Today is not a gloomy day for baseball. Today is an excellent day for baseball.
Roki Sasaki, arguably the finest young pitcher globally, is now with the Dodgers. Sasaki shared his choice in an Instagram update on Friday.
Fifteen years back, LeBron James revealed his major decision on live television with those unforgettable words: “I’m taking my talent to South Beach.”
Detractors fretted that this could ruin the NBA.
What about James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade? Super team? How will the remaining teams in the league manage to survive, let alone excel?
It’s alright, thank you.
Even with the Dodgers having Sasaki, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, baseball will be healthy as well.
James has undoubtedly created a super team in Miami. During his four years with the Heat, the team reached the NBA Finals every year and clinched two NBA championships.
That’s the aim, but that’s not our purpose here. Our professional team operates within the entertainment sector. Achieving success in the entertainment field is straightforward. It’s about delivering what people desire.
During James’ four seasons in Miami, the Heat topped the NBA in attendance each season. When the biggest stars visited, people were eager to meet them.
The Heat are currently positioned 20th in road attendance this season.
The Dodgers maintain popularity year after year, but last year’s away attendance figures highlight Otani’s impact. In the five non-pandemic seasons leading up to last year, the difference in average attendance between the top and second MLB teams was under 3%.
The Dodgers’ average away attendance in 2024 was 36,253, 11% higher than the second-placed New York Yankees. This achievement is even more remarkable given that the Dodgers are the only team not hosting road games at Dodger Stadium, the largest stadium in the league.
The last team to excel on the road was the Boston Red Sox in 2008. MLB sells 78.6 million tickets annually, compared to 71.3 million the previous year.
In the first season without Ohtani, the Angels plummeted from fifth to last in MLB road attendance.
The Dodgers might be resting on their championship accolades (and Ohtani!), but Snell and Sasaki are fresh players to keep an eye on. Disneyland consistently attracts returning customers with new attractions. That’s entertainment.
As baseball matches occur daily, no other North American sport generates as much revenue from ticket sales.
Rival owners may complain that they cannot compete with the Dodgers, but they are delighted when the Dodgers bring a roster of traveling all-stars to town. They will be equally pleased to receive a portion of the Dodgers’ ticket revenue, and the Dodgers might sell 4 million tickets for the first time this season.
In 2003, the Onion ridiculed the Yankees with the following headline: “Yankees sign every player in baseball to secure 2003 pennant.”
In 2003, the Yankees did clinch the American League pennant. A year after losing to the Angels in the Division Series, they were defeated by the Florida Marlins in the World Series. They have not claimed the World Series title in 16 years.
“To the wealthy go the rewards,” remarked the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira on the night of their 2009 championship. At least the Yankees remain affluent. Today, the Dodgers are the team you either adore or love to despise.
The Dodgers might give the impression that they have recruited every player in baseball, or at least every star, but the playoff bracket has expanded from eight teams in 2003 to now 12 teams. Owners no longer need to compete with the Dodgers to secure a postseason spot.
This would necessitate roughly 80 wins, and owners suggesting it would be exceedingly challenging to contend for a playoff position should sell before they further embarrass themselves.
Regrettably, albeit understandably, heartbroken supporters of a consistently underperforming team suggest that the remedy for the Dodgers forming a superteam would be for MLB to implement a salary cap. Likely. That would have thwarted LeBron, and – oh, hold on, the NBA had a salary cap back then. That remains the case today. Provide the fans what they want or relinquish the ballpark to Savannah Banana.