The Angels and Giants in the World Series? Did that just happen? Baseball's postseason this month may be "electric;" however, please do not let it fool you. Baseball still has problems. The last minute Aug. 30 baseball strike-averting deal is a hoax. I ask that you look at baseball's disarray in its entirety right now.
"There are 20 teams trying to figure out how to reduce payroll and cut, not go and add players. There aren't more than a couple [teams] that can take on much added payroll," reports baseball guru Peter Gammons. Used to receiving steep salaries, players might have to scratch a digit or two off their asking price this year. Gammons continues: "Too many teams have been hit too hard, and the clubs that are getting additional revenue-sharing money are, by and large, using it to cover revenue losses." In brief, owners are borrowing money to pay expenses.
Baseball's clients are gone. Attendance continues to lag. I urge you to switch on ESPN during the regular season and watch brawny batters swat balls into bleachers emptier than Dartmouth Hall after classes. And it is not just the Montreal Expos or seasoned losers like the Detroit Tigers or Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Deviled Eggs) that have hectares of bare bleachers. The Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians both have meager crowds, even though these two teams symbolized baseball's renaissance after the 1994 strike. Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. captivated us with his ironman record. The Indians flew into the postseason and occupied the American League's throne for a few years; the Indians even had a record 455-game sellout streak. Now, nearly two-thirds of the teams are below last year's attendance totals. Good things were. Bad things are.
Baseball executives attribute baseball's woes to the egregious economy, losing records and strike possibilities. But let us look at the strike possibilities, as it addresses all three areas. Baseball executives view their sport as a business, which it is. In unionized businesses such as airlines or delivery services, customers usually come back after a strike or hint of strike. Customers even come back to unionized companies when non-unionized companies try to lure clients away. Non-unionized Federal Express attempted to use unionized UPS's pending strike negotiations to scare UPS clients away from Big Brown. FedEx huffed and puffed but did not make substantial inroads. So why does baseball continue to fail? It should be able to overcome the strike hype, but it has not. Why? It's all about leadership. UPS has tremendous leadership in CEO Mike Eskew and Vice President of Branding Gary Mastro; baseball does not. Any good business needs the correct leaders driving the bus. Only then does execution become seemingly effortless.
Despite egregious economies and losing records, business leaders have steered companies out of the tunnel and into the light. Chrysler's Lee Iacocca and Coca Cola's Roberto Goizueta are two examples. Then again, some leaders bring their businesses out of the tunnel and into the light and into the oncoming locomotive. Baseball has the latter type of leader in Commissioner Bud Selig. It is convenient and simple to blame Bud; still, the blame is well placed. Bud's supporters say he has not done anything to hurt the game. I say, "What has he done to help the game?" I give credit to leaders whose companies or institutions perform well despite the leader's lack of performance. I give President Bill Clinton credit for the booming economy, despite his fussy approach. The problem is that Bud Selig has done little, and the game continues to hobble along like Fat Albert running the bases. "Give credit where credit is due," the maxim says. I have a mental letter on my desk addressed to Mr. Selig thanking him for saving the game of baseball. I am waiting to mail it.
A salary cap is an alluring solution to baseball's problems. Look at the NFL; last year's losing teams have recently risen to the fore and won championships. Football fans get to enjoy some surprises: Rams, Ravens, Patriots and now perhaps the Chargers -- we never know what to expect. Are we surprised that the Yankees are perepetually in the playoffs? Are we surprised that the Kansas City Royals are almost never in the playoffs?
We fans have seen the razzle-dazzle of postseason baseball this October. The economic woes do not affect the game of baseball entirely. Batters will bat. Pitchers will pitch. But the quality of the competitive game will decrease in the future if an economic remedy is lacking. Baseball teeters along in a state of benign bankruptcy. It is benign because we will still get the product -- albeit a watered-down diluted derivative. Baseball is bankrupt because of its broken economic system. Baseball cannot pay its bills. Moreover, the people running the sport are managerially bankrupt.
I love this time of year. It is the start of a new school year and the time for postseason baseball. But this autumn, baseball will not just be celebrating its fall classic, it will be crying over its financial wretchedness. This October is not just the end of another postseason, but the beginning of baseball's foreseeable decline. Starting Monday, you could listen to the moans and groans oozing from baseball executives. These moans are not over losing records or losing championships. Baseball executives are looking at their losing invoices. This time they are the ones yelling foul.
