Not good news for baseball

Big Blue's House is intended for general sports talk, sharing ideas, announcements, etc.
Yossarian
Posts: 10490
Joined: November 14th, 2010, 11:56 pm
Has thanked: 349 times
Been thanked: 3053 times

Not good news for baseball

Post by Yossarian » October 26th, 2020, 5:20 pm

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-debt-total ... 24645.html

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Major League Baseball’s 30 clubs have amassed an unprecedented $8.3 billion of debt from their various lenders and will suffer $2.8 billion t...

Anither year of lockdowns and reduced attendance might mean the end of major league baseball. The sport was struggling with attracting new fans before the pandemic. One more season of social distancing could do it in.

I haven't seen numbers for other sports, but i have to believe they are struggling, too.


Eutaw St. Aggie

Aggie84025
Posts: 9274
Joined: September 12th, 2018, 2:01 pm
Has thanked: 2685 times
Been thanked: 4247 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by Aggie84025 » October 26th, 2020, 7:18 pm

I am not a big baseball game, but enjoy going to the occassional game when visiting cities. I would be sad to see it go away.



User avatar
brownjeans
Flatulent
Posts: 18612
Joined: November 3rd, 2010, 10:21 am
Has thanked: 951 times
Been thanked: 1739 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by brownjeans » October 26th, 2020, 7:31 pm

Not a baseball guy, but in-person baseball is pretty great.



NVAggie
SJSU Ultimate Loser Award Winner - Given to someone that should probably give up but won't.
Posts: 23316
Joined: November 3rd, 2010, 8:09 am
Location: Where the sagebrush grows!
Has thanked: 1397 times
Been thanked: 3125 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by NVAggie » October 27th, 2020, 11:24 am

I like to attend games and I like playoff baseball. I never watch it on TV during the regular season.



Aggie formerly in Hawaii
Posts: 7945
Joined: October 22nd, 2016, 1:06 am
Has thanked: 2207 times
Been thanked: 2517 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by Aggie formerly in Hawaii » October 27th, 2020, 2:15 pm

The MLB isn't going anywhere, but the pandemic has certainly been really bad for all sports outside of the NFL.



User avatar
Real Life Aggie
Posts: 3920
Joined: April 10th, 2019, 4:28 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ
Has thanked: 5004 times
Been thanked: 1776 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by Real Life Aggie » October 27th, 2020, 3:56 pm

Professional sports are a game of economics. If fewer people watch them, it doesn't mean they'll go away, but it will mean some changes if this becomes long-term. Player salaries would need to be reduced commensurate to the reduction, GMs would have to (eventually) see salary reduction, venues would cease to grow bigger, more convenient, and more impressive. Ballpark hotdogs would cost $80/dog instead of $50. Potential players might begin to consider other sports instead of baseball.



User avatar
Real Life Aggie
Posts: 3920
Joined: April 10th, 2019, 4:28 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ
Has thanked: 5004 times
Been thanked: 1776 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by Real Life Aggie » October 27th, 2020, 3:58 pm

I mean, not to bag on the WNBA, but it doesn't have many viewers or as large/ingrained of a fan base, and it's still around. But they don't get paid much because not many people watch. More viewers = more money.



Yossarian
Posts: 10490
Joined: November 14th, 2010, 11:56 pm
Has thanked: 349 times
Been thanked: 3053 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by Yossarian » October 27th, 2020, 5:45 pm

Baseball is a little different animal than most other sports. Player development takes longer, in most cases. While a kid can be mostly ready to compete in basketball, soccer, golf, football, etc. at age 18 or 19, that doesn't necessarily hold true for baseball players. Baseball requires a large minor league system to develop players and weed out the elite from the "pretty good". Fringe players may spend years in the minor leagues and even get called up and sent back down multiple times before they really develop to the point of sticking around. Maintaining an extensive minor league system and a network of scouts looking at high school, college, and international players to draft is expensive. I don't think that baseball will necessarily go away any time soon, but it is definitely feeling a financial pinch right now and will take some time to recover. This is coming on the heels of a sport that is declining in popularity with young people. Maybe we'll see salaries stay stagnant for a while? Maybe we'll see contraction with smaller market teams folding up? They have already eliminated some levels of minor leagues and terminated those teams.


Eutaw St. Aggie

Aggie formerly in Hawaii
Posts: 7945
Joined: October 22nd, 2016, 1:06 am
Has thanked: 2207 times
Been thanked: 2517 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by Aggie formerly in Hawaii » October 27th, 2020, 6:03 pm

Yeah, I don't think anyone is denying it is not a big hit for the sport. Only 60 games and no fans for a whole year (and only 10,500 for major playoff games) is an absolute killer financially. This is devastating across the board. Other than the NFL, the financial ruin of college and professional sports will be massive. I am curious in how it affects salaries going forward.
Last edited by Aggie formerly in Hawaii on October 27th, 2020, 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.



pilotaggie
Posts: 1317
Joined: November 13th, 2010, 6:53 pm
Has thanked: 113 times
Been thanked: 245 times

Re: Not good news for baseball

Post by pilotaggie » October 27th, 2020, 6:03 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote:
October 27th, 2020, 3:58 pm
I mean, not to bag on the WNBA, but it doesn't have many viewers or as large/ingrained of a fan base, and it's still around. But they don't get paid much because not many people watch. More viewers = more money.
The WNBA is only around because the NBA keeps it around. It loses something like 10 million a year on average. It is basically good PR for the NBA.


This post is likely straight up poor sarcasm and cannot be taken seriously.

Locked Previous topicNext topic