Frank McCourt has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger Stadium and three related holding companies in an attempt to keep control of the team in the face of a potential takeover from Major League Baseball. Chapter 11 bankruptcy provides corporations protection as they attempt to restructure their […]
Tag Archives | major league baseball
Salt River Fields earns LEED Gold Certification
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the new spring-training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, achieved a significant milestone and a first for a Major League Baseball facility: It was awarded LEED Gold Certification for New Construction from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The spring-training facility, which opened in February 2011, […]
Skeeters bringing back bullpen cart
Remember the capped bullpen carts used in Major League Baseball in the 1970s and 1980s? They’ve disappeared from the MLB world, but the Sugar Land Skeeters (independent; Atlantic League) are bringing one back — complete with a sponsor — for the 2012 season. The yet-to-be-named cart, sponsored by Texas Direct Auto, will be visible with every […]
Judge throws out broken-bat lawsuit
A fan struck by a broken bat at a New York Mets game at Shea Stadium lost his bid to sue the team, two players and Major League Baseball, as a judge ruled he took on the risk of being struck by an object from the field when he chose to sit in an area […]
Why early-season attendance numbers don’t matter
ESPN took a shot at the New York Yankees today for suffering through an 9 percent drop in attendance through the first 11 games of the season when compared to 2010. Here’s why ESPN was totally wrong in the simplistic and misleading “analysis” of the numbers. For any MLB or MiLB team the first two […]
Oakland, Tampa Bay on cusp of contraction? Not so fast
Forbes Magazine continues to beat the drum for the possible of contraction of the Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays by 2015, but Mike Ozanian may be proving to be a useful idiot for Major League Baseball, as baseball pulls out a familiar tool to push municipalities for new ballparks. In this video and this […]
MLB considering instant replay for 2012?
Major League Baseball could implement instant replay for the 2012 season, reports AP, after Commissioner Bud Selig and a group of umpire agreed in spring training on a plan to make it work with minimal impact on the game. There’s been talk of baseball using instant replay for years now, but the fear has always […]
New life for new California ballparks?
New ballparks in California for Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams are again economically feasible, as California legislators reject an attempt by Gov. Jerry Brown to divert city and county economic-redevelopment funds to fund basic services. We’re talking three ballparks here: a new Oakland Athletics ballpark either in San Jose or Oakland; a […]
After spring training, the baseball continues
With the departure of MLB and MiLB squads from spring-training complex, most folks assume there’s no baseball in the likes of Peoria Stadium and Tempe Diablo Stadium. But the complexes are still buzzing, as extended spring will keep them busy for months. During discussions of spring training, many fans focus on the main ballpark and […]
Parsing the spring-training attendance numbers
With Spring Training 2011 now over, it’s time to look at the winners and losers in the annual tune-up to the Major League Baseball season, with over 3.5 million fans attending games in Florida, Arizona and other exhibition venues. There are actually a few different sets of spring-training numbers floating around out there: MLB tallies […]
Rising from the ashes: a new Knights ballpark
Given up for dead by many, a new Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League) ballpark pitched for uptown Charlotte is showing some signs of life, as team ownership and local economic-development officials plan on coming up with a new financial formula in coming weeks. To say the crusade for a new Knights ballpark has been […]
Forbes: It’s the Yankees and the 29 dwarves
It’s not even close: in the magazine’s annual evaluations of Major League Baseball franchise values, Forbes prices the New York Yankees at an astounding $1.7 billion — some 86 percent more than runner-up Boston Red Sox and far outpacing the average franchise value of $523 million. Still, you’ll be surprised by the most profitable team […]
Earthquake/tsunami impacting Japanese pro baseball season
To play or not to play: that’s the issue facing players and owners in Nippon Professional Baseball, who are debating whether the season should start on schedule and under what circumstances, as rolling blackouts and homeless people are still big issues days after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Two issues are at play: whether […]