Baseball needs a change, but he has a lifetime contract.
Actually, his contract expires in 2009.
And why does MLB need a change -- at least from the viewpoint of its 30 owners?
Last year saw the highest MLB attendance ever.
Last year saw the biggest total revenue ever.
Its mlb.com is the envy of the sports industry, showing every game, and having a valuation of approaching (some say exceeding) $2 billion -- which simply put, adds $60 million plus to the value of each of the 30 franchsises. It provides access to every single MLB game played, with the exception of those blacked out to a local market.
Last year saw new TV contracts which together with other MLB exisiting broadcast deals guarantee each team about $30 million a year.
Even if only DirecTV carries the Baseball Channel in 2009, it will have a startup value of $300 million or more -- adding another $10 million to the value of each franchise. If Dish and/or cable were to carry the channel to a total of about 40 million homes, its value could immediately soar beyond $1 billion and even approach $2 billion -- adding another $30-$60 million in value to every MLB franchise.
Local TV ratings hit receord levels in many markets last year, and at least four teams have signed lucrative new regional sports network deals for dollar figures which would have been unheard of a decade ago.
Several teams have formed their own incredibly lucrative RSNs. And in contrast to a decade ago, when only about 60% of all MLB games were available on television, almost every game is now available, at least in its home market. Some teams broadcast all or almost all of their games in HD. The new network deals specifcy HD coverage for all national games. And by next season virtually every team's games will be broadcast in HD on it RSN.
There has been a level playing field unrivalled in the modern history of the game, with seven different World Series champions in the last seven years, and 11 different teams playing in the World Series in that time.
On the down side ticket prices continue to spiral upward, nationa TV ratings have, at best, leveled off and the drug scandal threatens to explode with even more revelations.
So, from the perspective of baseball ownership, or even the Players Union, what needs to be changed?
