Back in Colorado after my holiday trip. Colder than a you know what. But baseball has not been off of my mind. My brother gifted me with 12 new bobbleheads…well not new, but new to me. Four Dodgers and a bunch of other guys! But I still followed all of the stories I could on my computer while there.
I did get to watch a few of the season’s highlights on the Dodgers flagship station on cable. Nice to look at the exciting moments and then you think about how disappointing the ending was. Add this lockout to that, and 2021 was just not what it was supposed to be.
As a fan, I am extremely disappointed that the two sides did not come to an agreement. I think MLB did not make proposals that addressed what the players feel is fair, and I think the MLBPA is trying to get as much as it possibly can to improve the benefits the players get. We the fans are not the center of their attention. In fact, they sometimes act as if we were not part of the equation at all.
And that to me is a problem simply because the fans foot most of the bill. We consistently return and spend vast amounts of money for our entertainment. And think about it. This season, when they finally opened up the stadiums and allowed 100 percent capacity, MLB was disappointed that there were not that many sell-outs. And MLB was the only game in town. Theaters were still not allowing full access. You had a mask mandate for indoor events. Music concerts were few and far between.
Here in Colorado, we had plenty of space, a fairly nice summer, so exploring nature, fishing, and other excursions were available. The Rockies attendance sank as they sank in the standings. But overall, baseball attendance was down across the board. Teams lost some money, especially the bad teams. SF which usually sells out a lot of their home games did not do so as often. Dodger Stadium, on the other hand, was rocking most of the time and they led the league in attendance both at home and on the road. Both by almost 5,000 fans a game. They were the only team with more than 30,000 a night average at home. Only 6 teams drew 2 million or more at home.
The Giants were 12th in the league drawing just a tad over 20,000 a game at home. And that with a 107 win team! The Braves were second with about 29,000 on average a night. The pandemic had something to do with those numbers. The economy had something to do with those numbers. MLB is slowly pricing itself out of the average fan’s budget. It is too rich for my pocketbook I know that. My sister, for the first time in many years, did not attend a single game last season.
And whether they know it or not, MLB is taking a huge risk with fans having a lockout. Oh, the diehard fans will hang on. They always do. They might spend less at the ballpark than before, but when spring training starts, a lot will be forgiven. They will be there, paying whatever it costs to get in and see an exhibition game. And oh I forgot to mention, those games are not cheap either. But new fans? Those on the fence about the game. They are not going to spend a lot of time or effort ongoing and supporting the MLB. They will find other means of entertainment. Despite the pandemic, movie theaters still did 4 billion dollars in business. Concerts are coming back, even with the uptick in covid cases.
Winter is beginning to take hold and spring is supposed to be just around the corner, but by the time they are up and running, there will be other forms of entertainment available. 6 weeks until pitchers and catchers are supposed to report. 6 weeks to get fans back on the page. The chance that they will not reach an agreement before then, about 60-40 against. Simply because you hope they will. With no meetings scheduled, it is probably a lot higher against at this point.
As was mentioned somewhere, the MLB network terminated Ken Rosenthal’s contract. Now, I always respected Ken. He is a solid baseball guy and reports truthfully. He criticized Manfred and was taken off of the air for about 2 months. He was given few assignments after that. Now he has been let go. Simply for reporting on the powers that be. Manfred is what he was hired to be, the owner’s lackey. If that clown ever had an original idea that was not totally whacked, I would be totally surprised. But remember this, Manfred is only doing and saying what the owners want him to say. The CBA will be negotiated by Lawyers…..
Where do the fans stand? Players or owners? I think, at least I believe, many fans side with the players. They see the owners as money-loving greedy billionaires who care less about the game and only as an investment that had better give them healthy returns. Owners for the most part answer to the investors. They need to be on the plus side of the ledger. Players are trying to get the most they can from the talent they possess and give their family’s security and comfort. And at the bottom of the totem pole are the minor leaguers struggling to make it, and then the fans, who are paying most of the freight.
While I believe there will be a 2022 season, I do not necessarily believe it will be a full season. I think missing games is a possibility. It is a shame that grown men cannot reach a compromise that would satisfy everyone. But like the government, MLB is driven by men with power. Giving up that power is not something they like to do.
