Walker: Baseball could go to the dogs
From Lauren Walker at The Hardball Times on January 9, 2020:
It’s hard to tell what baseball will look like in a couple of years. The Commissioner’s office is experimenting with a number of tweaks to the game, both in the minors and in independent leagues. At the same time, Major League Baseball seems to want to scrap a bunch of minor league teams, all while the cost of attending a game in the big leagues increases year after year. Fans who can’t afford a luxury cable package are subject to arcane broadcasting blackouts, and most Dodger fans haven’t been able to watch games from home for more than half a decade.
The stewards of the game, appointed by the congressional antitrust exemption, have shown at times a confusing lack of interest in making the sport more accessible to people who are not already seriously financially committed to the game. They have had a very lucrative few decades to invest in the long term health of the sport, and by and large, they have decided they would rather not bother. So at some point, they have to grow the sport for a new audience, and they’ve demonstrated a willingness to tweak the game on the field. What new revenue stream could be catered to, if not working-class fans and young families? Well, why not man’s best friend?
Read the full article here: https://tht.fangraphs.com/baseball-could-go-to-the-dogs/
Originally published: January 9, 2020. Last Updated: January 9, 2020.