Well stated- except for my one game a year to hang out with friends, it has lost me for the most part. The biggest turn off is tax payer funded stadiums for billionaire owners. We have too many societal needs to pay for without giving out tax money to rich people. We can’t even afford healthcare or schools for crying out loud .
Also, saying "it's a business" takes away from the absolute pleasure of owning a piece of history. These owners have more money than they will EVER spend in a lifetime. Take some fucking pride in something tangible instead of thinking about abstract numbers in a bank. It really is a sickness.
Greed has always been a sickness that has plagued baseball. Comiskey was a Dickens villain. Frazee sold Ruth to finance a fucking play. But those men were reviled not revered like the ‘smart businessmen’ that run so many teams nowadays. When did the average person begin to side with billionaire owners to whom fans are only a line in a ledger? And I don’t want to hear how millionaire players should just shut up and play. Be grateful that they get paid millions to play a kids game. I can tell you right now: when the owners secure a larger slice of the revenue pie in the next CBA, ticket prices won’t get any cheaper.
Another solid post. I’ve dealt with the false “run government like a business” trope for years professionally. It is a service, created to protect and serve its citizens. That is lost on too many.
Well stated. I think about guys like my coworker who'll be in Milwaukee in a few hours with his buddies for their 20th opening day in a row. Sure, you can talk about line items and ticket revenue, but their tradition is one small part of what makes this game great...and it'll never show up on a P/L statement.
This really hit for me, especially the distinction you draw between baseball as a business and baseball as a structure protected from being a true business. That’s the part people gloss over.
When ownership says “it’s a business,” it’s not just descriptive, it’s rhetorical. It shuts down debate while ignoring the antitrust exemption, controlled entry, and lack of real competition.
For Buddha, you know, I agree with you on everything here. But I am not sure anything has changed. The history of the owners monetizing the game in a greedy shortsighted manner is as old as the game. None of us are old enough to remember Connie Mack selling virtually every star he had in 1914 and then again in 1932. We ARE old enough to remember the New York Mets selling Tom Seaver. The Dodgers are going to the White House this year.
I am not sure anything going on today is that different than anything that has been going on throughout the history of the game.
For better or worse, we must hold onto the parts of the game we love and which matter.
That is a little different for each of us. For some, it is the loyalty to a team. For others it is the history and the connection to the people who brought us to the game when we were children. For others, it is the romance and the poetry and all the things that I can’t describe here.
Like much of what we love in a capitalist, corporate society, we must hold onto the things we love in spite of everything that tries to demean it.
Keep writing the truth. I love this series and will read every single post in it. But let’s hold onto what we love, in spite of all.
Well said Keith. Human greed, ultimately, is timeless. BB - I always enjoy your thoughtful posts. On a side note, I went to the Denver Summit inaugural home game yesterday at the Broncos NFL stadium. On the way, my friends and I were trying to predict how much a beer would be. It was $17 for a 24 oz not including the tip screen.
I go to my first baseball game here in Denver next Sunday. Predictions on beer prices?
Well stated- except for my one game a year to hang out with friends, it has lost me for the most part. The biggest turn off is tax payer funded stadiums for billionaire owners. We have too many societal needs to pay for without giving out tax money to rich people. We can’t even afford healthcare or schools for crying out loud .
Also, saying "it's a business" takes away from the absolute pleasure of owning a piece of history. These owners have more money than they will EVER spend in a lifetime. Take some fucking pride in something tangible instead of thinking about abstract numbers in a bank. It really is a sickness.
Greed has always been a sickness that has plagued baseball. Comiskey was a Dickens villain. Frazee sold Ruth to finance a fucking play. But those men were reviled not revered like the ‘smart businessmen’ that run so many teams nowadays. When did the average person begin to side with billionaire owners to whom fans are only a line in a ledger? And I don’t want to hear how millionaire players should just shut up and play. Be grateful that they get paid millions to play a kids game. I can tell you right now: when the owners secure a larger slice of the revenue pie in the next CBA, ticket prices won’t get any cheaper.
Love it, you are on point.
Jeez. Reading baseball is a bizniss reminded me how I love baseball. It’s almost opening day. All the teams have the same record. Pretty cool.
Another solid post. I’ve dealt with the false “run government like a business” trope for years professionally. It is a service, created to protect and serve its citizens. That is lost on too many.
Thanks Christopher, I hear you!
Chris, you know I’m with you. But look at my comment below as well.
Well stated. I think about guys like my coworker who'll be in Milwaukee in a few hours with his buddies for their 20th opening day in a row. Sure, you can talk about line items and ticket revenue, but their tradition is one small part of what makes this game great...and it'll never show up on a P/L statement.
Spot on Kevin
We can always trust humanity to enshittify a good thing, especially when money is involved.
(But happy Opening Day! I know it's hopeless but Go Twins!!)
lol! But that is what it is about to be a fan and to care, yes Go Twins, I say that lightly since I have at real good with my Dodgers…
This really hit for me, especially the distinction you draw between baseball as a business and baseball as a structure protected from being a true business. That’s the part people gloss over.
When ownership says “it’s a business,” it’s not just descriptive, it’s rhetorical. It shuts down debate while ignoring the antitrust exemption, controlled entry, and lack of real competition.
For Buddha, you know, I agree with you on everything here. But I am not sure anything has changed. The history of the owners monetizing the game in a greedy shortsighted manner is as old as the game. None of us are old enough to remember Connie Mack selling virtually every star he had in 1914 and then again in 1932. We ARE old enough to remember the New York Mets selling Tom Seaver. The Dodgers are going to the White House this year.
I am not sure anything going on today is that different than anything that has been going on throughout the history of the game.
For better or worse, we must hold onto the parts of the game we love and which matter.
That is a little different for each of us. For some, it is the loyalty to a team. For others it is the history and the connection to the people who brought us to the game when we were children. For others, it is the romance and the poetry and all the things that I can’t describe here.
Like much of what we love in a capitalist, corporate society, we must hold onto the things we love in spite of everything that tries to demean it.
Keep writing the truth. I love this series and will read every single post in it. But let’s hold onto what we love, in spite of all.
Thank you for this thoughtful response, still love the game, it is my escape.
Well said Keith. Human greed, ultimately, is timeless. BB - I always enjoy your thoughtful posts. On a side note, I went to the Denver Summit inaugural home game yesterday at the Broncos NFL stadium. On the way, my friends and I were trying to predict how much a beer would be. It was $17 for a 24 oz not including the tip screen.
I go to my first baseball game here in Denver next Sunday. Predictions on beer prices?
$21
Excellent article.