The Diamond Revolution: The Prospects for Baseball After the Collapse of Its Ruling Class [Hardcover]

Neil J. Sullivan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Contemporary baseball fans frequently bemoan the current state of the game, especially what they see as an increased emphasis on business instead of sport. But Sullivan ( Minors ), an associate professor of public administration at the City University of New York, questions whether there ever was a golden age for the national pastime. He gives a laundry list of past ills, reminding readers that for many years players were virtual slaves, working for wretched pay; that owners enforced a color bar, moved teams from city to city in search of more spectators, and overexpanded league memberships, perhaps even to the point of spreading the talent pool too thin; and that over time very few teams have dominated the sport. Previous eras were golden for the owners, but not for anyone else, he concludes. Sullivan finishes with a short and superficial list of the steps baseball can take to survive and grow. An unimpressive study. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Sullivan ( The Minors , LJ 3/1/90; The Dodgers Move West , LJ 6/1/87) appraises the economic, social, and demographic changes that have reshaped baseball and those that will govern its future. He assesses indistinguishable cookie-cutter ballparks, the rise of unions, team moves, race relations, and drug problems in an often critical survey. Though failing to explore the proposed Japanese ownership of the Seattle Mariners, this candid look at pro baseball is more timely and pertinent than Gerald Scully's The Business of Major League Baseball ( LJ 11/1/89) and is recommended for most sports collections.
-Morey Berger, St. Joseph's Hosp . Medical Lib., Tucson
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (June 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312077238
• ISBN-13: 978-0312077235
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,359,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars An explanation of the dark side of baseball ownership and the consequences for the modern game, June 17, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Diamond Revolution: The Prospects for Baseball After the Collapse of Its Ruling Class (Hardcover)

The history of baseball is outwardly one of legend and myth. Some of players were almost godlike in how they have been portrayed. For years, baseball has been portrayed as the national pastime; considered so sacred it has been favored by an anti-trust exemption. However, there has been a dark underside to the business of baseball. For decades, the owners colluded to produce an inferior product by preventing blacks from playing in the major leagues. Even into the early 1970's, the reserve clause was a form of servitude, where players could be sold and traded like mere possessions.
This book exposes much of that façade and even more importantly, the history as to why labor relations in baseball are so difficult. When there is a strike, the players stand united, even when it is possible for them to fail to achieve a record. For decades, the owners acted as if they were feudal lords with the divine right of control, free to do what they wanted. The reserve clause and the anti-trust exemption had a great deal to do with this. It was a most unusual situation, and may be unique in history. Some of the players were idolized to the point of being national icons, yet were treated so poorly by their owners.
Sullivan also spends some time discussing the historical problems with drugs and alcohol in the major leagues. He is quite correct in pointing out that had Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle curbed their enormous alcohol consumption, their careers would have been more productive. Given that they were so valuable, it would have been cost effective for the Yankees to do more to help them. That should be a lesson to the modern owners and players regarding drug policies. Performance enhancing drugs tilt the plying field and are dangerous to the players. I find it amazing to see how the development of a sane and effective policy remains so difficult to achieve.
If you follow baseball and are disgusted by the labor difficulties, confused by the astronomical salaries and the strong-arm tactics used by owners against cities, then this is a book you should read. It does not contain all of the answers, but it does inform you about the incredibly foolish way in which the ownership and management of major-league baseball have behaved over the years.