Baseball in Crisis

Recent polls have placed football ahead of baseball in popularity. Does this reflect football’s rise or baseball’s decline? Why has the national pastime—a title perhaps becoming inaccurate—fallen behind other major sports? Is the trend reversible?
This book identifies the most substantial and persistent issues that have impaired Major League Baseball’s development. Chapters cover inflationary player, team and game costs; changes in baseball’s fan base; congestion in urban areas that host big league ballclubs; the negligent and irrational actions (some of it criminal) of players, owners, league officials, and the players’ union; and the maldistribution of power among the major league franchises. Six major reforms needed to boost the popularity of baseball are identified.

Frank P. Jozsa, Jr., is professor emeritus of economics and business administration at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, North Carolina. The author of numerous books about sports, he lives in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Frank P. Jozsa, Jr.
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 215
Bibliographic Info: 16 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3331-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5190-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface      1

Introduction      3

1. Team Prices, Costs, and Values      15

2. Sports Fans Abandon Baseball      41

3. Congested Sports Markets      69

4. Baseball Conflicts, Controversies, and Scandals      91

5. Misallocation of Franchise Power      119

6. Reform Baseball      143

Appendix      163

Chapter Notes      181

Bibliography      191

Index      203