The Hangover: Do Small Market Teams Want Empty Stands?

Surprise 10, Scottsdale 1.
Reid Brignac went 1-5 and is now 3-22 (.136) in 5 games. Evan Longoria was 1-4, and is now 6-25 (.240) in 7 games. He also committed 2 errors in the field.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Major League players and managers voted Carlos Pena to be the first baseman on the Sporting News post-season AL all-star squad. [Devil Rays]
• At 6’6″, it does not surprise us that David Price was a basketball star in high school. But did you know that he was also a gold standout? Price’s high school alma mata is retiring his jersey during a ceremony at halftime during the school’s football game. [The Murfreesboro Post]
• A Marketing Professor from Washington University has proposed a new form of revenue sharing for Major League Baseball, arguing that there is little incentive for small-market teams to win under the current format. The proposal would give revenue to teams based on attendance. He argues that teams from small-markets prefer to have empty stadiums under the current plan. Having done a little research in my day, I can tell you that often times, researchers forget that the real-world very rarely mimics the conditions in a lab or on a computer. One factor this professor is ignoring is the psychological impact of the the empty stadium. It is embarrassing for an owner. It is a sign of being a “failure”, and nobody wants to be deemed a failure, even if the team is making more money. Then there is the monetary point-of-view. We are no economists, but it seems like the professor is minimizing the financial impact of winning. We understand that a win in St. Pete is not worth as much money as a win in New York City. But the a lot of win is worth more than the sum of the individual wins, especially when “lots o’ wins” come consistently over several seasons. Advertising revenues go up, TV revenues go up, concession sales go up, and merchandising sales go up. And the later is not just a regional increase. There is most likely to be a bigger impact outside the team’s region when a team is a consistent winner. And of course, there is playoff revenue which can be a huge windfall for a team. And we are willing to bet that all these increases in revenue are not linear, but rather some type of exponential increase. [Newswise]
• Prince of New York believes that the Rays should replace the “clueless” Andrew Friedman with Walt Jocketty or Bill Stoneman, who may be set to resign from the Angels. [Prince of New York]