Unceremoniously dumped from the MLB playoffs, the Texas Rangers have embarked on improvements to Rangers Ballpark instead of hosting postseason games. The Rangers had planned on some $10 million in improvements to the ballpark, including the addition of a new row of luxury seats behind home plate and some concessions upgrades in the concourse. The […]
Tag Archives | major league baseball
The beat of October baseball: Enjoying the postseason
Today is a historic day, with two Game Fives scheduled in the Major League Baseball playoffs. Jesse Goldberg-Strassler explains what makes the postseason so special — and why it’s time to rock. Summer baseball is the jazz of the sports world. Similar to jazz, summer baseball occurs in the background, secondary to the fan’s experience. […]
Pitch moving forward for Olympic baseball in 2020
A joint bid from International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF) — an arrangement formalized this week — could see a successful effort to bring baseball back to the Summer Olympics in 2020. It’s been no secret that both federations have sought a return to the Olympics; it’s also been no secret that […]
Arizona Fall League launches today
If you’re in the Phoenix area, this is the third part of the baseball season for fans, as the Arizona Fall League — featuring MLB’s elite prospects — opens its 20th anniversary season today. The slate today: Scottsdale Scorpions at Phoenix Desert Dogs (12:35 p.m.), Surprise Saguaros at Peoria Javelinas (12:35 p.m.) and Mesa Solar […]
Coca-Cola Field / Buffalo Bisons
In the late 1980s, Major League Baseball was of a high mind to expand, looking for potential cities to host brand-new franchises. Into this fray leapt the city of Buffalo…. FAST FACTS Opened: April 14, 1988 Capacity: 18,025 seating + 150 standing room Dimensions: 325L, 371LC, 404C, 367RC, 325R Surface: Kentucky Blue Grass Owner: City […]
2012 Major League Baseball Attendance
Our last attendance summary of 2012: here we rank the 30 MLB teams by average, with some surprises and some disappointments on the year-to-year front. Here’s the final tally for attendance this season for Major League Baseball teams. We list both the total attendance and the average per-game attendance. Our comparisons are based on the […]
New MLB TV contracts finalized: $1.5B annually
We have a final tally on the new TV contracts signed between Major League Baseball and broadcast partners ESPN, Fox Sports and TBS: an average of $1.5 billion annually, or $12.4 billion over eight years. The deal between ESPN and MLB was made public earlier — $700 million annually, totaling $5.6 billion over eight years— […]
Fox, Turner retain MLB broadcast rights; NBC shut out
Fox Sports and Turner Sports are retaining rights to broadcast MLB games in 2014 and beyond, with Fox using an expanded portfolio of games as the cornerstone of Fox Sports One, a sports network to be built off the existing Speed Channel. The New York Times is reporting the deal, but doesn’t have any information on […]
Old Seattle Pilots photos uncovered
One of the tragedies of the digital age is the loss of old photo archives. A recently discovered cache of negatives from the Post-Intelligencer shows the Seattle Pilots, an underdocumented team, in action. The Post-Intelligencer archives yielded two sets of photos from 1969 detailing a very interesting time in Seattle history: spring training for the […]
Japan to participate in 2013 WBC
Japan will field a team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic after player reps and Major League Baseball officials agreed on a new revenue split. The issue: Japanese players wanted more of the proceeds of the tourney. In the past MLB has collected all revenues and distributed them to participating team; Japanese players had received […]
Cromartie laying the groundwork for MLB’s return to Montreal
It’s an effort that won’t pay off any time soon, but former Expo Warren Cromartie says he’s meeting with local business owners to bring Major League Baseball back to Montreal. MLB teams don’t move very often — in the last 30 years, the only team to move was the Montreal Expos, ironically — so obviously an […]
It’s official: Target Field to host 2014 All-Star Game
The Minnesota Twins, Major League Baseball and Bud Selig made it official today: the 2014 MLB All-Star Game will be played July 15 at Target Field. “It is my great honor to name the Minnesota Twins as the hosts of the 2014 All-Star Game,” Selig said in announcing the game today. “This is especially meaningful to […]
ESPN doubling rights fees for MLB
ESPN will double the amount it pays to Major League Baseball for cable, radio and international rights in a new eight-year deal totaling $5.6 billion, according to multiple reports. The current deal, which runs through 2013, brings $350 million annually to MLB teams; the new deal ups that to $700 million. The new deal is […]