Is the Free Agent system in place today better for the baseball fan?

Question

Before Lou Brock and the Free Agent, MLB players, for the most part, played for the same team for their career. Teams got better by having a good farm system. Is it more fun for the fans today with the player movement from team-to-team or was it better for the fans of baseball to have the same players on their team from year-to-year? Best answer will be given to the best argument either way

Answer 1

"Is MLB more fan-friendly now than it was in 1968?"

There's not one answer. The MLB fan has changed more than the game has changed since Curt Flood took Bowie Kuhn all the way to the Supreme Court (see Flood v. Kuhn - 407 U.S. 258).

The obvious answer is, "Yes, the game is more interesting to the casual fan, which has increased overall sales and TV ratings, which makes everybody happy."

My answer is, "No. The other changes since free agency; the quality of play, the level of teamwork, the ridiculous player salaries and the super-magnified press coverage with such over-the-top emphasis on the negative has tarnished the luster of the grand old game."

However, I can set that same answer template over just about any other social, political or economic question and make it fit.

Thanks for a real question. Gets me worked up on Monday morning.

Answer 2

It is better for the fan now. Players moving around makes the league more dynamic. Every year teams change, faces change and it keeps things fresh. Dynamic is always good.

In the olden days, some players played badly to get traded so they could go to another team because this was the only way they could move elsewhere. This is insulting to the fans. No true fan wants a player who doesn't love the team on the team, however good they may be.

You can say that big-market teams have an advantage and this is true in a way, but keep in mind that the Marlins won in 03 with a tiny payroll because they got high draft picks which they used to get fine starting pitching. And they beat the Yankees, the epitome of big market spending. Look at the standings now. Early days yet, but plenty of big market teams are struggling where as some small teams are doing well.

Plus, it gives us all something to follow the off season. Remember the pursuit of marquee free agents last season? Even if your team is not involved, it is something to keep an eye on.

Answer 3

It depends whether you are a fan of a small market or large market fan. If you are a small market team fan, you typically lose your best players after 6 years, when they hit the free agent market, which is also typically the time they peak as players. This has to be very fustrating as a fan. If you are a big market team fan, you team can simply go and bid on the best talent available at any given time, placing your team in contention virtually every year.

Answer 4

Free agency has made baseball better. Some teams still haven't figured out how best to use this method of player acquisition and so put themselves at a competitive disadvantage, but that is also true of trading, drafting, and scouting.

Free agency gives baseball some media time during the offseason, a good thing all by itself.

Answer 5

Lets look at the Home grown talent that a team like the Yankees can keep, Jeter, Pasada, Cano, even with the free agent market open, you can keep some of these players.
Now Soriano has been shipped of and bounced around for a reason.

Good teams dont get rid of great talent.

Answer 6

Happy Birthday Rangers Fan!!!! I've never watched Baseball Tonight.

Answer 7

I think it is better for the competition. That being said, as a fan, you must learn to root for the uniform because your favorite player could be gone tomorrow.

Answer 8

Yes, it makes keeping your stars more important
and more blockbuster moves that entertain fans