Another stellar question from MC's Captain -- this time, Lonnie asks, "Has baseball held on too tightly to tradition in an attempt to maintain a sense of purity? Would changing with the times be a bad thing for baseball?"

Actually, that's two stellar questions. Of course, given the latest and lamest in regards to MLB's steroid era, I cannot help but snicker at the irony of the words "purity" and "baseball" appearing in the same sentence. As to the first question -- has baseball held on too tightly to tradition? My sense is no. In point of fact, I think the bulk of the "problems" with baseball in the 21st century are caused by the FEAR that MLB was losing ground to other sports - specifically the NFL.

The first problem with this logic is the belief that NFL and Baseball compete. They don't. First off, the bulk of the seasons for each do not overlap. And, in truth, the final month of the regular season, and the playoffs are the very time that interest in baseball RISES, (except for those teams that are out of the hunt). Moreover, when pro football has attempted to occupy the same time frame as baseball, (be it USFL or XFL, or AFL, or NFL-Europe), the loser has consistently been the one with the whop-sided ball. The angst and ire and dread surrounding the "pending doom" for baseball has always been fostered by logic so twisted that even Dr. McCoy would submit to Mr. Spock that humans are just idiots some times.

Much of the ire has been pushed because NFL TV ratings grew so dramatically since the merger of AFL and NFL. Why is the NFL so good on TV, while baseball has steadily lost ground? Well, first off, the NFL plays during the winter, when people are more prone to stay inside. This has ZERO to do with how good or bad either sport may be -- simply put, ratings during winter months are higher than in summer months - and this has ALWAYS been the case, regardless of whether you're talking football, baseball, "I Love Lucy", or "The Dukes of Hazzard." So, ratings comparisons are perhaps the most idiotic yardstick to use in attempting to discover "what is wrong" with baseball, (compared to football or basketball).

Of course, ratings are part and parcel to the revenue stream, so being concerned about the money aspects is not entirely unreasonable. But, in football, each team plays once a week for 20 weeks, (including pre-season). And, of course, pre-season ratings are horrid, (and occur during the end of summer). But, baseball teams can be viewed locally as much as six times per week for 6 months. The per-view ratings comparison is pointless to make -- but if you actually add up the number of people sitting in front of *ALL* the games over the aggregate seasons, (where baseball gets a 10 to 1 numerical advantage), the AGGREGATE, (not average), rating for baseball pretty much clubs that ratings for a given NFL team into complete and utter submission. (This probably holds true even for the poorest, small market clubs). But, nobody screaming poverty, (and don't the MLB clubs LOVE to scream poverty?), really wants to point out this particular schism.

The Colts in 2008 had an average home attendance of 66,378, for a total attendance of 531,024. The worst attendance in the AL during 2008 was in Kansas City, where "only" 1,578,922 attended a game. It would be silly to claim that MLB is three times as popular as the NFL based on comparing the worst home attendance with the best home attendance, but it's equally silly to focus on ratings.

In point of fact, if one is going to examine baseball for signs of weakness, one MUST start with game attendance. Why? Because the game is played in the summer, when people are out - when people watch less TV -- when most entertainment dollars are actually spent. The Royals, regarded as a laughingstock franchise by many, draw about 1.5 million year after year after year. The Yankees, the century long flagship used to draw 1-2 million. They've brought in more than 4 million a season for the past 4 years. Anaheim jumped from 2 million a year to 3.3 million a year after upgrading their stadium.

If the popularity of baseball were actually falling, then clubs wouldn't be constantly beating the drums for stadium upgrades to allow the ADDITIONAL fans a chance to come and see their team, (and hand over copious amounts of money in the process). You see, the rhetoric of baseball's demise is generally espoused by those in the best position to benefit from government handouts, though there is scant evidence that anyone actually needs a handout.

How's this for a stat. During the "glory years" of the 1950s, the American league never broke 10 million in total attendance. The typical per game attendance for that decade ranged from 11,787 - 14,805. Since 2000, AL attendance has climbed from 31,000,000 to 35,000,000 and per game attenance has gone from 28,000 - 31,000. Rumors of baseball's demise are GREATLY exagerated.

Tampa was an attendance sink-hole for most of its existence, and the cries of poverty began almost from the moment the club sprang into existence. Yet, new owners were found, and in the blink of an eye, they are in the World Series. The horrid aftertaste left from the previous regime has certainly slowed the attendance growth that they rightfully earned in 2008. But, as in many things, it takes time and hard work to create meaningful and lasting success.

If anything, baseball has not held onto tradition strongly enough. Baseball was THE American sport -- with its unique combination of individual achievement, tempered by the patience to wait your turn and allow the next fellow to get his chance, too. But, baseball has also been the sport to reflect the realities of American life and culture. In this area, baseball has been tarnished not by holding on too tightly, but by getting swept up in the cultural drift away from the values and strengths that helped build America, (and baseball, too).

Today, baseball, like most entertainment media, has wrapped itself up in a blanket of greed. The prices continue to climb, yet the parks continue to fill even as the stadiums continue to bloat. And the players, (with consent of the owners), decide that its not enough to work hard and do their best -- they run to the pharmacy to get an edge. Why? Because making $8 million a year isn't enough (for entertaining the blue collar working stiff who had to put the $200 tab on his credit card to bring his kids to the game). No, a few more homers might push that salary to $15 or $20 or $25 million.

But, do not blame baseball for this behavior. Because they aren't causing the problem. They are just reflecting the problem of a culture that is so focused on the NEXT dollar, it has convinced itself that hard work isn't needed to get it. There was a time when the owners treated the players like cattle, buying and selling them with no recourse by the players. That changed in the 1970s, and the freedom afforded the players redressed some long-standing problems, no doubt.

Today, the greed of the players is equal that of the owners. Pity for us all, because whatever purity there once was in the game likely vanished when the first free agent decided a million a year wasn't compensation enough to play a game that 10-year-olds across the land once dreamed of playing for free.

You see, baseball HAS changed with the times. The stats are computerized and digitized, and fed to every geek in the world for instant perusal on their iphones. The players want more money than CEOs of banks, and the owners want government handouts to recoup their (alleged) losses. Baseball IS America - for better and worse.

Yet, all of these issues are really not problems. They are phantoms and ghosts that can vanish overnight. All that need happen is for baseball, like America, to remember what made them great. Baseball needs only to provide a venue where a 10-year-old kid can eat a hotdog with Dad and marvel at incredible feats of grace and artistry on the field. It needs to remember that the purpose of ANY business is not to make money -- but to provide a service or product for people -- and that making money is the REWARD for doing that job well -- not the goal.

However, if baseball continues preaching its own doom, then yes, it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. As the clubs convince themselves they are dependant on the corporate fat cats filling the luxury suites, they will ultimately find out that when times are tough, corporations will drop those expenses in an instant. But even in the toughest of times, the blue collar worker struggling to make ends meet will STILL do whatever it takes to get his kid to the ballpark. For father and son, it's not just a business -- it's not just a game -- it's America itself, wrapped up and presented in living color -- for ALL to enjoy.