CC=$$: Major League Baseball and the Recession

140 Million Dollars over 6 years: That's how much money the New York Yankees offered free agent pitcher CC Sabathia last Friday. If signed, it would become the largest deal ever given to a pitcher in Major League Baseball.

When I first read the news of this deal I couldn't believe my eyes. Over the past several months, all I have heard about is the dire state of the economy and about how companies across America have been cutting jobs at a near-record rate. Despite all of that, salaries in Major League Baseball continue to rise. How is this possible? Is Baseball recession proof? Does any of this make sense?

After I began writing this blog, I found an article on the New York Times website on this very topic:

www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/sports/baseball/17rhoden.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The article, titled "Recession is a Relative Term in Baseball" has all the answers to my various questions from this weekend.
First, according to the article, families are more likely to attend baseball games during this type of economic recession: "Baseball, to a greater extent than the N.F.L. and the N.B.A., is dependent on gate receipts. When families begin to feel the economic pinch and stay home rather than take a long trip, many choose to attend baseball games."

Also, Baseball often serves as an outlet for frustration, depression, or agony for people across the country. When things are going poorly at work or at home, many have no place else to turn except for their favorite club. As a result, the money continues to pour in as fans continue to find it impossible to give up rooting for their team. As ticket prices rise, so too does fan attendance. Even teams like the Milwaukee Brewers continue to set team records for attendance, last year breaking the 3,000,000 fan mark for the first time, despite the wavering economy: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/brewatte.shtml

As more fans pour into bigger and bigger stadiums, teams continue to earn more and more money, despite the current crisis. While we will have to wait and see next year if attendance continues its positive trend, I would be shocked to see a deviation from the present direction of attendance.

What this means is super-star players such as CC Sabathia need not worry about the dipping stock market as they are set for paydays unseen in World History.