1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Wednesday. “YOU WANT HIS JOB”
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“HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE HIS JOB”
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Rob Manfred has his hands full, and he has a limited time to solve baseball’s problems.
On your Bingo Card, you can choose from problems from here, there, to everywhere.
TV CRISIS..The loss of (550M) per year from the ESPN-TV contract is a setback, another piece of TV revenue from the pie deleted from all the teams. Whether Manfred can find new stakes holders to bring more TV money into the pool is open for debate. How does he convince NBC or TBS to become a key partner and at what price, is a huge question?
STREAMING..The Manfred-led idea of ‘Team 30’, with MLB creating a super network of streaming games might not come to fruition. The Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, all who have record setting TV deals, are not going to give up that money. The other 25-teams, led by the Padres, may be the flag carriers for the rest of the teams heading to the streaming deal, but at what revenue price?
THE SCOREBOARD…Baseball has gone from being a 4B-a year industry to a 12B-a year pie during the Manfred reign. TV ratings are at an all time high. Attendance is at the same high water market. The Pace of the Game rules have made games quicker and more popular. There are so many things pointing up.
SALARIES…On a year by year basis, the biggest names get bigger contracts annually, whether it is a 700M haul or a 51M per year deal. The arrow points up too.
SALARY CAP…It works in all the other sports, but the MLBPA is very powerful and likely would never agree to a cap, even if it goes up each year because the gross revenues have rocketed. This arguing point may lead to a shutdown.
THE UNION..Tough negotiations are ahead with a Union already angered at the negativity being thrown out by owners about changing the CBA. They have publically ripped owners for not spending on free agents in upwards of 11-cities this past off season. The Union stance ‘this is not about the Dodgers or Mets, it should be about the Twins-White Sox-Marlins-Rays.
SCANDALS..It was steroids then, and PEDs more recently, and now it’s the scary aspect of Gambling. You can have rules but not every player follows them, knows them or is smart enough to stay out of trouble that casinos and gamblers can bring.
UMPIRING…You might call it a tough game to umpire, the pitchers throw such nasty stuff. But it is a strike zone that has gotten so erratic, that we now need computers to help the umpires get the right calls, especially at the most important points of the games or the season, the playoffs. The ABS system looks to be fully implemented within a year by opening day 2026.
GLOBAL BALL…Fans have been mesmerized by the greatness of Ohtani, and the prospects of Sasaki. Next up figuring out a way to make a truly Global Draft work for players from all foreign countries, whereby corruption disappears, under the table deals cease, and all prospects are playing by the same rules, from refugees in Cuba to hotshot rookies from the Pacific Rim.
HALL OF FAME..Pete Rose is gone but his legacy to the game has not officially been crowned in Cooperstown. Now the family of the Reds-Phillies legend, fans and baseball writers want his name taken off the ineligible list. But if you do that, then what do you do with Shoeless Joe Jackson from the 1919 Black Sox? How do you handle the legacy of Barry Bonds-Roger Clemens-Mark McGuire? The name-calling from whatever decision is made will go on for a long time.
EXPANSION..May be next on the horizon. This commissioner wants to add two more teams before he retires. What is the right fit? Montreal, a second chance, Portland, Nashville, Charlotte, where and for how much?
So we all get amped when the Umpire yells ‘Play Ball’ in a couple of weeks. A new season, but still alot of old problems yet to be solved.
Would you really like Rob Manfred’s job as Commissioner?
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