Thursday, April 29, 2004
On a Competitive Balance High
It's Rob Neyer's turn to punch holes in MLB's "competitive balance" laments. After measuring "competitive balance" for all seasons since 1969 under a variety of objective standards, Neyer concludes, "If by 'competitive balance' we mean that a significant number of teams have a fighting chance to win the World Series, then we're probably at an all-time high."
He continues:
And yet, the Commissioner continues to prattle on about "competitive balance" and, even more cloyingly, "hope and faith." Well, he and his fellow owners solved the "problem" 10 years ago when they created two new divisions and four new postseason berths. In the face of the evidence I've presented above, I'm led to one of two conclusions: that the Commissioner won't be happy until 1) MLB is like the NHL and the NBA, with more than half the teams not only having the chance to make the playoffs, but actually making the playoffs, or 2) the Commissioner's own team, which hasn't played a postseason game since 1982, actually makes the playoffs.
Then again, maybe those two things are one and the same.
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It's Rob Neyer's turn to punch holes in MLB's "competitive balance" laments. After measuring "competitive balance" for all seasons since 1969 under a variety of objective standards, Neyer concludes, "If by 'competitive balance' we mean that a significant number of teams have a fighting chance to win the World Series, then we're probably at an all-time high."
He continues:
And yet, the Commissioner continues to prattle on about "competitive balance" and, even more cloyingly, "hope and faith." Well, he and his fellow owners solved the "problem" 10 years ago when they created two new divisions and four new postseason berths. In the face of the evidence I've presented above, I'm led to one of two conclusions: that the Commissioner won't be happy until 1) MLB is like the NHL and the NBA, with more than half the teams not only having the chance to make the playoffs, but actually making the playoffs, or 2) the Commissioner's own team, which hasn't played a postseason game since 1982, actually makes the playoffs.
Then again, maybe those two things are one and the same.
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