May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy [Paperback]

Andrew Zimbalist (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2004 | ISBN-10: 081579729X | ISBN-13: 978-0815797296 | Edition: Exp Upd

The business of baseball stands in sharp contrast to the games wholesome image as Americas favorite pastime. Major league baseball is a deeply troubled industry, facing chronic problems that threaten its future: persistent labor tensions, competitive dominance by high-revenue teams, migration of game telecasts to cable, and escalating ticket prices. Amid the threat of contraction, existing franchises are demanding public subsidies for new stadiums, while viable host cities are begging for teams. The games core base of fans is aging, and MLB is doing precious little to attract a younger audience. According to Andrew Zimbalist, these problems have a common cause: monopoly. Since 1922 MLB has benefited from a presumed exemption from the nations antitrust laws. It is the only top-level professional baseball league in the country, and each of its teams is assigned an exclusive territory. Monopolies have market power, which they use to derive higher returns, misallocate resources, and take advantage of consumers. Major league baseball is no exception. In May the Best Team Win, Zimbalist provides a critical analysis of the baseball industry, focusing on the abuses and inefficiencies that have plagued the game since the 1990s, when franchise owners appointed their colleague Bud Selig as MLBs independent commissioner. Run by a shrinking and self-selecting group of owners subject to no oversight, MLB suffers from a lack of competitive pressure. Several large franchises are owned by media companies that have shackled their teams to lucrative broadcast and cable contractsoften making it impossible for fans to see games on television. Others own entities that do business with the teams, charginginflated prices for facility management, concessions, and catering. Complex intracompany transactions can reduce franchise revenues substantially, causing operating losses for teams while the owners still make millions. Zimbalist estimates that tens of millions of dollars are sheltered from MLB revenue each yearmore than enough to eliminate the operating losses that led Selig to claim contraction and other radical remedies as fiscal necessities. Zimbalist believes that many of baseballs problems would be effectively addressed by removing the industrys presumed antitrust exemption. He urges reconsideration of baseballs antitrust status, encouraging legislation to force monopoly cable providers to de-bundle their services, along with private initiatives to cultivate the games fan base, such as offering special ticket prices for families, allowing fans on the field after games, and involving players more in community events. Zimbalist also provides MLB with guidelines to reconstruct the incentive system underlying its revenue sharing policies. Zimbalist believes that consumers need an industry that is subject to judicial checks and competitive pressures. Only then will baseball fans be able to put the traumas of the 1990s and early 2000s behind them and utter freely the simple and enduring exhortation: May the best team win!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zimbalist, professor of economics at Smith College, is arguably the leading authority on sports economics in the country. His Baseball and Billions (1992) was one of the first books to take an educated look at the business of baseball, and since the release of that book, Zimbalist has spent thousands of hours researching and writing about the industry. His conclusion in his latest work, that baseball is in trouble, is not a new idea, but the reasons behind baseball's problems and Zimbalist's solutions combine to create an absorbing, provocative discussion. Zimbalist is no friend of baseball owners or baseball commissioner Bud Selig, and he devotes much space to tearing down arguments about the poor financial health of most teams and the need for cities to subsidize teams by paying for new stadiums. Expansion, not contraction, for example, would help spread out talent. The root cause of baseball's problems, Zimbalist argues, is its monopoly, and his most radical idea is for Congress to lift baseball's antitrust exemption and to force divestiture into two competitive leagues. But failing that, Zimbalist has a number of suggestions to improve the status of the game, including attracting younger fans by starting some World Series games at an earlier time; lowering ticket prices; and creating an owner/player partnership to study baseball's problems. At the very least, this volume provides baseball fans with enough material to allow them to engage in one of their favorite pursuits-arguing over what should be done to save the national pastime.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Andrew Zimbalist writes with obvious love, but deep concern for our national pastime." -- Chris Berman, ESPN

"Exhilarating . . . . Combines an academic’s precision with a fan’s passion." -- Allen Barra, Newhouse Newspapers

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press; Exp Upd edition (March 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081579729X
• ISBN-13: 978-0815797296
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #447,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Law > Administrative Law > Antitrust

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific work on the state of baseball, June 1, 2003

By 

C. Mclemore (Law School) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy (Hardcover)

Bob Costas's popular "Fair Ball" was an examination of baseball from the fan's perspective. "May the Best Team Win" is a similar work, but is written from the point of view of a professor of economics. Mr. Zimbalist's writing style is often just what you would expect from an economist; the text is very dense and may turn off some readers. Luckily, the book's fault is also its strength. The well-researched analysis provides irrefutable arguments in favor of making changes in the game, and educates the reader far better than other authors' attempts.

This deeply probing work uncovers the abuses and inefficiencies in the baseball industry, and concludes that baseball's monopoly is the devil in the details. Team owners use their monopoly power to "derive higher returns, misallocate resources, and take advantage of consumers." Any fan who has paid $5 for a ballpark hot dog will definitely empathize with his findings.

"May the Best Team Win" addresses the competitive balance (or competitive imbalance), the myth of non-profitability, the collective bargaining agreements, and how teams convince cities to foot the bill for new stadiums.

In the end, Mr. Zimbalist outlines some possible solutions to help improve the game. Some of his ideas seem workable, while others seem idealistic and unrealistic. However, all of his suggestions are well worth reading. This is an ambitious effort, and fans with serious concerns about the future of the sport will definitely appreciate this analytical endeavor. Zimbalist has taken on a difficult issue, and shown that he has more than just warning track power.

Highly recommended.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great insight.., July 29, 2003

By 

R. Bronson, Jr. (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy (Hardcover)

This was a great view into the inner workings of baseball's front offices. Not only does it give the reader a foundation for understanding the complexities of baseball labor negotiations, but it also gives insight into foundations of free agency and many of the arcane laws that give the sport its monopoly status.

Its a quick read and a great reference for any student of the financial aspects of the game, especially those interested in reform.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, January 31, 2006

By 

Adam Ainbinder "Student at Heart" (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy (Hardcover)

I work for a professional sports franchise (but not baseball), and this book really helped me understand the issues surrounding a professional team. This covers some major subjects, such as labor agreements, stadium financing, and broadcasting deals, by using major league baseball as an example. Anyone wanting to further their knowledge of how the economics of a professional sports league should grab this book.