Mr. Allan H. “Bud” Selig
Major League Baseball
75 Ninth Ave, 5th Flr,
New York, NY 10011
Dear Mr. Selig:
During your remarkable tenure as baseball commissioner, you have persuaded nearly every home market to build a new ballpark for its team. Fans reap the benefits of modern amenities, comfortable seating areas and plentiful concessions. Players enjoy spacious locker rooms and indoor practice/workout facilities.
So why are the Cubs left behind?
Incredibly, the fourth-most popular team in baseball has the second-worst ballpark in baseball.* Due to its crippling limited night-game schedule and lack of premium seating areas, the Cubs don’t enjoy the revenue or exposure they deserve. Wrigley Field’s night-game shortage and devastating wind effect make a Cubs pennant almost impossible.
Imagine FOX’s World Series ratings if the Cubs were to participate. Every night would be like a Super Bowl. Sadly, the Cubs have almost no chance of reaching the Fall Classic so long as they remain in Wrigley Field. They need a Miller Park, near United Center (West Side) or Sears Centre (northwest suburbs), to compete fairly with their league rivals. With strong leadership from the commissioner’s office, the Cubs could leave Wrigley Field gracefully, allowing it to become the museum and shrine to baseball its neighbors and nostalgia fans desire. Meanwhile, the Cubs could turn to the business of winning championships.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Showing posts with label Major League Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Major League Baseball. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Fold some teams!
Mr. Tom Ricketts
Chicago Cubs
1060 W Addison St
Chicago IL 60613-4305
Dear Mr. Ricketts:
It is in the Chicago Cubs’ best interest for MLB to contract some of its lowest-revenue, luxury-tax taking, money-losing ballclubs. With the leadership of the Yankees’ front office, the Cubs could help form a ballclub group that would include the Mets, Red Sox, Phillies and Dodgers. These ballclubs could strongly advocate for MLB to contract in the next collective bargaining agreement negotiations. Pittsburgh and Kansas City should obviously be folded or converted to AAA ballclubs. Tampa Bay, Toronto, Oakland and Phoenix should not be overlooked. Fewer teams and fewer inferior players would strengthen competition and improve the overall product. For the Cubs, eliminating home dates with Pittsburgh (and travel thereto) would be significant progress. If the Cubs could also convince MLB to send Houston to the AL West in the resultant division shuffle, the schedule would improve dramatically.
Foisting supbar competition on fans isn’t fair. Subsidizing these ballclubs’ operations in perpetuity isn’t fair, either. It’s time for the Cubs to help Major League Baseball return to being truly major league.
Sincerely,
Chicago Cubs
1060 W Addison St
Chicago IL 60613-4305
Dear Mr. Ricketts:
It is in the Chicago Cubs’ best interest for MLB to contract some of its lowest-revenue, luxury-tax taking, money-losing ballclubs. With the leadership of the Yankees’ front office, the Cubs could help form a ballclub group that would include the Mets, Red Sox, Phillies and Dodgers. These ballclubs could strongly advocate for MLB to contract in the next collective bargaining agreement negotiations. Pittsburgh and Kansas City should obviously be folded or converted to AAA ballclubs. Tampa Bay, Toronto, Oakland and Phoenix should not be overlooked. Fewer teams and fewer inferior players would strengthen competition and improve the overall product. For the Cubs, eliminating home dates with Pittsburgh (and travel thereto) would be significant progress. If the Cubs could also convince MLB to send Houston to the AL West in the resultant division shuffle, the schedule would improve dramatically.
Foisting supbar competition on fans isn’t fair. Subsidizing these ballclubs’ operations in perpetuity isn’t fair, either. It’s time for the Cubs to help Major League Baseball return to being truly major league.
Sincerely,
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Yanks, Red Sox avoid Kol Nidre conflict
It was quite a bit of news earlier this year when the New York Jets appealed to the NFL on behalf of their Jewish fans to reschedule their Sept. 27 home game. The NFL originally scheduled their game on NBC's Sunday Night Football with an 8pm kickoff, going head-to-head with Kol Nidre services across the East Coast and Midwest. The NFL gave the Jets a break, allowing them to kick off at 1pm EDT. Jewish Jets fans could enjoy the game at Giants Stadium or on tv without missing out on yontif.
The Yankees-Red Sox weekend series finale was originally scheduled for Sept. 27 at 1pm EDT at Yankee Stadium. Major League Baseball and ESPN moved the first pitch back to 8pm EDT to accommodate the national Sunday Night Baseball telecast on ESPN. A U.S. Congressman from New York and the Yankees appealed to Bud Selig, (Jewish) commissioner of baseball. Selig and ESPN allowed the game to be rescheduled to its original start time. It will still be broadcast on ESPN. This last part is rather startling. ESPN insists on broadcast exclusivity for its Sunday Night Baseball telecasts. Other MLB games may proceed at that time, but they may not be on tv. (Teams prefer to be on tv and as a result play Sunday matinées instead.) ESPN is going ahead with its high-interest game in the afternoon, competing with other games, to accommodate Jewish fans. Very impressive.
The Yankees-Red Sox weekend series finale was originally scheduled for Sept. 27 at 1pm EDT at Yankee Stadium. Major League Baseball and ESPN moved the first pitch back to 8pm EDT to accommodate the national Sunday Night Baseball telecast on ESPN. A U.S. Congressman from New York and the Yankees appealed to Bud Selig, (Jewish) commissioner of baseball. Selig and ESPN allowed the game to be rescheduled to its original start time. It will still be broadcast on ESPN. This last part is rather startling. ESPN insists on broadcast exclusivity for its Sunday Night Baseball telecasts. Other MLB games may proceed at that time, but they may not be on tv. (Teams prefer to be on tv and as a result play Sunday matinées instead.) ESPN is going ahead with its high-interest game in the afternoon, competing with other games, to accommodate Jewish fans. Very impressive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
