A Meditation on Baseball

[H.P. Lovecraft]

Baseball is the only sport I follow, the only sport that evokes in me that feeling of awe and wonderment. It is the only sport I can watch again and again without ever feeling that there is something else I should be doing. The scent of a freshly tended summer field mixes with the aroma of hot dogs and pretzels to produce a unique aroma that touches some deep place in my mind and makes me feel young again.

I do not get this from football. That game feels too removed, too impersonal. One cannot see the faces of the players, or even get close enough to yell words of encouragement or taunts at them.

I do not get this from basketball. The claustrophobic setting and incessant scoring keep me away. One feels that the first three quarters of the game matter little when points are made so easily.

I do not get this from hockey. Its coldness is at odds with the brightness and warm feel of a ballpark.

What draws me most to baseball is that it is not a race against time. Anything can happen at any time. No lead is safe, and no deficit cannot be overcome. There is never a time when you can leave the game with the assumption that it is over. There is always a chance, however remote, that it is not.

But this game of mine now faces a time of crisis. Labor disputes threaten to shut it down every few years. Teams find themselves unable to compete in the face of those whose host cities are more affluent. Players switch from one team to another at will, so that any sense of personal loyalty is lost. Fans have begun to turn away.

Will this great game ever be what it was? Will it ever recapture its old status as America's pastime? Will it ever produce such cultural icons as Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson again?

Perhaps, one day, but it's not all that likely. The modern mind is not generally content to watch the liesurely pace of a baseball game. Eyes that see action each night on television demand more flash, more color, from their sports.

The new favorite spectator sport in America has become reality television. Shows like American Idol capture people's imagination with their glamour and flashiness, their very thinly veiled overcommerciality. How can baseball ever hope to compete with these types of things. I believe we will see its death, or at least its brain-death, within the next hundred years.

That is a sad thought.

[jgross68]

If I may quote Terrence Mann: "...Baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again."
Fear not. Our game has survived tough times before. It will do so again.

[Skipaway]

Originally posted by H.P. Lovecraft
But this game of mine now faces a time of crisis. Labor disputes threaten to shut it down every few years. Teams find themselves unable to compete in the face of those whose host cities are more affluent. Players switch from one team to another at will, so that any sense of personal loyalty is lost. Fans have begun to turn away.

Why people still believe in the propaganda of Bud?

Labor dispute IS the biggest issue, but not those "small market can't survive" ****.

The small market myth is generated by owners because of the labor dispute. If people actually buy into that mindset, the owners would have an upperhand.

First of all, there is no good definition of small market already. Cleveland was a big market a few years ago but not now. Seattle became a big market all at a sudden. Detroit is big in metro size, but now considered a small market? And if market size is all that important, why don't the owners fix it by putting 2 more teams into New York ( lots of sports leagues in other countries do things like that, like japanese baseball league) or why aren't there a team in Washington already? The owners are selfish and greedy and not really care about baseball. Small market myth is just a good excuse that everybody seemed to believe in.

And, even if some teams might really be bad at generating large revenues and can not field top notch teams, so what? Why is that bad for a sport? There are tons of miserable no chance teams in all NCAA sports!! Is college sports dying? Why people still show up for those games?? Why don't those miserable programs fold? Poor teams might not earn big money, but they still can turn a good profit.

If any of those stupid theories by owners is true, baseball were dead 80 years ago already.

[Crapshoot]

Originally posted by Skipaway
Why people still believe in the propaganda of Bud?

Labor dispute IS the biggest issue, but not those "small market can't survive" ****.

The small market myth is generated by owners because of the labor dispute. If people actually buy into that mindset, the owners would have an upperhand.

First of all, there is no good definition of small market already. Cleveland was a big market a few years ago but not now. Seattle became a big market all at a sudden. Detroit is big in metro size, but now considered a small market? And if market size is all that important, why don't the owners fix it by putting 2 more teams into New York ( lots of sports leagues in other countries do things like that, like japanese baseball league) or why aren't there a team in Washington already? The owners are selfish and greedy and not really care about baseball. Small market myth is just a good excuse that everybody seemed to believe in.

And, even if some teams might really be bad at generating large revenues and can not field top notch teams, so what? Why is that bad for a sport? There are tons of miserable no chance teams in all NCAA sports!! Is college sports dying? Why people still show up for those games?? Why don't those miserable programs fold? Poor teams might not earn big money, but they still can turn a good profit.

If any of those stupid theories by owners is true, baseball were dead 80 years ago already.

damnit, someone stole my rant !
Seriously though, this is pretty much how I feel- the crisis of baseball is its the only product that has its PR people **** on the entertainment, and then wonder why there is smell ...

[ctorg]

Originally posted by Skipaway
Why people still believe in the propaganda of Bud?

Labor dispute IS the biggest issue, but not those "small market can't survive" ****.

The small market myth is generated by owners because of the labor dispute. If people actually buy into that mindset, the owners would have an upperhand.

