Baseball, Inc.: The National Pastime As Big Business [Paperback]

Jr. Frank P. Jozsa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2006

During the second half of the twentieth century, Major League Baseball and its affiliated minor leagues evolved from local and regional entities governing the play of America’s favorite pastime to national business organizations. The relocation of teams, league expansion, the advent of free agency and an influx of international players has made baseball big business, on an increasingly global scale. Focusing on the last fifty years, this work examines the past and present commercial elements of organized baseball, emphasizing the dual roles—competitive sport and profitable business—which the sport must now fulfill. Twenty-five essays cover five areas integral to the economic side of baseball: business and finance, human resources, international relations, management and leadership and sports marketing. Detailed discussions of the redistribution of revenues, the history of player unionization, aggressive global marketing, strategies of franchise owners and an evaluation of fan costs, among other topics introduce the reader to the important issues and specific challenges professional baseball faces in an increasingly crowded—yet geographically expansive—sports marketplace. The work is also indexed.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frank P. Jozsa, Jr., is associate professor of economics and business administration at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has written other baseball related books including American Sports Empire: How the Leagues Breed Success, Relocating Teams and Expanding Leagues in Professional Sports: How the Major Leagues Respond to Market Conditions and Sports Capitalism: The Foreign Business of American Professional Leagues. He lives in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: McFarland (February 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786425342
• ISBN-13: 978-0786425341
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #990,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written but interesting topics, January 10, 2011

By 

Evan Fink (Boston, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baseball, Inc.: The National Pastime As Big Business (Paperback)

This book covers many interesting aspects of the business behind Major League Baseball (MLB). However, I find the author's writing style so difficult to read that I feel like the book's coverage of interesting topics such as franchise valuation, collective bargaining, and sports marketing is diluted into paragraph after paragraph of unreadable rambling.