Discussion (15)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Don’t the Dodgers still have a facility in the DR? Why don’t they open it up for players in their system to train and play during the lockout?
I meant to post this last week.
It’s Kyle Glazer answering questions about the Dodgers top 30 players:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/los-angeles-dodgers-2022-top-10-mlb-prospects-chat/
Lots of really, really good stuff!
Bob Saget and Dwayne Hickman passed away today. Saget was on Full House, and Hickman starred on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and was in Cat Ballou. RIP.
What happened to my questions?
Don’t know who is less employable. Urban Meyer or Kamala Harris!
OK Mark. Worse day? 01/09 or 10/23? Don’t know about Harbaugh but Urban would sure shake things up in Indy!!!!!
It’s this simple:
A. The Colts win and they go to the playoffs;
B. They lose and Jim Harbaugh becomes the new head coach.
No Pressure, Frank Reich!
Nice story Mark! Not a lot of people do the right thing often enough. Everyone needs to do a little more of that and make the world a nicer place.
I can relate to your stories Bear. I’ve lost many people in my life at relatively young ages. A lot of guys I hung around with lived fast and died young. I’m glad you had a nice visit. I really need to take a train trip. I love driving, so I usually take driving vacations, but the train gives you way more perspective on the scenery.
As far as the stoppage goes, I blame the players more than I blame the owners. Especially after Seager turned down 275M from his own team that competes every freaking year to go to some crappy team. I don’t care how much the owners make, because they put in their money to run a business. They assume the risks.
The players make way too much money to live out their dreams playing the same game they’ve been playing since they were 5 years old. If they make it to the bigs, 99.9% of them would never make that kind of money doing any other job they could qualify for. Even if you played 5 years making the minimum, you’re pretty much set for life, or you have a damn good head start on it. I feel for the minor league guys that never make it. It seems like no one is looking out for them.
I have no sympathy for a team like the A’s. They play in the same freaking bay as the Giants and the Giants are a rich team, yet they’re a poor team. They’re freaking 30 minutes away from each other by BART. This is an example of a smart organization with good owners vs crappy owners. McCourt bankrupts the Dodgers, yet Guggenheim turned them into a money magnet. All McCourt had to do was wait on raping the team for his real estate investments until after getting the new television deal. Guggenheim outsmarted everyone by projecting and guessing right and know that winning teams make a hell of a lot more money than losing teams.
I don’t care all that much about ticket prices either. The worst part for me about going to Dodgers stadium is the traffic and the dodgy public transportation. I am a realist. You can’t say people are getting priced out when you sell just about all your tickets every year. That stadium is the Golden Goose that keeps giving and that’s a very large fan base to draw from. I love watching the games from the view of my living room. If I go to a handful of sporting events a year in person, that’s fine with me. Same thing with concerts and other live performances.
I’ve been to enough live games in my life, I don’t feel the need to do it all the time. I’m actually looking forward to moving the hell out of California in the not so distant future, and then going to some ballparks I’ve never been to. I keep imagining myself moving to Nashville and then taking weekend trips to see the Dodgers in Atlanta, Chicago, St Louis etc.
This work stoppage sucks, but it ain’t as bad as the one caused by COVID. Be patient, it will come around eventually.
Good article Bear!
I didn’t realize how low attendance was last year, after no fans in 2020. The Giants averaged over 40,000 fans for 7 years in a row, and only averaged 20,000 fans in a 107 win season! It would seem that given the pandemic and the impact on the finances of MLB, that both sides would realize how lucky they are and find a compromise solution. I usually tend to side with the owners more than the players since I have owned businesses and managed businesses in the past. In this dispute I believe both sides are greedy and short-sighted.
It should be relatively easy to negotiate a compromise in this situation. Raise the CBT threshold to around $225 million and increase it $5 million each year. Allow free agency at age 30 or 6 years of service. Put in a salary floor or limit revenue sharing. Or a similar compromise.
But both sides need to recognize that a work stoppage will harm the game and turn more fans away.
