Baseball’s last labor dispute was devastating, but the comeback had two big things working in its favor.
FILE - Seattle Mariners gather as the MLB logo is shown during a review of an attempted catch by right fielder Mitch Haniger of a ball hit by Tampa Bay Rays' Ji-Man Choi that was originally called an out during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 18, 2021, in Seattle. The call was overturned. The Mariners won 5-1. The clock ticked down toward the expiration of Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement at 11:59 p.m. EST Wednesday night, Dec.
The brouhaha that came to a head this week with the owners locking out the players is a mere sideshow at the moment, overshadowed by the NFL playoff races and the biggest games of the collegeWith basketball and hockey also ramping up, there's plenty to keep sports fans distracted for the next couple of months while the two sides haggle over the details that most of us couldn't care less about.
They're probably right, but baseball caught a huge break when two compelling storylines lured many leery fans back to the ballparks.In September of 1995, just five months after the strike petered out, Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's mark by playing in his 2,131st consecutive game. It was a moment that mesmerized the nation, and undoubtedly healed some of the game's self-inflicted wounds.
We know now that it was nothing more than a chemically enhanced farce, forever sullying the reputations of McGwire, Sosa and anyone else who thrived during the Steroids Era, including career home run leader Barry Bonds. “It's really a mismatch on multiple levels,” he said. “That generation wants to look at content on their phone. They want to get their highlights on Instagram and TikTok. Baseball is built on local markets and people sitting in a stadium for three or four hours. The technology, the marketing of the game — whatever it is — has really created a disconnect with young people, and particularly young males, in baseball.
Not only are the games longer, but front offices driven mainly by analytics have created 30 cloned franchises — teams all playing essentially the same style, with an emphasis on homers and defensive shifts and constant pitching changes.
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