Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a great start.
The New York Yankees baseball season has spun out of control and for the first time, since 2016, the club will not qualify for the playoffs. That is quite a tumble for the team that won the AL East last season and advanced to the ALCS, before being swept by eventual world champion Houston. The list of reasons for their demise are left for another day, but one of them is not their television package.
Over the weekend, the Yankees hosted their archrivals the Red Sox, in a three-game series that had as much sizzle as a day-old steak. Boston showed signs of life and could make the post season, something not predicted by the so-called experts, although it is unfair to use their sweep against the hapless Yankees as a gauge. We will get a better idea of where they stand by Labor Day, after they play home-and-away series against the Astros and host the Dodgers.
The big argument I heard was how greedy the Yankees were, because the Friday night game was televised on Apple-TV, the Saturday game on their YES network, and the Sunday game on Amazon Prime. I kept hearing on talk radio and podcasts how the Yankees do not care about their fans, that they are a money-making machine, averaging 42,000 in per game attendance, that they have the most expensive tickets in baseball, etc., etc., etc.
Some of the criticism is fair, but the television package is misleading. Do not blame the Yankees for Friday night’s game being televised by Apple. And do not blame the Yankees when Peacock carries them on a late Sunday morning, also leaving the YES subscribers out in the cold. Those revenue streams are the result of MLB cutting deals with Apple and Comcast, which owns Peacock. When the Yankees are on FOX, ESPN or Turner, those are also MLB deals and has nothing to do with the Yankees. Amazon Prime, on the other hand, is a Yankees-only deal, but the guess here is if the Yankees continue to lose, that arrangement could disappear faster than a Yankees in-game lead.
The point is, the Yankees and their brand rake in the dough, because they can. The Red Sox keep their games (not part of the MLB-TV deals) on cable-only, because they can. They too have some of the highest ticket prices, because they can.
The market dictates the scenario. If the Yankees are charging high ticket prices and fans are still jamming Yankee Stadium, then they are going to continue to charge high ticket prices. If Amazon Prime wants to give the Yankees millions to telecast 25 games per season, then the Yankees are going to take the money. When fans stop buying tickets, because they deem the product inferior, when they cancel Amazon Prime, or the YES network, then the market will adjust.
There are many reasons to find fault with the Yankees these days, including how they chose to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars that roll into their coffers annually. Blaming them for nurturing numerous revenue streams is not one of them. They will continue to follow the blueprint, until their fanbase choses to spend its disposal income elsewhere. It is simple economics.
I miss baseball organ music
Call me a traditionalist I guess, but I miss organ music at baseball games. Do not take this as criticism for what passes as entertainment today, before a game and in between innings at a ballpark. I actually enjoy most of the music and the contests. Many of them are very creative. It’s just that I also miss the days you could arrive at the ballpark early, take your seat, munch on a hot dog as the grounds crew prepared the diamond, and listen to some nice, relaxing organ music.
Imagine my surprise then on Sunday afternoon, as I was in the broadcast booth preparing for the Hartford Yard Goats vs. New Hampshire Fishercats game, when I heard organ music over the Dunkin’ Park PA system. Granted, it was from a CD featuring the late Eddie Layton, organist at Yankee Stadium, but it sure harkened back to a more innocent era.
There was once a time, when you could name a ballclub’s organist: Layton with the Yankees, Jane Jarvis of the Mets, John Kiley of the Red Sox, Nancy Faust with the White Sox, Nancy Bea Hefley with the Dodgers and before her Helen Dell. I can go on and on.
I sure wish a club would stage a game one day, where just organ music was played at the park. It would sure bring back memories.
That is it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and have a terrific week.
SPORTSCASTER DAN