I did not attend a MLB game in the last two years, for the first time in decades. Between the cost of the games, the inconvenience of getting to the stadium, the pandemic, and the politics inserted into the game by the Dodgers and MLB, I was able to find other things to do. I imagine there are other fans like me, who will find other things to do if the season is delayed.
I totally agree and other than a lot of rain, my visit was nice and stress free. Had time to visit a couple of dear friends and see a fellow musician I had not seen in over 30 years. Trouble with that was every old musician friend we talked about have departed this world for whatever happens next. There was a lot of ” You remember this guy? ” Yeah! , well he died! And earlier in the month we both had lost 2 really good friends who were musicians.
Good job Bear. I hope you had an enjoyable trip to California. We all expected a very contentious battle for both sides to come to a new agreement. What frustrates me more than anything is their lack of urgency. They are not even meeting to try to settle this business. In the meantime, people who can’t wait to spend large sums on Spring Training rentals, airfare and game tickets, here in Arizona, all sit and wait to see if there will even be a Spring Training. It’s big business here and effects a lot of people and communities. Neither side cares and both sides seem content to drag this thing out. The fans are the least of their concerns.
Not well.
The answer to the headline.
I honestly don’t like Winter. But I think it’s great for the Sierras and Lake Tahoe. Certainly for the state of California. Did Colorado finally get snow, Bear?
This winter I like even less. No real Hot Stove and I really enjoy MLB’s winter activities, trades, signing and such.
As I said earlier, I’m beginning to regret renewing my season tickets. I’m honestly tired of the owners and players nonsense. Fed up with Rob Manfred.
I recently read Max Scherzer’s comments about protecting the integrity of the game, competitiveness and all. Okay, I get it, but honestly I’m not sure how you can accomplish that. If you’re in Kansas City, Oakland, Pittsburg or Tampa Bay, you approach the construction of a roster differently than the Dodgers, Angels, Red Sox or the Yankees. What’s realistic, what isn’t.
But I think there is one simple truth that some ignore. No player is worth the big contracts some teams are shelling out.
Cory Seager signing with Texas may help with the fan base, but does he put them over the top. Probably not. Jacob deGrom is really good, one of the best pitchers in baseball. But the Mets haven’t won a World Series with him. Francisco Lindor didn’t make a difference last year.
Baseball is just different. You need an entire cast, maybe even a deep roster to get to the playoffs or win a division. Big stars may deliver here and there, but when the Angels won a World Series, it was David Eckstein, who became MVP. Not exactly the highest paid player on the roster.
If the players are actually serious about helping players, not the big stars, who are all pretty much overpaid, they would really push the minimum higher and settle for that as a big step. That would really help young players and older vets do better financially.
We really need to get this done. I agree with Jeff Passan’s comment. Time to pick up the pace and get it done. Not reason to play silly games any longer. The holidays are over.
I would bring back Ken Rosenthal and fire Manfred. That’s incredibly bad form on Manfred’s part. It’s beyond petty. Where is the integrity of the MLB network?
If there is a delay in spring training or in particular the season, it will send ripples across the sport. Time to understand not all is well in baseball. Game has become slow, need a pitch clock, end the shift, add the DH to the NL and create more action in the game. No reason a game can’t finish in two and a half hours or less. The World Series games are excruciating.
Thanks Bear for writing this today. Gives us something to talk about.
I think you nailed it Bear
Sadly I agree that we will not have a full season this year. They Players association knows they will have more leverage if games are not being played. They don’t care if the fans suffer.
Larry Sherry!
Not a comment on the hopefully upcoming season, since I have no clue, but instead a Dodger Trivia Question.
Who is this former Dodger?
I was born with “club feet” and needed surgery as an infant and wore special
shoes.
I had three brothers that played professional baseball.
One brother’s name was George.
I went to Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
My maternal great-grandfather was a Rabbi in Russia.
In my first appearance for the Dodgers, I faced four batters but didn’t record an
out.
The following year I was named the World Series MVP,
I was credited with two wins and two saves in the Series.
My brother and I were brother were first Jewish siblings to be Major League
Baseball battery mates.
Who am I?