Osler's Razor

I have loved baseball all of my life, and I have a huge number of wonderful memories of going to games with my dad in Baltimore, Atlanta, New York, Washington, Cincinnati, and Boston.

It's depressing to go to a game, or see one on TV, where there are only 6,000 or so people in attendance. There's a lot of TV money available from the various regional networks, but since those were mostly established and co-owned by individual teams, those teams have no incentive to share that revenue.

I don't begrudge the players their salaries, per se, because they are making what the (baseball) market thinks they are worth. But in reality, of course, they are making an obscene amount of money, relative to what they *do*. This cannot be sustainable.

There should be fewer teams. Buh-bye, Pittsburgh and Florida. Watch out, Cleveland and KC...
 

Baseball is the great American contribution to sports. It manages to balance individual responsibility (it is primarily a game of batter vs. hitter) with teamwork (it takes three to pull a 6-4-3 double play). You don't have to be an amazing athlete to be a great player (see, e.g., Babe Ruth, CC Sabathia), but you can't hide the bad players either (as the National League proves 8 times every day).

In basketball and football, the bad players can hide behind somebody great. You can't do that in baseball, and that's what makes baseball great.

Contraction? No. The RSN ratings are way too high, and individual teams make way too much money off them to be contracted. Nobody watches the All-Star game because nobody watches all-star games anymore. (The NBA and NFL all-star games are always terrible draws on TV.) I don't have the answers, but I know contraction isn't it.
 

I watch it live at Durham Athletic Park when the Bulls are in town.

When I visit Detorit in the summer I journey to Comerica - I like this park as much as the old Tiger Stadium. It is developing its own history.

Tropicana Field - yes I love the dome (especially on rainy and/or 90+ degree days). No rain outs. We had season tickets there the first 10 yrs of the Rays and watched some really BAD baseball but appreciated getting to see some of the greats of the era - Randy Johnson and a few others were amazing to watch in their prime.

I even went to Yankee Stadium when I was working in NY; always rooting for the visiting team.

And I play fantasy baseball!
 

Baseball is dying, thank God. SO boring. Bunch of standing around and scratching.
 

The Rangers have always been my team. My friends and I would spend many school nights in the bleachers at Arlington Stadium watching those talented players strive toward mediocrity. It was GREAT.

Then last year I got to see them clinch the AL pennant against the hated Yankees from the second row of the home run porch sitting right next to my dad. amazing.

WOW! As I type this and think about that moment and the look on my dad's face, my eyes are watering. That came out of nowhere.

That is where I am with baseball.
 

@ diadelkendall
and I got to watch the Rangers kick the Rays butt a week later at Tropicana Field. Playoff baseball is so exciting.

@ anon: I prefer live games, then radio and finally TV. It is my opinion that todays TV commentators distract from the game.
 

Mets. 1969 World Series. Those guys played so over their heads it was amazing. I can still hear the announcer calling out the lineup: "...Cleon Jones in Left, Tommy Agee in Center and Art Shamsky ([r Ron Swoboda] in right."
 

Love baseball. Red Sox fan. I had weekend season tickets to the Richmond Braves for years … now locally watch the Giants AA team, the “Flying Squirrels.” Love the great tradition of storied parks like Fenway & Wriggly. It is a game of both history and tradition. Love towns and teams like St. Louis/Cardinals, Chicago/Cubs, Boston/Sox, Atlanta/Braves, Baltimore/Oriels and NYC/Yanks (same for the Twins?) where they are regional teams with very loyal followings. It is one of the few arenas where George Will and I share the same passions. Some of the new parks are wonderful … at least those I have seen … Camden, Coors, new Busch, and the Nationals new Stadium. Do wonder and worry about the economics of the game. Needs to be better profit sharing and owners need to be held accountable about putting money back into their teams, unlike the Pirates owners … for better parity.
 

Unlike most other folk, it is the slowness of the game that attracts me. I cannot view action-packed thriller movies because I am still processing what happened on the last frame.It is the same with football. I am always asking,"What just happened?" Which only serves to annoy friends. Ah,Baseball!Here,at last, A game that moves at the speed of my body and brain. One can enjoy baseball,chew it,savor it,as one enjoys a perfectly cooked steak or pate de fois gras on a baguette. I love it when someone hits a resounding home run,and is able to have a leisurely run about the bases to home. I can take him in,enjoy the powerful muscles beneath the uniform moving, and the smile of victory on his face...but I digress.I love the soceity of baseball,the camaraderie of having a team that doesn't win all the time...pretending to be friends with the players,as if they were special brothers. Beer,bratwurst,peanuts. My dad was a Cardinals fan and so I was raised with that obsession and held onto it,because I loved my Daddy. Yes,I do think it has a future,forever with me.
 

Go Sox!
 

Stop Sox, Stop! Oh, look- they did.
 

I could write about how it was my semi-invalid Grandmother got me interested in baseball while she watched minor league ball on TV, or about the crushing loss I felt when the Senators left Washington when I was 11.

I could talk about the four years of Little League ball I played and how hopelessly inept I was much of the time, but attempt to explain how the few moments of competence still shine in memory. The season that my team won the Single A Championship was one of the greatest experiences ever. It was one of the few times as a kid that I felt like I "fit in." I made a few REAL contributions that season and the coaches and other players knew it.

I could talk about walking to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore during the first summer after College to see the Orioles play. I was living away from home in a scary neighborhood, working a job that confused and confounded me. But the Orioles were winning and I felt home there.

In 2005 baseball finally came back to DC. And so did I. the year before I had spent much of my time in San Francisco, thinking I was going to get married and move there. But I did not. The whole experience hurt, a lot. But suddenly I had baseball to brighten the day.

As for attendance and TV viewership, baseball is doing fine. The labor problems of baseball are in the past. They blew up the sport once and its going to be a long time before that happens again.

Pittsburgh? TT, you have to visit PNC Park. You'll change your tune on that quick.

The only problem with baseball is the Commissioner and his desire to extract more revenue.
 

oh IPLaw - you had to mention Bud 'bad hair'. I keep waiting for someone with a spine to take the reigns of MLB, but that is a discussion for another day.
 

Just got back from Nationals Park where the Nats soundly thumped Cliff Lee and the Phillies. Haven't felt this good in days!
 

Christine, the owners will never again let an independent thinker like Bart Giamatti become Commish. Selig - an owner, we should not forget - is a "company man," all the way.

As in the NFL, the MLB Commissioner works for the owners, period.
 

I don't follow baseball much anymore. I'm a Mets fan, which means my season is pretty much over after Opening Day.