Baseball Tickets



Baseball Over The Years

Ty Cobb is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. His career spanned 24 years and he wound up with a career batting average of .366, which remains the benchmark to this date. In 1912, Cobb was the highest paid player in baseball. His salary was $9,000. One hundred years later, in 2012, Albert Pujols, who will also go down in history as one of the most accomplished baseball players of all time, will earn an average of more than $25,000,000 per year for the next 10 years. To illustrate the enormous difference, Pujols will earn more than $150,000 per game or about $40,000 per at bat. Stated another way, in one inning, Pujols will earn approximately twice the annual salary of Ty Cobb.

While many long time baseball fans that grew up watching Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays are of the opinion that today’s players are vastly overpaid, that is not the point of the above comparison. By showing the difference in salaries over the last 100 years, it illustrates just how much the game of baseball has changed.

ORIGINS OF THE GAME

It is generally accepted that the game of American baseball was based on the popular English games of cricket and rounders. The game can be traced back to the first half of the 19th century when, on June 19, 1846, the Knickerbockers played and lost to the New York Base Ball Club. The group of about 30 men created many of the rules that are still in use today. Among them was that the game would be played on a diamond, foul lines, 3-strikes and your out and tagging a player to put him out.

During the next 20 years or so, baseball gained wide popularity among the working class. European immigrants and other groups loved the game. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional baseball team and their star player, shortstop George Wright, earned $1,400 for the season. The professional team toured around Ohio and played against amateur teams for about a year. In 1870, the team moved to Boston and a year later, 8 other professional teams were formed to create the National Association of Professional Ball Players.

In 1876, the National Association of Professional Ball Players was failing and the National League was formed. This new league was run by a group of very tough owners who insisted on the players doing exactly what they demanded. Players were mistreated and often would be cheated out of their pay. This led to players hooking up with gambling interests and throwing games for profit.

By 1900, the American League had been established and in 1903, the first World Series took place. Players were still struggling to gain any rights or respect from the owners. During this time, stars like Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Cy Young, all created great interest in the game. When another league (the Federal League) formed a few years later and tried to lure away some of the best players, the owners of the Major League teams responded by begrudgingly giving raises to their players. The other league folded and the Major league owners once again clamped down on salaries.

THE DEAD BALL ERA

During the early 20th century, the actual ball used in the game was very expensive. It cost about $3.00 which is roughly equivalent to $38 today. Owners, being of the thrifty sort, did not want to have to use more than one or two balls per game. If a ball went into the stands, they would have someone go in and retrieve it. A single ball would be used throughout the game despite how dirty and tattered it became. The ball could not be hit very far and homeruns were few and far between. Pitching dominated most games and teams had to scrap to manufacture runs. Fundamentals such as executing a sacrifice bunt, hustling down to first base on every ground ball and running the bases hard, were a major part of the offense.

THE BLACKSOX SCANDAL

1919 marked one of the darkest periods in Major League baseball history. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and 7 other players on the White Sox were found guilty of throwing the 1919 World Series against Cincinnati. The underpaid players succumbed to the temptation of a $100,000 offer from a gambling syndicate and gave baseball a permanent black eye. In the years following, many other teams and players were suspected of becoming involved with gambling interests.

THE FIRST BASEBALL COMMISSIONER

In 1920, in stepped federal judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis as the first Commissioner in baseball. He set down the law by banning all 8 participants in the Black Sox scandal from baseball for life.

BABE RUTH AND THE YANKEES

Perhaps the greatest team of all time, the 1927 Yankees, epitomized the new era of a livelier ball and a focus on hitting. The team that featured Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri and many other great players, were the talk of the town. Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs and Lou Gehrig was equally impressive while on his way to playing in 2130 consecutive games.

BASEBALL IN THE 1930s AND 1940s

America was going through a depression in the 30s and attendance was down. Stars like Ted Williams and Joe Dimaggio made their debuts in the late 30s. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 and America became involved in WWII, many of the best players went overseas to serve their country. At the request of President Roosevelt, baseball did not shut down. Many of the retired players came back to fill the openings left by the younger players who were fighting for America.

BREAKING THE COLOR BARRIER

Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson changed baseball forever when, in 1947, Jackie Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Despite enduring constant verbal abuse and many threats against both himself and his family, Robinson persevered to have a Hall of Fame career.

THE 1950s AND 1960s

This was a golden age for baseball. After WWII, baseball was at a peak in all time popularity. Players like Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron gave fans thrills. Fans gathered around their radios to hear broadcast legends Red Barber and Mel Allen paint a very descriptive picture of the games. The NY Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers left New York and headed for the new green pastures of California. The New York Mets were introduced as a National League replacement and promptly went on to lose 120 games in their inaugural season. They redeemed themselves by winning the World Series in 1969 against the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles.

HELLO MARVIN MILLER

The players finally got someone to fight for their interests. Up until 1965, owners made all the money and profited tremendously off of the player’s efforts. Miller became head of the Players Association and successfully negotiated for fairer treatment of the players. It was his efforts that did away with the reserve clause that pretty much tied a player to a team for life. Miller got the owners to agree to collective bargaining. Free agency, as we know it today, was born under the leadership of Marvin Miller.

BASEBALL ROCKED BY ANOTHER SCANDAL

The integrity of the game was rocked in recent years by another scandal. Unlike the 1919 Black Sox scandal which involved gambling on baseball, this scandal involved players taking performance enhancing drugs.

With salaries for the best players now in the multi-million dollar range, players felt the pressure to compete at the highest level possible. In the 1990s and up through the 2000s, players had been suspected of using human growth hormone and steroids to enhance their on-field performance. Many players were accused or admitted to using the illegal substances. In 2005, Jose Canseco’s book, “Juiced,” caused a Congressional investigation into the problem. Home run records had been shattered, first by Sammy Sosa (66) and Mark McGwire (70) in 1998 and then by Barry Bonds (73) in 2001. It was yet another black eye that baseball will have to endure.

WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO TODAY

As the 2012 season approaches, baseball fans will return in record numbers to watch their favorite players take the field. Like always, there will be a mix of some aging superstars nearing the end of their career and some promising newcomers ready to become the stars of tomorrow.

Who knows how high the salaries will continue to rise? One thing is for sure. As long as there are young boys playing the game in play grounds and school yards all around the country, Major League baseball will continue to be a multi-billion, or maybe even, a trillion dollar business.