Chatalas Shrugged

Baseball playoffs will brighten a dreary fall day. Once the post-season hits, though, the attention (and tension) exceeds that of the regular season. This is interesting because it’s not as if the strategy behind winning games suddenly becomes a priority in the playoffs… in reality, it’s in play every single game during the 162-game slog. Yet society’s embrace of “winning is everything” is more greatly magnified when teams have made it to a bigger stage.

 Of course, this focus on championships contributes directly to the coffers of those who benefit from the super-sized business that sports has become. Scheduling and media coverage of playoff games is tied to maximizing advertising dollars, brand awareness, and sponsorship opportunities.

I will always revel in playoff baseball; few things are as exciting. The 1995 Mariner playoff win over the Yankees will forever be recognized in our city as the moment Seattle became a true baseball town. But the degree to which baseball has become merely a red-stitched ball in the game of inflated profits is a detriment to its founding. More later, including assessments of the teams vying for the 2007 World Series.