Contraction is not a new idea. We saw it in the ABA. We saw it in the WFL.
We saw it in the USFL. We saw it in virtually every struggling league before
it added Chapter 11 to its history books.
And we've also seen contraction work, most recently with the Jacksons. They
successfully pulled it off when Michael and Janet went on to spectacular
solo careers while ridding the listening public of their less talented
siblings (whose careers are now restricted to select broadcasts of "Behind
the Music").
Subsitute Tito with the Minnesota Twins and LaToya with the Montreal Expos
and you've got the gist of how contraction would work in baseball.
At least that's the persistent rumor in baseball, the story that, like Sid
Fernandez (and his waistline), refuses to go away. Rather than actually
solve the game's considerable financial and competitive imbalances, baseball
instead would make those struggling, annoying teams simply disappear by –
presto – buying them out, folding them and distributing their players in
the biggest giveaway since Beanie Baby Day.
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Forget contraction. Baseball should help
the sport grow again in (small-market) cities, not kill it off as completely as bullpen carts and
knee-high stirrup socks. |
Admittedly, the strategy makes some financial sense, even to those of us who
can't figure out why an electric company would spend $100 million for the
naming rights to a stadium. While buying out franchises would be expensive,
the remaining teams would benefit from increased TV revenues shared among
fewer clubs. With fewer jobs available, contraction also would place a drag
on player salaries, saving further money (in other words, Jose Mesa would
not have signed for $6 million this winter).
But don't be fooled. This contraction rumor is nothing more than the owners'
none-so-subtle way of waving their arms and shouting, "Danger, Will
Robinson! Aliens approaching!"
It's just a little too convenient and a little too coincidental that this
speculation began at the same time communities had finally realized there
was no reason to publicly subsidize a $300 million stadium because there was
nowhere left for teams to move. Look at the Twins, who threatened to move to
the North Carolina's Triad area (i.e., Mayberry) in 1998 unless the state
built them a new stadium. Minnesotans responded by saying, "You've got to be
kidding," not once, but twice.
With their bluff called, the Twins stayed put, losing whatever credibility
they ever had, along with all leverage in their stadium threats.
That's when the contraction idea suddenly surfaced as a new threat. With
contraction, you don't need to find a credible community to use as a patsy.
With contraction, a team doesn't have to threaten to move at all. The league
can just, ummmm, buy the team out if the city doesn't build a new stadium
filled with luxury suites.
Contraction. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Even if you take this contraction business serious, an underlying problem is
the cyclical nature of the sport. Just look back a decade ago when Minnesota
was a two-time world champion and outdrawing the Yankees (as the Twins did
from 1987-94) while Cleveland was the game's biggest punchline next to Cecil
Fielder's weight.
The market wasn't the problem in Cleveland 10 years ago and it isn't the
problem in Minnesota or Kansas City today. The problem is terrible ownership
that steadily decimated once-proud and very successful franchises over the
past 10 years.
To buy out such teams and abandon these markets not only would be foolish in
the long run, it would be an irresponsible disservice to the fans who
supported them in happier times.
There is a better solution. Rather than spend the money on contraction, the
league should spend the money on new stadiums in these supposedly vulnerable
cities. Throw in the naming rights revenue, plus equal contributions from
those individual teams and you would have enough money to build a state of
the art park in each city with little or no public money. If league policy
is to pressure communities into building stadiums, it should be a league
obligation to help pay for them as well.
Forget contraction. Baseball should help the sport grow again in these
cities, not kill it off as completely as bullpen carts and knee-high stirrup
socks.
Jim Caple of Seattle Post-Intelligencer is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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