Evil empire is good for baseball
Yankees the 'Goliath' everyone loves to hate
Steve Nesius / AP fileBaseball needs a Goliath for everyone to hate, and George Steinbrenner and his New York Yankees fit the bill, writes columnist Mike Celizic.
COMMENTARY
By Mike Celizic
NBCSports.com contributor
updated 11:51 p.m. ET April 15, 2004
The acquisition of Alex Rodriguez by the New York Yankees underlines everything that is wrong with Major League Baseball’s business structure. At the same time, it’s terrific for the game.
Yankee haters don’t see it that way. They see this as the evil empire doing what evil empires have done since the dawn of history – crushing everyone in their way, sowing their fields with salt, tearing down their cities, enslaving the population, and stealing all the gold.
That’s a pretty accurate representation of what George Steinbrenner would do if it weren’t for all those pesky laws that frown on salt-sowing and slavery and the like. So he does what he’s allowed to do, which is rake in the dough and spend it on a team whose mandate is to crush everything in its path.
What makes this good for the game is that it doesn’t work. Steinbrenner tried to build the world’s mightiest offensive machine in the 80s and didn’t win squat. He’s been trying it again on this side of the millennial divide and he’s now three years without a title and counting.
It would be bad for the game if his evil -– although legal -– machinations worked. But since they don’t work with machine-like regularity, it’s great for the game.
Competition is never better than when you have someone to hate more than a Brussels-sprout birthday cake. Winning is never sweeter than when the school bully is getting his fat butt kicked. David and Goliath is an enduring story because it’s the little guy beating the giant.
And you can’t have David unless you have a Goliath. Pee Wee Herman simply doesn’t cut it. Nor does David beating another shepherd just like himself. You have to have a really big, nasty opponent to make it worthwhile.
The Yankees are that opponent. They transcend the boundaries of divisions and leagues. Dodger fans and Royal fans and Brave fans and Expo fans hate them just as much as Boston fans – okay, maybe not quite that much, but close.
With its cockeyed salary structure and plethora of teams playing an endless succession of games, baseball needs a team that sucks up attention and headlines, erupting from the sports pages onto the front pages of newspapers across the country.
When Boston was pursuing A-Rod, it was pretty big news. When the Yankees actually made a deal for him, it was an enormous story. If Boston had acquired the game’s biggest prize, people would have been happy for the Red Sox. But they’re purple with rage at the thought of the Yankees inhaling yet another superstar.
This is a good thing. Because even as you read this your fellow fans are thumbing through the schedule of their home teams, circling the dates when the Yankee circus is coming to town, and buying their tickets.
As a fan of any other team, you may hate the idea of the Yankees getting even more powerful. As the owner of any other team – particularly a non-contending team – you’re delighted, because the Yankees are going to sell your tickets and fill your park, and their fans are going to drink your beer taps dry.
They’re also good for broadcasters. More people will watch and listen to games when the Yankees are the opposition. And anything that gets more fans involved in even one game is good for business. And if your team beats the evil empire, it’s great for business.
In an ideal sports world, every baseball team would have approximately the same amount of money to spend. There would be a maximum payroll and a minimum payroll and they wouldn’t be more than a few million dollars apart. At least 20 or more teams would enter each season with a real chance of winning.
The NFL has used that formula to create a great product. The NHL would like to use that formula. Baseball doesn’t have a formula, at least not one that works.
In the absence of a rational business plan, this is what they get – the evil empire brutalizing the rest of the league. And if that were how it actually worked, it would be awful.
But it doesn’t work that way. The evil empire gets beaten pretty often in real life. Given the Yankees’ questionable pitching, it’s not unlikely that they’ll get beaten again this year.
And that, fans, is great for baseball.
Mike Celizic is a free-lance writer based in New York and a frequent contributor to NBCSports.com
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