There is still a place where baseball is the thing. The game is pure, and the experience is free of labor strife, negotiations, lawyers, and (best of all) Satan, er, Bud Selig: the minor leagues. Owners of minor league teams have recognized that, in order to be successful in a competitive market, they have to be creative and responsive to the fans. Owners of MLB teams could learn a thing or two from these folks. Maybe Bud Selig should visit Brooklyn. In the very borough that baseball abandoned during the Eisenhower Administration, Major League Baseball's commissioner would be treated to a nostalgic version of the national pastime. He would see 200 kids lining up early outside a ball park for a $5 bleacher seat despite the hot, sticky Coney Island weather. If he traveled to Memphis, Tenn., he would see families hurrying past downtown landmarks like the Peabody Hotel to get a good seat at AutoZone Park. Outside Chicago, he would see Kane County Cougars players being swarmed by young fans. And in cities and towns from Shreveport, La., to Medicine Hat, Alta., he would see how the major leagues' little siblings have turned themselves into the hottest ticket in sports. While the big leagues struggle to increase attendance and deal with steroid-use allegations, a looming strike and the botched All-Star game, the minors are enjoying the best season of their 101-year history. Minor-league attendance has risen 29% over the past nine years, far outpacing the majors' 3% growth. Last year the minors drew 38.8 million fans, the largest total since 1949. This season could be a record breaker as minor-league owners, seeing profits in a business that had stagnated for decades, have opened new stadiums and offered every conceivable promotion to attract fans. Indeed, the showmanship is a throwback to the days of Bill Veeck, the legendary, maverick big-league owner who once sent a midget to bat. The St. Paul Saints, owned by Veeck's son Mike, gave out inflatable bats, sponsored by the maker of Viagra, to every man over 21.... As family entertainment, the minor leagues are hard to beat. "Kids are king here," says Kane County Cougars general manager Jeff Sedivy. "And Mom is marketed to, day in, day out." The average ticket price is just $6, compared with $19 for the majors. Throw in food, souvenirs and parking, and an evening for a family of four still averages $50 for the minors, vs. $140 for the majors. The friendly, open layout of minor-league parks is another plus. Kids can wander freely. (Do you know any 8-year-olds who can sit still for nine innings?) Clever owners provide kids with plenty of options: face painting, amusement-park rides, pitching cages where they can track the speed of their fastball. And kids are a lot closer to the players than they would be in the upper deck
Three weeks ago, I went to an Akron Aeros game at Canal Park in downtown Akron, OH. We were able to walk up to the ticket window, ask for the best seats in the house, and pay all of $9 to sit six rows behind the first base dugout. All told, I bought a ticket, a T-shirt, and two lemonades for $35. Try doing that in a major league park.
It was a sunny, warm afternoon, and I was treated to baseball in it's purest form. No one was talking about labor strife, or revenue sharing, or anything remotely labor-related. It was baseball- period, and I'd forgotten just how much I love watching minor league baseball. When I lived in Portland, OR, the Portland Beavers were the minor league affiliate for the Minnesota Twins. It was fun to go and watch players who were working to get to the next level. They all had things left to prove, unlike most players in the majors.
If I could afford it, I'd buy a AA team and move it to Seabrook. Now THAT would be fun....
