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For example, according to the U.S. Census 1990, the largest U.S. cities by population are:
2. Los Angeles 3. Chicago 4. Philadelphia 5. Detroit 6. San Francisco 7. Washington, DC 8. Dallas 9. Houston 10. Boston 11. San Diego 12. Atlanta 13. Minneapolis 14. Phoenix 15. St. Louis 16. Miami 17. Baltimore 18. Seattle 19. Tampa 20. Pittsburgh This list may be a little out of date, but serves to make the point of market sizes. Cities 4, 5, 6, 11, 13, and 20 are all small markets by MLB standards, in spite of their metro population. For MLB, market size is based on revenues, not populations. A heavily populated city like Philly supposedly can not compete with other teams because of low revenues. But is this a result of a poor market or poor management? The problem is not market sizes but player development, allocation of resources, talent evaluation, marketing, etc. For a more detailed look at revenue and MLB, Baseball Prospectus has several articles on the issues, especially the numbers presented to congress by MLB and Selig. MLB doesn't need a salary cap. As a baseball fan, I am opposed to a salary cap for four reasons. One, a salary cap doesn't affect ticket pricing. A salary cap simply gives less money to the players and more to the owners. The owners no longer worry about over-paying for a player to keep up with the Joneses. Ticket prices will remain the same, so what do I care about whether the owners or the players are making more money? Two, as evidenced by the NFL and NBA salary caps, a salary cap makes trades difficult to pull off. Trade and potential trades are one of the most interesting aspects of baseball. Teams can unload high-priced veterans for younger talent, or pick up a player for a stretch run. Rarely does the NBA have a significant trade, and the NFL is even rarer. The reason is that teams must not only consider talent, but whether or not the player's salary will fit under their cap. I would prefer to think that my team will be able to improve itself by picking up a good player in an effort to get to the Series. Three, a salary cap makes it difficult for a team to sustain success. The Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco had superior teams until cap problems left them unable to improve themselves any longer. Four, a salary cap (and significant revenue sharing, as well) is a crutch for management. I don't always side with the Players Union, and I believe that business owners should be able to make as much money as possible in a fair manner, but a salary cap is bad for sports and for baseball. Go To Page: 1 2
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