World Series: 8 ways Bud Selig changed the business of baseball
With all the fanfare surrounding New York Yankee Derek Jeter鈥檚 final season in the big leagues, relatively little has been made of Major League Baseball听Commissioner Bud Selig鈥檚 impending retirement in January. Selig鈥檚 22-year reign 听has seen the MLB grow from a $1 billion industry in 1992 into one worth nearly $9 billion today.
As the World Series get underway, here鈥檚 a look at eight other ways baseball has changed since Selig took the commissioner鈥檚 chair.
1. Surging salaries
In 1992, New York Mets slugger Bobby Bonilla was the league鈥檚 highest-earning player, raking in just over $6 million. While the average salary hovered around $1 million that year, it has since increased to about $3.5 million. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was this season鈥檚 highest-paid player with a jaw-dropping income of $29 million, more than the payrolls of 10 teams in 1992. Rodriguez wasn鈥檛 exactly in a league of his own: Twenty players earned more than $20 million this year.
2. Astronomical budgets
Considering the increase in players鈥� salaries, it won鈥檛 come as a surprise that team payrolls have also ballooned over the years. At $235 million the Los Angeles Dodgers had the largest payroll this season. In 1992, that position was held by the Toronto Blue Jays, whose payroll was a relatively modest $45 million.
3. Massive TV deals
In the past few years, the MLB has inked television deals with Fox, TBS and ESPN worth a combined $12.4 billion. The revenue from these agreements, which run until the 2021 season, doesn鈥檛 include the billions of dollars that some teams are making from local television deals. The Dodgers and Time Warner Cable, for instance, agreed to a television rights partnership worth an estimated $7 billion to $8 billion over the next 20 to 25 years.
4. TV ratings
While broadcasting revenue is up, there鈥檚 been a steady decline in the number of fans tuning in to watch games, especially those that really matter. An average of 25 million people watched the Blue Jays successfully defend their title against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1993 World Series. Last year鈥檚 Fall Classic between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals drew an average viewership of about 15 million people.
5. Strong attendance
When Selig took office, only about half of all teams attracted annual crowds of more than 2 million people. Today, all 30 teams are above that mark with an average annual attendance of about 2.5 million fans, an impressive feat given that many new stadiums are smaller than the ones they replaced.
6. Increased ticket prices
In 1991, you had to fork up only about $9 for a ticket to a ballgame. Nowadays, you鈥檇 be lucky if that gets you a hotdog and a drink. It鈥檒l cost you about $28 to see a game, and you鈥檒l have to dig even deeper in your pockets if you want to see the Yankees or Red Sox play, as both teams have average ticket prices of over $50. That said, going to an MLB game is still more affordable than seeing your favorite NFL team in action, which costs an average of $80.
7. Longer games
Baseball games are getting longer, and noticeably so. In 1992, only seven teams had games that lasted an average of three hours or longer. This season, 29 teams passed the three-hour mark. If you鈥檙e a little upset with the state of ticket prices, at least you know that you鈥檙e getting your money鈥檚 worth.
8. Expanded playoffs
Since Selig took over as commissioner, the MLB has expanded its playoff bracket to include two wild card teams in each league. Interestingly, 29 of the 30 MLB teams have made the playoffs since 2001. Though earning a ticket to the postseason is as difficult as ever, the new playoff system has provided some additional hope to fans whose teams are in the wild card race.
Final thoughts
Despite all the steroid-fueled turmoil Bud Selig has had to withstand during his tenure as commissioner, the MLB is extremely profitable and continues to entertain millions of fans each year. As this year鈥檚 postseason nears its climax, Selig鈥檚 successor, Rob Manfred, will have some big shoes to fill when he takes over in January.
