Steinbrenner killed the Royals
GEORGE STEINBRENNER WAS VERY HARD ON SMALL MARKET TEAMS, by Wayne Hodges
NEW YORK – The buzz of late has everything to do with the recent passing of arguably Major League Baseball’s most influential owner, the late Mr. George Steinbrenner. The longtime New York Yankee was 80 years old. I read about the many charities Steinbrenner donated to. And we can certainly appreciate the many wonderful things he has done for the children of New York. As a person, gotta respect the guy. As a businessman, feelings are somewhat bittersweet. And I’ll explain why.
If you were to make out a list of reasons the Kansas City Royals have been so lousy the past 16 years, it’s a safe bet Steinbrenner’s name will appear at or near the top. Crass, blatantly materialistic, selfish and money-grubbing were terms commonly associated with Steinbrenner; at least from those of us not living in New York. Let’s be frank. Steinbrenner literally placed his foot on the throats of small market baseball teams and never let up. Check this out. The Royals, once the Yankees biggest rival, have a team payroll this season of a measly $70 million.
Conversely, Steinbrenner’s Yankees enjoy an outlay of roughly $200 million; 3 times that of our hapless Royals. The terms “collective bargaining” and “revenue sharing” meant diddly squat to Steinbrenner. As far as he was concerned, small market teams should’ve just rolled over and died. The disparity in payrolls, league-wide from top to bottom, practically ensures the Royals will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever be able to sign a big-time free agent again.
No sir. You’ll never see a Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez or any other All-Star caliber talent wearing a Kansas City uniform. Even worse, the Royals will be hard-pressed just to re-sign their own homegrown talent. Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and many others were either traded or skipped town because they refused to sign a contract extension with KC. Cy Young award winner Zack Greinke is expected to be next.
Ok, I know what you’re thinking. Why do the Yankees have so much more money than the Royals? Folks, it’s “Dr. Seuss” simple. The major television networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.) don’t want baseball. And it’s easy to see why. Tuesday’s All-Star game received the lowest television ratings in Major League Baseball history. TV exec’s are smart. They understand Major League Baseball plus long-term broadcasting contracts equate to network suicide. Therefore, each franchise is responsible for creating its own television revenue.
The Yankees, occupants of our nation’s largest television market, created the “YES” network (which is kicking ass by the way); then refused to share revenue with the rest of baseball. On the flip side, the Royals are located in one of the country’s smallest television markets. And, unfortunately, that’s reflected in the payroll. Some food for thought. A couple years ago, Kansas City tried operating its own television network but the business quickly fizzled out as the natives refused to watch. Years of senseless butt-kickings tend to do that to a fan base.
Royals mascot Slugerrr has been lonely at the ballpark
The Royals subsequently signed a “Walmart” quality deal with Fox Sports and the rest, my friends, is history. To add insult to injury; the Royals, future hosts of the 2012 All-Star Game, have a beautifully remodeled stadium. The “K” is Beyonce gorgeous. Yet, attendance stinks. The fans, for the most part, have given up on this once proud franchise. And it’s really a shame.
Yes, Steinbrenner is partially responsible. He was great for the people and businesses of New York. No question about that. However, he was insensitive to the needs and despair of diminutive markets like Kansas City. “As far as Steinbrenner’s passing? Good,” said former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee. “Trust me, if hell freezes over, he’ll be skating. … He may have been good for the Yankees organization, but he was definitely a thorn in my side.”
“He said I was an incompetent and I was bad for the game of baseball. Well, I’m not a convicted felon like George Steinbrenner, and he’ll take that to his grave. … I have no sadness. I’m Irish, I’m Catholic, and when you’re gone, you’re gone.” Ouch! And I thought small markets were peeved. Shows what I know.
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Wayne Hodges, an MBA from St. Mary University, is the Editor-in-Chief of “Mass Appeal News.” He is also a candidate for Kansas Senate District #7, an adjunct professor, and legislative intern with the Kansas Senate. Wayne welcomes your comments at whodges@massappealnews.com
July 18th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
While I had no love for George or his Yankees (that goes back way before George) the biggest problem with the Royals is it’s own ownership. That is the fault of all the other good ol’ boy owners who would not allow anyone but Mr Walmart to buy the Royals, fans be damned. They didn’t like the idea of a small market team being as good as the royals were in the 70’s because that hurt the big market teams deals. Hapless or not i love the Royals but I think a significant part of their problems stem from the owners of the large market teams.