Outside the Box

Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Baseball's day of (w)reckoning is on the horizon

More of the usual complaints about high salaries ruining the game. Here is a note that I have sent to the author.

Mr. Mosher,

Thank you for your column on A-Rod's contract and its effect on baseball finances. Near the end you say,

"The way I look at it, if this salary madness continues on too much longer, you, the average fan, won't be able to attend a game unless you get free tickets from the corporation that employs you."

I don't believe that higher salaries cause higher ticket prices. In fact, it is the other way around. If a team can sell tickets for $35 apiece they want players who will put more of those $35 fannies in the seats. Ticket prices are set to maximize revenue. Let's say A-Rod were to sign for $1. Would the team automatically reduce ticket prices since they now have this great bargain? A better question is why college ticket prices continue to rise? It is because the demand is high. If the journalists at a newspaper worked for free would the price of a subscription go down?

Sincerely,
Sean Forman