I was furious. I practically lived at the ballpark prior to then. After the strike, I didn't watch a game for 5 years. Since then my participation has been considerably less than it was prior to the strike. The current financing of MLB is criminal and allows teams like the As or Reds or Royals to play on the cheap and field uncompetitive teams while still reaping millions in local sharing revenues, while other teams can outspend by a factor of 10 making half the league irrelevant. Meanwhile the NFL has come close to parity where any team in any market can become successful - teams considered in baseball to be in "small markets" like Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincy, or Green Bay can be hugely successful while literally 300 yards away in KC, the Royals flail around year after year blaming the same market. It's BS. Viewership in baseball declined for 15 straight years and WS and ASG viewership has cratered while the NFL gains popularity in the same span. MLB cannot be saved until it has a salary cap AND floor like the NFL, otherwise it will slowly circle the drain - and the owners, the commissioner AND the players are complicit.
Like you I'm a long suffering KC fan, went to my first Royals game in 1973. Saw the great years of the 70s and 80s, only to watch it implode after free agency, revenue sharing and other idiocy wrecked it. I've written extensively on the America's Pastime FB page about the criminality of the current MLB financing but few care to understand it.
Thanks Patrick, enjoy your break and looking forward to your next piece in a few months. Agree totally with issues regarding how MLB is running their business. Would love to see it ran more like the NFL...
I was furious. I practically lived at the ballpark prior to then. After the strike, I didn't watch a game for 5 years. Since then my participation has been considerably less than it was prior to the strike. The current financing of MLB is criminal and allows teams like the As or Reds or Royals to play on the cheap and field uncompetitive teams while still reaping millions in local sharing revenues, while other teams can outspend by a factor of 10 making half the league irrelevant. Meanwhile the NFL has come close to parity where any team in any market can become successful - teams considered in baseball to be in "small markets" like Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincy, or Green Bay can be hugely successful while literally 300 yards away in KC, the Royals flail around year after year blaming the same market. It's BS. Viewership in baseball declined for 15 straight years and WS and ASG viewership has cratered while the NFL gains popularity in the same span. MLB cannot be saved until it has a salary cap AND floor like the NFL, otherwise it will slowly circle the drain - and the owners, the commissioner AND the players are complicit.
Like you I'm a long suffering KC fan, went to my first Royals game in 1973. Saw the great years of the 70s and 80s, only to watch it implode after free agency, revenue sharing and other idiocy wrecked it. I've written extensively on the America's Pastime FB page about the criminality of the current MLB financing but few care to understand it.
Thanks Patrick, enjoy your break and looking forward to your next piece in a few months. Agree totally with issues regarding how MLB is running their business. Would love to see it ran more like the NFL...
Nothing wrong with a break every now and then (says the guy who hasn't written anything since...October?).