For a long while, I thought baseball could survive the plan of the NFL and NBA involving Kaepernick and wokeism. In the past week with the all-star game being yanked out of Atlanta....I'd suggest that MLB has taken the path to destroy itself....in the same way that the NBA and NFL destroyed themselves.
How I think this will go? I'll offer five observations:
1. While attendance numbers will look better in 2021 than in 2020 (because of Covid)....no club will meet the 2019 numbers, and at the most....well over half the clubs won't even hit the 50-percent point of 2019 for fan attendance.
The 2.1-million for Arizona in 2019? The 2.2-million for Minnesota in 2019? These are clubs that will be lucky to hit 800k even if the states allow 50-percent attendance because of Covid for the first half of the season.
2. Salaries offered at the conclusion of the 2021 season? Most of the free agents will be shocked at the offerings, and low-year deals (I doubt if more than 20-percent get a 3-year deal). Some players will figure it's a one-year problem and just sign up for one year only, hoping to get a better deal at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
3. Some big-names will be dumped at the end of the 2021 season because their contracts are too expensive to handle.
4. Some teams will go into a rebuilding process for 2022 and 2023....hoping that the public gets over the all-star game hype by that point.
5. The TV networks with contracts are going to be furious at the viewership numbers and demand meetings with baseball management to straighten out the mess by the middle of 2021. Atlanta ought to stand up and suggest that they get the all-star games for 2022, 2023 and 2024....as a gift for MLB screwing up.
Where this goes?
I would suggest that the teams will meet in 2022 (spring) and lay out a plan to push the entire leadership of the Commissioners office out the door. Low-budget baseball from 2022 on, for a couple of years? Probably
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