Leaving aside all this drama—recounted in a minute-by-minute timeline at ESPN—baseball’s overlords may not be pleased with the outcome. Nothing generates more ticket revenues and television ratings than a Yankees-Red Sox playoff series, which has not occurred since 2004. And despite the Rays’ appeal as an underdog, they are a 13-year-old franchise in a tiny market. The only World Series they have appeared in (2008) got the lowest television ratings for a Fall Classic in a generation.
Nonetheless, even if Tampa Bay’s comeback will cost Major League Baseball money in the short run, the club’s success has positive ripple effects. Sports leagues need their big-market teams to win more than their fair share of the time, but not so often as to remove all suspense about the outcome. The presence of franchises with no hope whatsoever hurts every club—even rich ones, whose fans may not want to pay to see their squad obliterate an overmatched rival. The fact that the Rays have made the playoffs three times in four years gives the lie to the moans of other small-market teams that they cannot afford to compete. Tampa Bay’s victory is a win for fans in Pittsburgh, Kansas City and San Diego as well.
- Never say never, Economist.com, September 29, 2011.
About the author:
Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.
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