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If anything 4 teams should be contracted. There isn't enough elite talent to make the sport entertaining enough to follow consistently. And I'm a huge baseball fan that watches over 200 baseball games on TV a summer.
Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Washington (Or Baltimore) could all get taken away. The same could be said for Oakland or Toronto.
That and baseball's obession with playing the same teams from their division ALL THE TIME is killing the MLB. As a Twins fan, I get tired of watching the Royals, Tigers and Indians by June. I'd like to see more than 2 series against teams like Seattle, Anaheim, and the Yankees.
Wow! Can't wait to watch the 6:37 game of Baltimore vs. Kansas City Royals....!!!
What an absolute joke.
You want to take away the original and oldest professional baseball team (1869), the only team that's allowed to open the season at home every single year, a team that's won five World Series, the Big Red Machine, a franchise that just built a brand new ballpark, a franchise that just won its division, a team in the 24th largest MSA in the country, the team of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Frank Robinson, Ken Griffey Jr., Joe Morgan, Sparky Anderson ...
Yet you have no problem keeping Minnesota, which before last year played in a decrepit dome? And Pittsburgh, which is so historically inept that there are AAA teams that could finish ahead of it. And Florida, which celebrates when it draws crowds that exceed 10,000?
It's laughable that you would include Baltimore and Kansas City also - two cities that have played far more important roles in baseball history than Minnesota. Babe Ruth played baseball in Baltimore, for crying out loud.
Speaking of franchises being eliminated or moving, Minnesota should be sweating bullets that the NFL's Vikings don't pull up and head for LA. They'd be the most logical team to go considering that farce of a facility they call home.
You want to take away the original and oldest professional baseball team (1869), the only team that's allowed to open the season at home every single year, a team that's won five World Series, the Big Red Machine, a franchise that just built a brand new ballpark, a franchise that just won its division, a team in the 24th largest MSA in the country, the team of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Frank Robinson, Ken Griffey Jr., Joe Morgan, Sparky Anderson ...
Yet you have no problem keeping Minnesota, which before last year played in a decrepit dome? And Pittsburgh, which is so historically inept that there are AAA teams that could finish ahead of it. And Florida, which celebrates when it draws crowds that exceed 10,000?
It's laughable that you would include Baltimore and Kansas City also - two cities that have played far more important roles in baseball history than Minnesota. Babe Ruth played baseball in Baltimore, for crying out loud.
Speaking of franchises being eliminated or moving, Minnesota should be sweating bullets that the NFL's Vikings don't pull up and head for LA. They'd be the most logical team to go considering that farce of a facility they call home.
Again ... what an absolute joke.
Don't start crying dude.
You show me attendance numbers and I'll show you a handful of teams that shouldn't be around. I don't care if Minnesota falls in that group. The talent is spread so thin in baseball that it's sad. It's embarassing to watch a game in a huge 40,000 seat stadium and see 20,000 people in the stands.
Less people are showing up for games and less people are watching on TV. You're telling me you would pay good money to go to a Pirates vs. Diamondbacks game? Or take 3 hours from your summer night to watch/listen to the game?
Well, if we go purely by the estimated financial value of the teams, the five least-valuable franchises would be (from least to most) the Pirates, the Oakland A's, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Marlins, and the Blue Jays.
If we rank by revenues, the least-profitable franchises (from least to most) are the Marlins, the Pirates, the A's, the Royals, and the Rays.
But remember, for a franchise, attendance isn't necessarily critical to profitability. The biggest revenue streams come from broadcasting rights within the team's media market (or wherever else they can be sold). Cities without fairly large media markets will have a tougher time getting a team.
You show me attendance numbers and I'll show you a handful of teams that shouldn't be around. I don't care if Minnesota falls in that group. The talent is spread so thin in baseball that it's sad. It's embarassing to watch a game in a huge 40,000 seat stadium and see 20,000 people in the stands.
Less people are showing up for games and less people are watching on TV. You're telling me you would pay good money to go to a Pirates vs. Diamondbacks game? Or take 3 hours from your summer night to watch/listen to the game?
Attendance numbers vary - if you put a winner on the field, people show up. If the Pirates and Diamondbacks field strong teams and are contenders, yes I'll absolutely watch. When mega-market teams tank (Mets, Cubs, Dodgers), no, I don't watch.
