Is baseball doomed to inevitable decline because of the lack of equitable revenue sharing among teams?

Question

In baseball, the preponderence of teams in post season play are the large market, large revenue teams. Only occasionally does a small market team make post season, and then generally only when their young players reach stardom early (i.e. before they can become free agents). Once the young super stars become free agents, they are bought up by the big-money teams. In effect the small market teams are the farm clubs for the big money teams.

This problem seems to have been solved in football, basketball, and hockey with salary caps and equitable revenue sharing amongst all teams. In those sports, it seems all the playing fields are level. Whoever can field the best team with the same resources wins. Every year it is interesting to see who is best.

Can this problem ever be solved in baseball without fair revenue sharing? Are the owners of the big market teams always going to block fair play? Will the golden rule always apply: He who has the gold rules.

Answer 1

I generally agree with everything you've said.

I would point out that they started a more generous revenue sharing system this year, and you see Cincy, Detroit, Milwaukee in the running. So that's a good first step.

There should be much more revenue sharing though. You're absolutely right about that.

Read Bob Costas' "Fair Ball" for a well-thought explanation of your point.

My favorite part of his book is that he proposes a salary cap, but one with a ceiling AND a floor. So the Yankees can't outspend everyone three-to-one, but neither can the Pirates, Royals or whoever refuse to spend adequately for players.

Answer 2

There will always be the teams out there that succeed and the teams out there that have no clue. The Yankees have been the top spenders salary wise since, well almost always and yet while they do have the most titles how many titles do they have in relation to how many times have they led the majors in spending? Even recently how many times have the Yankees actually won it all? I think the revenue sharing has hurt baseball more than it has helped. It has allowed small market teams to post a profit while putting a mediocre to poor losing team on the field. I think that if you remove revenue sharing and let teams compete on their own merit, sink or swim, you will see a better product than you see now. If a team cannot compete and goes belly up, so be it. Put a real emphasis to succeed on a teams ownership instead of giving them excuses for failure and then propping them up when they do fail.

EDIT: I heard an interestig stat during the All Star game last night. Currently 20 teams are either leading or within 6 games of the lead in Baseball. Sounds a lot like parity and less like the large market teams running away with things to me.

Answer 3

Probably a bigger problem right now would be the steroid/HGH scandal...

Regarding revenue sharing and salary caps: Baseball does a good bit in the realm of revenue sharing, although a case could be made for adjusting the system a bit to make sure that teams WHO WANT TO COMPETE CAN DO SO.

The real problem is not the teams that can overpay. The "golden rule" currently doesn't always apply. Example: KC Royals owner David Glass certainly has the gold; he rules only in the land of mediocrity. Ownership groups such as these have no real desire to put a winning product on the field; rather, they want to spend only enough to field a team that could turn a modest profit once revenue sharing numbers are factored in (in this sense, revenue sharing is doing some harm to the fans of the Royals, the Pirates, etc.)

A lot can and has been said about George Steinbrenner, plenty of it negative. One thing is certain: he wants to win, and he is more than willing to invest in his product. Unlike Mr. Glass, Steinbrenner knows that money is easiest made when you try to put a winner on the field (not to say that he always makes the right moves; haven't seen the Yanks win in a few years now).

Answer 4

The notion that the big spenders always win in baseball is largely a myth. The White Sox and Astros last year had the 13th and 12th highest payrolls, respectively. And also remember that the Orioles were regularaly in the top 5 in the late '90s but couldn't even get to a World Series.

It's true that several of the lower-revenue clubs are also the elast talented, but that can be attributed more to ineptitude in the front office (Washington), in the dugout (Pittsburgh), or both (Kansas City).

So, to answer your question, no, the big markets will not "block fair play" (with the possible exception of the Yankees, who regularly fight against increased revenue sharing).

Answer 5

No. Baseball needs large market teams in the playoffs for ratings. Look at hockey this year. Playoffs on OLN?? More people watched paint dry than the NHL. They have revenue sharing and a salary cap. If there is a problem with small market teams, the solution would be contraction.

Answer 6

I don't necessarily think baseball is doomed, however the sport
would need to be downsized quite a bit unless salary caps are implemented. What I mean by that is, teams such as the Kansas City Royals would have to be scrapped. How can they
possibly compete? It's either salary caps, or smaller leagues to
stimulate competition.
A decent salary cap would level the playing field in my opinion
though. I have difficulty feeling sympathy for any athlete that complains that salary caps are unfare. Athletes have unlimited potential to make money, whether it be through their ability to play
the game, or to market themselves as product endorsers. They'll survive a cap, let's do it.

Answer 7

frequently it does remember on the record even if it may also remember on how badly a crew performs out on the field. very last season, the Nats owned the worst record in baseball yet i presumed that the M's were the worst crew very last 3 hundred and sixty 5 days because of ways undesirable offensive production and the undesirable breaks. They appeared about as embarrassing because the Mets have appeared this season. i imagine you're instructor is thoroughly incorrect because the Nats have looked as if it would have seize more suitable undesirable breaks than the Mets. The Mets have stuck undesirable breaks because they have had a crap load of injuries. in the experience that they were a healthful crew this season, i do not imagine they could've appeared as undesirable as they have this season.

Answer 8

MLB needs to implement salary caps too. Until it does, the Yankees will win one out of every three world series.

Because of the lack of salary caps, the players on roids, the cheating, and the greedy owners, baseball is dieing in this country. Viewership and game attendance continues to fall. I hope it is not too late to save it.