The Sister City plan death is just the latest MLB problem.
Major League Baseball owners have done an admirable job of getting people annoyed at them. The latest group ticked off at MLB owners are members of the Tampa Bay Rays ownership and potential investors in Montréal after MLB killed the Sister City plan that would have seen the Tampa Bay Rays home games split between somewhere in the Tampa market and in Montréal. The Rays ownership plans to step back and assess its situation while Stephen Bronfman, who has money, may walk all away from trying to bring MLB back to Montréal. Another group of people that might be a bit irate at the Lords of Baseball could include Montréal and Québec elected officials. All of those people are just joining a line of people who have found out that MLB owners care far more about their businesses than baseball fans. Of course, in the grand scheme of things baseball fans are taken for granted as MLB owners know the hardcore fans are not deserting them.
MLB owners decided to take over Minor League Baseball and some of the former Minor League Baseball owners are suing MLB owners. The owners of franchises cut by MLB, in Staten Island and Troy, New York, Norwich, Connecticut and Salem, Oregon filed a lawsuit to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York accusing the baseball commissioner’s office of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. In 1922, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled baseball was a game, not a business and therefore should not adhere to antitrust laws and can act as a monopoly. The owners and the players association have been upset at one another since the COVID-19 outbreak and playing conditions for the 2020 season. The two sides have been in a lockout since December 1st. MLB owners need to change their approach.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
