wang_chi7 wrote:So big market teams have to be shut out of the playoffs to mean something? Thats kind of ridiculous.
I didn't say that. I said it isn't like the largest market teams have been shut out. There is not an even distribution.
If we did a statistical analysis, it would certainly show that market size was a key factor.
Note here that the middle and small markets are generally less than one million people different, and that number can easily change just by redefining the market by adding or subtracting suburbs.
By 2006 numbers, Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the United States, and San Diego is 8th. Denver is 26th and Cleveland is 40th. The television metro market of Arizona is comparatively smaller though, because the rest of the state isn't as populated as many coastal metro areas.
The markets in Los Angeles and Chicago have a distinct advantage as their markets nearly double the smaller markets which have less variance in population numbers between them.
New York is the special case, because the city alone has a population of over 8 million, and the metro area is 22 million people strong. It is no wonder that, barring the major slide that the Mets took at the end of the season, both team were good enough to be playoff teams this year.
When nearly half the teams are smaller markets it says something.
The smaller teams rotate in and out as they develop better players and then often lose them to the large market teams. Large market teams develop players also, but they rotate in and out when going head to head with other large market teams and aquire better players via free agency or not.
In the long run, the small markets develop players for themselves and the large markets via free agency, but the large markets generally only develop players for themselves.
In the NFL last year both NY teams were in, a Boston team, Chicago, Philly, and Dallas. All big market teams.
New York, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, St. Louis, Minnesota, Detroit, and Oakland.
Four teams, half of the teams, were from the top three markets and were also some of the largest payroll teams (1,4,5,6).
I'm not trying to say that market size doesn't matter, it does. But its not nearly the problem that it is talked about.
It is a problem of fairness.
This year's playoffs show once again that its not a big discrepency and that there is turnover in playoff participants.
The small markets turn over, but the large markets keep getting teams in. Of course, it is easier to have representation with two teams like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but the point is still valid.
I don't think you'll ever accept that there is a decent amount of parity in baseball, unless somehow the 8 smallest markets get in the playoffs. And of course that wouldn't actually be balanced either.
That isn't a logical statement. It is an invalid point.
Besides where it counts, in championships, baseball has by far the best track record for parity. Even with the Yankees many championships there are almost never repeat champions. In the last 30 years there have been, count 'em, 2 repeat champions (well three because NY won 3 in a row.)
Who defines what counts? What counts, in my opinion, is an equal playing field with equal access to the championship which is clearly not the case in major league baseball. It is also becoming a problem in the NFL with stadium rights and local advertising not counted for revenue sharing.
The fact that the small markets turn over so often in baseball is further evidence of my point, because it means only the large market clubs can afford to pay their successful players in the long run. When young small market clubs do well, they often have major problems keeping their talent when free agency looms.
If MLB had better revenue sharing, a soft cap at $85 million, and a hard cap at $90 million (as an example), the playing field would be more fair.
On a side note, the Arizona team better win, because their young players are going to have huge salary increases over the next few seasons just from arbitration alone.
- Minniman
. Not that it was a surprise, but it still hurts. I guess I'll root for Colorado now, or Philly if they get passed Colorado.