New York Yankees

[Charles Brown <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There are certain "diminishing returns" on buying more of the best players
than anybody else. The Yankees have had the biggest payroll in recent years
( probably in much of the past too; _however_, before the early 1970's the
"reserve clause" meant that there was not a free labor market; players
couldn't go to another team without being traded or sold by the owners,i.e.
without "permission"; so money couldn't buy all the best players in the
1920's through 1950's period of Yankee dominance). Yet they haven't won a
World Series since 2000 ( I think). There seems to be an element of "hunger"
in , for example, the Detroit Tigers' beating them this year.  Everybody
agrees that the Yankees have one of the best batting lineups ever this year.
And they pretty much bought it up to the level it is, in that they bought
Giambi, Sheffield, and Rodriguez from other teams, i.e. didn't get them in a
draft.

On the other hand, there's a saying that good pitching beats good hitting.
And the Tigers have better pitchers than the Yankees this year. Maybe the
Yankees just should have bought some better pitchers instead of mostly good
batters.

Overall, I'm not sure there is increasing inequality in recent years, given
that the Yankees haven't won since 2000, and no team has won twice. There
has been more parity, not inequality, in the last six years.

One reason the Yankees have more _money_ than other teams is because the New
York media market is so much bigger than others. There's inequality of
_team_ corporate _income_, but not of baseball ability ( or at least World
Series success) among the teams since 2000 ( so that Yankee tax was not
directed at inequality in Championships; the Yankees haven't won one in that
period) If you look at the long run though, the Yankees have won many more
World Series than anybody else.

I'll tell you one odd thing. There's a possible correlation between "working
class" towns like Detroit winning World Series and economic hardtimes or
social unrest. The Tigers and St. Louis won a few World Series during the
Depression of the Thirties. Detroit won in 1945, with the war. Then Detroit
won in 1968 ( against St. Louis)after the Detroit riot was in 1967. After
the '82-83 recession, Detroit won a World Series in 1984. Now Detroit's in
hardtimes, and our team goes from last to "first" almost, in one year.

Spectator sports is a degree of opium of the masses.

Charles


*       From: Jim Devine

________________________________

here are the two paragraphs I was trying to produce:

Baseball Inequality. This process of increasing inequality arising
from market competition can be seen in Major League Baseball. Some
teams, especially those in smaller cities with smaller markets, do not
have the resources to hire the best players. The richer teams - such
as the New York Yankees - can and do hire them. That means that unless
luck plays a big role, the Yankees will win. This allows them to rake
in the bucks. This of course allows them to hire the best yet again.
For example, during the period from the 1920s to the 1950s, the
Yankees became increasingly likely to win the World Series, moving
toward winning 70% of the time.

This vicious circle undermines competitive balance in the baseball
leagues. If the same teams win the championships year after year, it takes
the enjoyment out of the game, hurting the MLB as a whole.
Professional baseball has responded. In 2002, the owners and players agreed
to a substantial luxury tax - the "Yankee tax." Also revenue sharing was
increased, providing more funds to the poorer teams.