Perhaps the real elephant in the room is economic disparity. Until the Pirates have as much chance to win as the Yankees, baseball will continue to suffer in more places than it excels.
Look at the NFL's Steelers: same market as MLB's Pirates but completely different fortunes. People around the world tune in to watch the Steelers; not even people in Pittsburgh care about the Pirates.
Fix the economics and you likely go a long way toward fixing the attendance problems.
As for contraction, it's simply not going to happen in any city with a new ballpark. The only places that the topic would even merit discussion are Tampa and Oakland, where the teams play in completely obsolete stadiums with little hope for replacement.
I'm not a baseball fan and I don't follow the league but what about New Orleans? LSU baseball is hugely supported in Baton Rouge. Do you think a MLB team reaching out to Mississippi would be successful here?
No. New Orleans is too small to support an MLB team. They will probably never get one. I think the market is over saturated now.
If anything, I think the AAA cities should try to expand their brand; having their World Series on something like ESPN2, more televised games, and maybe higher salaries ($100-$250K would be a good AAA salary range; generally the 750th to 1500th best baseball players in the country is pretty good talent there and should be noted. With all those TV stations in cities without a major league team, it can definately be pracitcal during the weekends/summer to show more baseball broadcasts, thus increasing the value of teams through sponsorships! It can also expand baseball's public reputation to show that it isn't just big budget major leaguers! We get good coverage of the AHL (similar to AAA baseball) and is doing quite well. With that regards, which cities that are AA should be upgraded to AAA and vice versa?
Note: These are the AAA cities (US ONLY)
-Albuquerque -Las Vegas -Reno
-Allentown -Lawrenceville -Rochester
-Buffalo -Louisville -Round Rock
-Charlotte -Memphis -Sacramento
-Colorado Springs -Nashville -Salt Lake City
-Columbus -New Orleans -Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
-Des Moines -Norfolk -Syracuse
-Durham -Oklahoma City -Tacoma
-Fresno -Omaha -Toledo
-Indianapolis -Pawtucket -Tucson
Note there are 30 American AAA teams here, and each one is affiliated with a big league team. In order to expand at the Major League level, you need to improve the farm system (right on down to Rookie Leagues). But when I look at the cities that are AAA and those that are AA or less, here are some I could argue about:
-Portland, OR. Considering that people want it to be a Major League city, I propse move the Tacoma team to Portland!
-Birmingham, AL. A shame this is only a AA city when it is similar to most AAA cities in size. But with the Braves and Nashville a couple hours away, AAA seems pretty farfetched here (maybe move Syracuse, Toldeo, or Rochester down to Birmingham).
-Orlando, FL (See Birmingham)
-Hartford, CT (move Syracuse or Rochester here); Rochester folks can just go to Buffalo anyway for AAA ball and right across the lake are the Blue Jays!
-Move the Round Rock, TX team to San Antonio!
Last edited by Borntoolate85; 02-16-2011 at 07:03 AM..
Attendance numbers vary - if you put a winner on the field, people show up. If the Pirates and Diamondbacks field strong teams and are contenders, yes I'll absolutely watch. When mega-market teams tank (Mets, Cubs, Dodgers), no, I don't watch.
Perhaps the real elephant in the room is economic disparity. Until the Pirates have as much chance to win as the Yankees, baseball will continue to suffer in more places than it excels.
Look at the NFL's Steelers: same market as MLB's Pirates but completely different fortunes. People around the world tune in to watch the Steelers; not even people in Pittsburgh care about the Pirates.
Fix the economics and you likely go a long way toward fixing the attendance problems.
As for contraction, it's simply not going to happen in any city with a new ballpark. The only places that the topic would even merit discussion are Tampa and Oakland, where the teams play in completely obsolete stadiums with little hope for replacement.
Again, the talent is spread SOO thin in the MLB it's sad. The NFL has parity for one thing, and there aren't 5 minor league teams for every NFL team like in baseball.
That elephant may just have to be a salary cap. It has worked for every other league...
Like I have been saying, contraction is a moon shot, but my two cents say otherwise. I'd like to see 4-6 teams leave, add DH to the NL and increase the amount of non-divisional series.
To do so, it's only common sense and most feasible in the smaller markets - ie. fan base, advertising, etc.
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