The 2010 Major League Baseball season provided fans with a tremendous amount of excitement in terms of play on the field.
From rookie Jason Heyward hitting a mammoth home run in his first major league game, to the perfect games thrown by Roy Halladay and Dallas Braden, to the near-miss perfect game thrown by Armando Galarraga, to the exploits of recovering addict and American League Most Valuable Player Josh Hamilton, to the San Francisco Giants winning their first World Series since 1954.
However, all the excitement generated on the field during the 2010 season did not generate excitement at the turnstiles.
Attendance was down slightly, compared to 2009 and 17 of 30 teams suffered down years at the gates. Even parks that typically draw well (Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium) saw drops in attendance during the 2010 season.
So, the question is asked—what can MLB do about it?
Well, the answer to that question may actually arise from what is currently happening in two other major professional sports leagues—the National Football League and National Basketball Association.
Just last week, the NFL extended by one week its deadline for an owner lockout, as owners and the players’ union continue to work through a mediator to resolve their differences and agree on a new collective bargaining agreement.
However, several reports have indicated that while the two sides are talking, they remain far apart on several key issues that could very easily delay the start of the 2011 NFL season.
The same goes for the NBA.
During NBA commissioner David Stern’s annual message at the NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, he was less than optimistic about the ongoing negotiations between players and owners.
“We both have the capacity to shut down the league. There’s no magic that’s going to keep this league operating if we don’t make a deal,” Stern told ESPN.
The current collective bargaining agreement in the NBA expires on June 30 and the two sides still remain far apart on key issues like hard salary cap, rollback of current salaries and rookie salary scale.
The last lockout in the NBA occurred in 1998, and when it was finally resolved after 204 days, the schedule was reduced to 50 games.
Meanwhile, Major League Baseball is enjoying peace among its players and owners and while their collective bargaining agreement is scheduled to expire at the end of this season, there has been no contentious bickering in terms of negotiations whatsoever.
A lockout in the NFL would devastate the league, as the possibility of another decertification of the NFL players’ union looms and the likelihood of lawsuits that would almost certainly occur as a result.
With nothing for fans to look forward to, MLB could take a huge step in restoring overall attendance and regenerating gate revenues.
They already have a superior marketing plan, in terms of keeping fans involved and with the possibility of two major professional leagues closing their doors for an undetermined length of time, Major League Baseball could once again shine in the eyes of sports fans throughout the world.
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