TDA Bullpen - Our Writers' Blog

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Diane Grassi returns to The Bullpen

Baseball's Supposed Big Divide

As we approach the second half of the 2004 Major League Baseball season, a lot of fans as well as prognosticators have been pleasantly surprised by the very teams which had miserable 2003 seasons. However, as much as parity in the Major Leagues provides for new interest, this has been more the pattern rather than the exception these past few years, by example of the past three World Series Champions, namely the Arizona Diamondbacks, Anaheim Angels and Florida Marlins. The Diamondbacks became the quickest expansion team ever to win a World Series (edging out the Florida Marlins, the previous expansion team to speedily win their first World Series in 1997) and the Angels and Marlins were badly losing clubs the season prior to winning their World Series rings.

For several years, Major League Baseball's team owners as well as MLB's executive officers have cried foul concerning the bad financial shape of MLB. This tired complaint is that not enough resources are available for the small market clubs to fairly compete. At the same time these owners will not open up their books to the public and expect everyone to blindly believe their tales of declared poverty. It is interesting however, that there has been money for new stadiums in most of the small market cities during the past 10 years from both public and private funds. And if the small market is so incapable of competing with the big market teams, then I guess the powers that be must have slept through the past three years of post-season play and the World Series!

Perhaps the difference this year as opposed to the past three seasons, is in the number of teams which have post-season potential and which performed so poorly in 2003. Many were losing teams in last place in their respective divisions which have turned out to be contending teams such as the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, while the Detroit Tigers (one of the most losing clubs in baseball history last season) and the Milwaukee Brewers have turned it around. The Texas Rangers have been in 1st place or tied with the low-payroll Oakland A's most of the season, proving their domination all year in the American League West. No one expected these guys to do anything, but A-Rod's trade to the Yankees left a void to fill and Alfonso Soriano has more than lived up to his end of the bargain, by becoming a team leader and working with a great mixture of talented young players. The Padres are contending in second place in the National League West and the New York Mets sit in second place in the National League East. Detroit and Milwaukee are both at or over .500 at mid-season, no longer the gloom and doom clubs in their divisions, and have surprised a great many including their own fans.

But the script from the owners does not match what has been happening on the field. Certainly all of these small market clubs, with the exception of the NY Mets, are drawing better in attendance and many have raised ticket and concession prices, while filling seats. The luxury tax has kicked in a couple of times now for George Steinbrenner and his Yankees, and although his payroll is at the top of the list, the NY Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox are following behind with payrolls well over 100 million dollars.

What is not given enough attention and may account for the improvement of many of these small market clubs is that they have learned to develop their farm systems and have made deals with other teams by trading players rather than laying out cash. While some of the big dogs were busy buying up the smaller teams' big stars, which some owners felt they could not unload soon enough, these previously losing teams were left with a well of up and coming talent, which they were forced to develop. During the past few years these noted cellar dwellers no doubt suffered, because they had not yet reached the stage of developing talent and were losing games, thus fans were not showing up. But in the long run, they have persevered, whether by design or by coincidence.

This will serve them well for the future as well. Clubs with larger payrolls have aged and have run out of reserves to trade or to develop. That is a far bigger issue which will come to a head in the not too distant future. While baseball, like everything else in life is cyclical, we have perhaps entered a new phase, where for a while we will enjoy more competitive battles during the course of the season rather than have to wait for the post-season for good games to transpire. And once again this year it is being proven that dollars alone will not win championships.

My hope is that the Baseball Commissioner's Office will devote its resources to the future of MLB and talent development rather than spending countless hours negotiating merchandising deals for use of the base paths by corporate America or transporting its teams abroad for Opening Day, all in the name of marketing, in a effort to keep baseball alive. A team's focus, talent, mix of the players and good management are the most important factors for winning and ultimately for baseball's longevity. Fans know this. If your team wins, the fans will come out, and will continue to pay the bills. Baseball owners need to appreciate this, and continue to build upon their teams for more than one season at a time. They owe it to their fans and to the integrity of the game of baseball. Through that effort baseball will be with us for a very long time, and its legacy will continue.

posted by David 11:18 PM