The Business of Baseball

Who's paying for Major League baseball? Increasingly, as Pete Kotz reported in our March 29 issue, it's cable subscribers, forced to pay fat premiums even as fewer and fewer people tune in (“The Screwball Economics of Major League Baseball“).

Louispfreely says the situation is more complicated: “I subscribe to MLB.tv and use a VPN to get around the blackout to watch Dodger games. I know a bunch of other guys who do the same thing. We ain't showing up on your stats.”

Native Angeleno also finds Kotz's take too pessimistic. “You assume too much,” he writes. “As people revolt against cable and satellite bills, the cost will have to decrease. It could well turn out that ballplayers and owners alike will have to downgrade their years of pillaging the glory hole to a more common status of 'survival, plus.' An equilibrium will be found that pays the average multimillionaire player the then-equivalent of a few hundred thousand dollars instead; the average billionaire owner a few hundred million. Baseball's take will have shrunken to meet fans' discretionary spending. That's all. The economics will not kill the game. Baseball is evolving, and it will survive.“

JKKdistrict has a more pointed question. About the story's opening, he questions, “How is Kansas City's Willie Wilson batting in the bottom of the ninth in Philadelphia?“

Oops. See our correction below.

They're Still Running

Jill Stewart's latest report on the city's ongoing hit-and-run crisis told the story of bicyclist Damian Kevitt, who was left for dead after being dragged onto the I-5 near Griffith Park (“Hit and Run Blowback for LAPD,” March 29). Writes Michelle Loeb Vega, “This is so very sad. This happened to my son, Michael Ray Vega, on Aug. 28, 2012, in Rancho Cucamonga. There has been an arrest, but unfortunately my son was killed. We need more awareness and stronger penalties. Prayers for Damian for a full recovery.“

Outdoorlover1 notes, “You got the last four digits of the phone number? That's a major clue. You're only missing the first three, so get to work. This case should have been solved a long time ago.“

Writes Brianna Socha, “The LAPD is atrocious at accident reporting. They often refuse to even come out and make a report, even when there is extensive body and property damage. There needs to be serious reform, especially in a city that is so dependent on cars. I'm glad to hear the California Highway Patrol is involved, though. They are very much a notch above.”

Corrections

Our March 22 review of the play Tender Napalm misspelled the name of actress Jaimi Paige. Also, the aforementioned story about baseball's economics wrongly described the ending to the 1980 World Series. Willie Wilson struck out in the top of the ninth inning, not the bottom. We regret both errors.

You Write, We Read

Please send letters to L.A. Weekly, 3861 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230. Or write us at ReadersWrite@laweekly.com. Full name and contact info preferred.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.