it wants to remain relevant with the American public.

Babe Ruthless discusses the World Series droughts of the Red Sox and Cubs, as well as the nine year gap between Yankees’ championships, arguing that their respective droughts have endeared those teams to fans around the country (and world). While that may be true, and those championship droughts may be substantial, they do not really fit the context of this debate, which is to discuss teams that are perpetually rebuilding.

During the final 20 years of the Red Sox drought, while they did not win a World Series Championship, they did manage to reach the postseason seven times, including two American League pennant victories. The Cubbies have been to the postseason three different times in the last ten seasons, reaching the NLCS is 2003. The Yankees, during the nine-year so-called “drought” (pardon my lack of sympathy, Babe) still reached the postseason SEVEN times.

This debate was not about teams that have stayed competitive, but fell just short of the championship goal. It was about teams that have failed to even remain competitive.

In comparison to those so-called hardships suffered by teams like the Red Sox and Yankees, there are other teams like the Kansas City Royals that have not even seen the postseason in 25 years, or a Pittsburgh Pirates team that just last season finished off their 17th consecutive season with a losing record. THOSE are the fans who have checked out, and THOSE are the fans that MLB must appeal to once more.

Despite the lack of a World Series ring, fans of the Red Sox, Yankees, etc. still have reason to be excited each season, because they are still COMPETING for the postseason – there is still hope.

What on earth do the fans of the Pirates and Royals have to look forward to? There simply is not enough incentive for people to travel out to places like PNC Park or Kauffman Stadium, and that is bad for MLB business! You can only have so many “dollar-dog” nights and “college students get in free” promotions. Even those carnival attractions will eventually lose their luster under a constant barrage of fun-eroding, excitement-draining failure.

As I write this verdict, I am watching yet another round of sensational college basketball in the March Madness tournament. What has helped to make this tournament one of the most thrilling in recent memory is the simple fact that no outcome has been predictable, regardless of the pedigree that teams carried into the tournament.

The playing field in college basketball has been leveled in recent years. The separation between the power conferences and the mid-majors has been reduced drastically, and that parity has never been more evident than over the past two weeks of tournament play. Mid-major programs have turned in some of the greatest performances of this postseason, helping to get teams from a record ELEVEN different conferences into the Sweet Sixteen.

Sporting events are exciting to watch because we fans want to believe that our teams always have a chance to win. While we understand that our teams cannot win ALL of the time, we want to believe that they will win SOME of the time. If we cannot have that faith, then what is our incentive to watch? If I am going to EXPECT my favorite team to lose 60 percent of the time, then I am probably going to find something else to do for entertainment, rather than watch the game. The last thing that ANY sports organization wants is a collection of apathetic fans!

If Major League Baseball wants to improve its overall product as a business, they must find a way to improve their current system so that fans in EVERY city can believe their teams have a real shot at the postseason.

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

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