One of the things that has bothered me with MLB the last few years has been how inaccessible it is. MLB blackout restrictions do nothing to expand the game. For example, if you live in Iowa, you have 6 teams that border your state, yet you are not allowed to watch any of them without cable. Even MLBs own streaming service, MLB.TV has these games blacked out. I'm not sure how many Regional Sports Networks are broadcasting these games in Iowa I can't believe all 6 cover the state. That's just 1 example, If you live in Washington, Oregon, Montana or Idaho, good luck watching any Mariners games. I know there are ways around this like VPNs but you shouldn't have to jump through so many hoops just to watch a baseball game.

Even MLB.TV has its issues. The price for the service has increased each year for the past 5 years. Yet the amount of games availbale to the user has decreased and will continue to decrease this year with the exclusive deals MLB signed with Apple+ and Peacock. One of my favorite things to do is listen to baseball on the radio. As a Brewers fan, I'm fortunate to have Bob Uecker still calling games for The Crew. But since I don't live in WI, I'm unable to pull in the radio broadcast. And paying for MLB.TV to listen to a game that's blacked out is not worth it. How do you expect to expand the game when its so difficult to watch your favorite team?

Even going to the ballpark has become such a financial strain. For seats that are not in the nose bleeds, on the conservative side I'd say $40 ea., parking= $30, Hot dog = $8, soda = $6, souvenir = ~$30 (again very conservative estimates), for a family of 4 that is easily $300. It's hard to see these publicly funded ballparks sit half empty on a nighly basis beacuse the fans can afford to go.

Getting more people access to the game at a younger age so they can watch, understand and enjoy has to be one of the best ways to expand the game and increase the popularity. Having more kids playing little league, more eyes watching their favorite players, more fans wanting to watch it live, these are good things for the game. But sure MLB, lets make the bases bigger and institute a pitch clock, I'm sure that will fix things.

I don't think baseball itself is the problem. I think capitalism is the problem - specifically in North America. Once upon a time, businesses set out to turn a profit, while keeping the consumer experience enjoyable for their customers. At some point, there was a shift and it became about gouging people for as much as you possibly could to maximize profit. Very few businesses give a crap about consumers anymore. As it pertains to baseball, MLB and its teams could easily afford to make ticket prices and the fan experience as a whole cheaper for fans. Any team that's not selling out regularly should be slashing ticket prices. Why not charge less to get more fans through the gate? But of course it never happens.

If MLB instituted a salary cap, a salary floor and set a cap on ticket prices, things would improve drastically. A cap appeals to owners, a floor appeals to players and a ticket cap appeals to fans. Everyone gets something out of it. But instead, it's about "winning" any negotiation. The concept of compromise or meeting in the middle went out the window a long time ago when it comes to business and employees. Which sadly just leaves the consumer screwed.

Posted by Jtpsops on 5/9/2022 3:09:00 PM (view original):
I don't think baseball itself is the problem. I think capitalism is the problem - specifically in North America. Once upon a time, businesses set out to turn a profit, while keeping the consumer experience enjoyable for their customers. At some point, there was a shift and it became about gouging people for as much as you possibly could to maximize profit. Very few businesses give a crap about consumers anymore. As it pertains to baseball, MLB and its teams could easily afford to make ticket prices and the fan experience as a whole cheaper for fans. Any team that's not selling out regularly should be slashing ticket prices. Why not charge less to get more fans through the gate? But of course it never happens.

If MLB instituted a salary cap, a salary floor and set a cap on ticket prices, things would improve drastically. A cap appeals to owners, a floor appeals to players and a ticket cap appeals to fans. Everyone gets something out of it. But instead, it's about "winning" any negotiation. The concept of compromise or meeting in the middle went out the window a long time ago when it comes to business and employees. Which sadly just leaves the consumer screwed.

I tend to agree. Companies find it more profitable to get extra cash out of their current base rather than try and get new customers. You see it in every industry. Sports like you mentioned care much more about selling deluxe seating rather than packing a crowd. Video games have more add ons, extra purchases, bands have more VIP experiences, everything curtailed to fewer people and less the general population. It's why politics are so divisive these days imo, it's cheaper to get more of your base to come out and vote than it is to gain new voters. It seems like a very short term thought process, you're not really growing your base at all, so eventually it'll dry up. But I feel like that's where things are currently.