May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy (Hardcover)

by Bob Costas (Author) "Many would say that the baseball industry had much to celebrate on November 6, 2001..." (more)
Key Phrases: presumed exemption, presumed antitrust exemption, expanded basic package, New York, Players Association, Red Sox (more...)

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.

Review
"...the ultimate book on the economics of professional sports." -- Pat Williams, senior vice president, Orlando Magic

"An absorbing, provocative discussion." -- Publishers Weekly

"Especially revealing." -- The Boston Globe

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 198 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (March 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815797281
• ISBN-13: 978-0815797289
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #816,511 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 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)

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.

6 of 7 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 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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Look at Competitive Balance within the Game, April 19, 2008

By	Michael D. Mallinger (Woodbridge, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

In "May the Best Team Win," economics professor Andrew Zimbalist documents problems in Major League Baseball that alienate young people who would otherwise become fans of the sport. The book is essentially a sequel to his earlier book, "Baseball and Billions," which examined how team owners use creative accounting to conceal revenues in order to justify offering lower salaries to players and demanding greater taxpayer subsidies for stadiums. In "May the Best Team Win," Zimbalist presents updated findings for the years following the strike of 1994, focusing on how the transition from broadcast television to cable is widening the revenue disparities between small- and large-market teams and ruining competitive balance within the game. He demonstrates that the baseball's revenue sharing program actually discourages small-market teams from investing shared revenues in player payroll, further exacerbating the problem. The book concludes that divestiture of Major League Baseball into separate and distinct leagues represents the best opportunity to restore competitive balance.

Zimbalist offers extensive statistical evidence that the relationship between player payroll and winning percentage became much stronger after 1995, with lower-payroll teams essentially unable to win a playoff series. Revenue gulfs between small-market and large-market teams rose rapidly because income obtained by large-market teams via televising their games on regional sports networks available only on cable and satellite television are not shared among the teams. Although the league increased sharing of other revenue sources following the strike, small-market teams actually receive more of this funding when they lose than when they win. Thus, owners of these teams, who often choose not to invest shared revenues they receive in player payroll, face a financial incentive to lose games. In fact, as soon as they are eliminated from the playoff races, many of these owners trade many of their highest-paid players to large-market teams in order to qualify for more shared revenues.

The book explains that owners of large-market teams have the ability to conceal earnings that would otherwise be shared. Many of these owners leverage their teams to funnel revenue into their other business investments, such as their regional sports networks or real estate holdings. Owners of large-market teams can also reduce the amount of revenue they must share by reducing their publicly-disclosed player payrolls through offering their own players non-payroll compensation or promises of future compensation when their playing days end, such as broadcasting jobs or front office positions. The bottom line is that wealthy teams do not have to share with teams located in smaller television markets, that teams in these markets have little incentive to win, and that fans have little incentive to follow these teams.

To address these problems, Zimbalist would divest Major League Baseball into separate and distinct American and National leagues to eliminate the exclusive broadcast territories that teams currently enjoy under the antitrust exemption. This is extremely important because these broadcast territories enable incumbent teams to prevent new startup clubs from entering nearby cities, such as Baltimore owner Peter Angelos' actions to prevent Washington, D.C., from receiving a team. Eliminating the broadcast territories would clear the way for new teams to enter the largest markets like New York and Boston, creating an equalizing effect for team revenues and, thus, resolving many of the game's competitive balance problems.

"May the Best Team Win" offers an excellent look at the problems plaguing baseball's appeal among the youngest generation of fans. Zimbalist does sports enthusiasts a great favor by explaining the intricate statistical relationships between team payroll, revenue sharing, and competitive balance in terms that everyone can understand. Although it is strongly recommended that fans read Zimbalist's first book, "Baseball and Billions," before reading this one, "May the Best Team Win" offers a great look at how greed has corrupted our national pastime, and how to fix it. One can only hope that one day the owners will listen.