You have to either be a small child or living with your head in the sand not to know what’s going on in the economy these days. Jobs lost, stocks plunging, parents wondering how they’ll send their kids to college or pay the mortgage.
Those who think sports will provide a diversion might be in for a rude awakening.
Today’s New York Times published two articles on the problems faced by the NHL and the NFL, but nary a word about baseball, even as the winter meetings are taking place in Las Vegas. But the St. Louis Post Dispatch website ran this piece to make up for it.
Among the highlights:
Executives from across the major leagues have converged on the city of excess and the famously opulent Bellagio hotel only to find many of the clubs preaching restraint. That’s life — or at least posturing — in an economic downturn. These meetings have become an odd juxtaposition of baseball’s heaviest hitters, some discussing jackpot deals with free agents like pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett that will easily top $100 million each, and the bright lights of big casinos. Beneath the glitz and show, both industries have concerns about their traction in this economic spiral.
And
Many agents and executives say that the big-name free agents will get their hefty deals, but that a middle class of players could be frozen out. Arbitration offers presented an interesting test case, though only two of 24 players leapt at the chance to have their salaries determined through the process. The others chanced the market.
This, as we read about the Mets spending $37 million for Francisco Rodriguez and the Yankees $110 million on C.C. Sabathia.
When owners kept the salaries of free agents low in the 1980s, people were shocked and angered. And that was when the average salary was less than $500,000; in 2005 it was almost $3 million. Why is that? Have the players gotten that much better? Did the change the game to make it more difficult, thereby justifying such a hefty increase? No, they still play 162 games a year, the bets hitters still bat over .300 or hit 40 homers; the bets pitchers will win 20 games and strike out over 200 (although they do it with fare fewer innings pitched).
Other industries — ones in which employees are already struggling to make ends meet — are calling for pay freezes or roll backs. But you’ll never see that in the sports world.
I take that back: front office employees are feeling the pinch, but not the ones whose salaries could fund an entire secretarial pool.
I don’t know, maybe someone can explain the rationalization of it all — especially in these tough times — to me.
I’m a doctor, Jim, not an economist.
is available on Amazon.com,
Comments on this entry are closed.