First of all, there is no good definition of small market already. Cleveland was a big market a few years ago but not now. Seattle became a big market all at a sudden. Detroit is big in metro size, but now considered a small market? And if market size is all that important, why don't the owners fix it by putting 2 more teams into New York ( lots of sports leagues in other countries do things like that, like japanese baseball league) or why aren't there a team in Washington already? The owners are selfish and greedy and not really care about baseball. Small market myth is just a good excuse that everybody seemed to believe in.

And, even if some teams might really be bad at generating large revenues and can not field top notch teams, so what? Why is that bad for a sport? There are tons of miserable no chance teams in all NCAA sports!! Is college sports dying? Why people still show up for those games?? Why don't those miserable programs fold? Poor teams might not earn big money, but they still can turn a good profit.

If any of those stupid theories by owners is true, baseball were dead 80 years ago already.

I agree about the market size issue. I've been baffled about Detroit for a while. It's a huge city. Even if it has a bad economy, it should be able to generate enough revenue to take on Kansas City any day.

I don't think it's quite right to compare a major league sport to NCAA sports, though. They are at different levels and generate revenue differently.

All that said, I don't think Mr. Lovecraft's little diatribe was written with the intent of being factual so much as just a dispairing little piece about the state of the sport. It's just one little sentence in the middle of a paragraph and it doesn't really make an argument for or against it.

[H.P. Lovecraft]

Originally posted by ctorg
All that said, I don't think Mr. Lovecraft's little diatribe was written with the intent of being factual so much as just a dispairing little piece about the state of the sport. It's just one little sentence in the middle of a paragraph and it doesn't really make an argument for or against it.

Thank you, Mr. - um - ctorg. I actually do agree that the market size issue has been made out to be much larger than it is. I mean, there will always be some financial advantage to being in New York or LA, but I don't believe the Twins are some poor little team from the midwest. They're doing just fine.

That wasn't the point of my post at all, really. I just threw it in to put forth one of the issues that exists in baseball, whether it is fact-based or not.

I was lamenting what I perceive as a bleak future for the sport. If you believe baseball will be around forever, I think that's just silly. Nothing will be around forever. Who knows what future generations will make of our little sport, if it is even looked back upon at all. It has only been around for under 2 centuries, which is not even a blip in time. There's no reason to think it won't be gone someday. I just find its imminent passing to be unfortunate, since it is, to me, the only sport worth watching.

[Skipaway]

Originally posted by H.P. Lovecraft


That wasn't the point of my post at all, really. I just threw it in to put forth one of the issues that exists in baseball, whether it is fact-based or not.

Sorry for over-emphasizing the point. Just can't resist the chance to rant. Your post is very touching.

For the bleak future of baseball, I do think owners got to change their ways. Instead of complaining about market size and all that, they should take that as a fact and deal with it. Most business do it this way. And that's what made the NCAA comparison valid. Smaller programs in NCAA do know their disadvantages well and they adjust to it. Or would anyone want the Yankees to be like the LA Clippers? Clippers just sit in a big market, operate under minium budget, and the owner rake in several dozen millions a year. Yeah, and Clippers never need to pay the luxury tax. MLB should either put 5 teams in NY or shut up.

Right now the future is so bleak because "small market" owners just sit and whine and do nothing. It's teams like the Yankees that really cared about the game. Or explain why Tampa Bay is still a Yankees fan territory. Even hating the Yankees is more fun than cheering the Brewers! How sad is that!!!

[Maze&Blue]

I always wondered what makes a team "small market"

Detroit is the 9th largest market in the country...how are we small market?

San Fransisco is well below that...yet there large/normal market?

The way I see it, at 20 dollars average ticket (which seems right) if a team drew 2.5 mil fans thats over 50 mil in revenue (not counting concessions..parking...ect..). Now most fans go to MORE then 1 game per year (if you add season ticket holders..and most people that go to games to to 2 or 3) lets say you only need a base of 1.25 million fans to go.

Detroit has over 5 mil people in the Metro area (not counting lansing and more north...plus windsor..) if they began winning you dont think they can draw 1.25 million fans to go to 2 games.

Now TV contracts. Well winning teams will go on ESPN more (STL...Oak) so thats one problem solved. Most teams are on the fox sports network...thats should solve enough money..

Lets say thats 30 million earned just off TV...

Were up to 80 million without concessions, merchandise, parking.

Well teams that consistantly win will sell there hats..shirts and such, and in a market like detroit with 5 million people at an average of 10 dollars a hat, 15 bucks a T-Shirt and say 30 for a jersey if you sell 3 mil hats, 6 mil T-shirts and say a million jerseys (maybe a little high..) thats about 15 million in profit (they dont make 10 dollars per hat as a team)

Now we talk about the 7 dollar beers at the game...which they make oooo 5 bucks a beer atleast. Well you take the whole 2.5 mil and figure about half will drink. Say on average 2 beers are consumed per drinker thats another 5 million just on beer.

these are just rough figures obviously

but as you can see ANY winning team can earn over 100 mil easy. Obviously there are operating costs (lights.....security and such) but why is it the twins can have 90 mil payroll.

the owner is cheap.