Blog #12: Competitive Balance In Baseball, Say What?

Jeff Schwartz

Blog #12: Competitive Balance In Baseball, Say What?

July 15, 2010

Indeed, there is competitive balance in baseball. It’s 2010; The New York Yankees are still leading the way with the best record in the game. However, their lead is not safe. In fact, nobody’s lead is safe. There is not a division in baseball with a lead over four games. The Yankees at 56-32 have a two game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. As Major League Baseball kicks off the second half tonight, I thought I’d explore why the game of baseball has find competitive balance.

My gripes with the game are well known. The All Star Game is terrible. It’s full of Alleged Stars, but not All of the Stars. The Commissioner is more like the guy you’d find hawking stolen merchandise on the streets of New York City as opposed to being the leader for America’s Past Time. He’s about as credible as LeBron James mother right now. I also don’t like the notion of having two sets of rules in each league. That’s absurd. Bud Selig has been a facilitator of over-spending by owners from big markets, forcing teams like Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Cleveland to spend the majority of the time way out of the race for the playoffs.

That’s different this season. Division leaders include, the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, and San Diego Padres. That’s pretty crazy. All of those teams have last place finishes in the previous ten years. The New York Yankees are currently two games up on the Tampa Bay Rays, a team with a payroll that is the size of Alex Rodriguez and C.C. Sabathia combined in one season. That’s impressive.

In the American League Central there’s a shot for a three team tie to end the season. This would be the first time in the history of the game that has happened. That’s impactful drama that can make people care. Arguably the Central is the worst division in baseball, but there’s still three teams competing like never before to win which makes for a compelling watch. Out West, The Padres, Dodgers, & Rockies are all within two games of each other. That’s very impressive when you consider the Padres were projected as the worst team in the National League by many of the so-called experts at ESPN this year. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies were expected to compete for the division crown but at the half way point find themselves behind Adrian Gonzalez and the San Diego Padres. The San Francisco Giants were also expected to compete for the Western Division Championship but currently find themselves four games out of first.

That brings me to the American League East, home of the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays play. Five games out sit the Boston Red Sox, a team with amazing pitching and a soft lineup. The Tampa Bay Rays, who confuse me because I’m not sure what I like more their pitching or their lineup are currently two games out and open the second half of the season with a three game set at Yankee Stadium. Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, & BJ Upton are very good, but so are Matt Garza, All Star Starter David Price, and James Shields. The Rays will make the playoffs this year; no way they come up short. Lastly, you’ve got the first place New York Yankees. The Yankees currently have a 200 plus million dollar payroll, yet they are not a supreme team. They’ve got a shaky middle relief corps, and a lineup that has a lot of high spots but some low-spots as well.

The game of baseball finally seems to be competitive, but is it a fluke? It’s very possible that it is in fact just that. There’s no way the San Diego Padres have a better team than the Colorado Rockies or Los Angeles Dodgers. Same goes for the Cincinnati Reds being better than the St. Louis Cardinals. In the American League, the Twins, White Sox, and Tigers are all essentially the same team, so there’s no clear cut winner there any season. The only team never to win a Central Division Title in the American League is the Kansas City Royals, so even The Cleveland Indians have seen the playoffs once in the last few years. I also am convinced the Red Sox are just as good as the Rays and Yankees but seem like they are a step off this season.

Bud Selig could not stop bragging about competitive balance during the All Star break in Anaheim. He’s right though, this is something to be thrilled with this year after all of the drama Major League Baseball has seen over the last six years. In the end, however, The Yankees will still outspend everyone for players, The Indians will still over-spend for terrible players, and the same players will still be viewed as steroid users. One year of competitive divisions and intriguing races for the playoffs will not change the horrid perception Major League Baseball and Bud Selig have earned.