This is the story of two great sports. One is "America's game,"
while the other is "the world's game." Baseball and soccer are both
beloved cultural institutions. What draws fans to one game is often
a mystery to fans of the other. Despite superficial differences,
however, the business and culture of these sports share more in
common than meets the eye. This is the first in-depth,
cross-cultural comparison of these two great pastimes and the
megabusinesses that they have become. In National Pastime, Stefan
Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist illustrate how the different
traditions of each sport have generated different possibilities for
their commercial organization and exploitation. They pay special
attention to the rich and complex evolution of baseball from its
beginnings in America, and they trace modern soccer from its
foundation in England through its subsequent expansion across the
world. They illustrate how Victorian administrators laid the
foundation for Major League Baseball (MLB) and soccer leagues such
as the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A, and the European
Champions League. The authors show how the organizers of baseball
and soccer have learned from each other in the past and how they
can continue to do so. Both sports are rich in tradition. In some
cases, however, these traditions-often arbitrary rules established
by long-defunct administrators-have obstructed the healthy
development of the sport. By studying the experiences of other
sports, it might be possible to develop new and better ways to
operate. For example, soccer might benefit from greater cooperation
among teams as in baseball. On the other hand, MLB could learn from
soccer's relegation rules and more open system of ownership, thus
avoiding some of the excesses (competitive imbalance, uneven team
resources) associated with monopoly. National Pastime does not
advocate the jettisoning of all tradition to adopt wholesale the
approach of another sport, of course. In an era of globalization,
where business interests are increasingly looking to transplant
organizational ideas in order to maximize profits, the authors
argue that fan-friendly reforms may be necessary in order to avoid
something worse. Ultimately, they propose no simple solutions,
instead suggesting specific reforms to the organization of baseball
and soccer, drawing on each other's experiences. Lively and
accessibly written, this book is essential reading for business
analysts, journalists, policymakers, and managers of both sports.
Most of all, however, it will appeal to baseball and soccer
aficionados, whether they root for the New York Yankees, Manchester
United, or Real Madrid.
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