Business of Baseball
November 25, 2008 in baseball
So anyone who knows anything about business knows that one of the main rules of business is the buy low and sell high. This is the case for anything from buying and selling on ebay to buying and selling real estate. And baseball is no different. Baseball is a business just like corporate America.
But there is at some point you look at the low cost and all you see is a fixer upper that will never amount to anything but a loss of money. Enter the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates signed free agent contracts to two 20 year olds out of India. Both of the prospects pitched in a reality show where a southern california sports management organization was trying to find pitchers from different countries throughout the world and get them to get into the major leagues.
No one knows anything about these kids, except they did not win on the show, but they both walked away with some money.
Neither of these kids have ever pitched in a live baseball setting (ie faced a real batter or men on base), yet the Pirates still found them worthy enough to sign them.
Here is my question:What about all the guys that have been busting their ass in the minor leagues for you Pittsburgh? Ahh..They are not celebrities. Signing 2 kids that have been on TV will bring internationally audiences and puts faces in front of the TV and butts in the seats. It isn’t about baseball anymore to you. It is about finding the next reality star, getting them on your team and selling tickets.
Mr. Huntington, I suggest you get your head out of the clouds and go take a look at your farm league. There are kids out there that actually that have baseball expirence and do not give a shit about stardom. They bust their butt everyday to get a change to play for YOUR ball club. And what do you do to them? You oust them for some reality superstars who have never even picked up a baseball until last year?!? O. But they both threw the Javelin before so that is the same thing. So we are all good then huh?
What do you think? You are a sports fan. You know what sports really are. Should the Pirates sign these guys or are they just trying to sell tickets ?