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National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer

2005; De Gruyter; Volume: 2; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1515/sug-2005-0308

2366-0465

Stefan Szymanski, Andrew Zimbaüst, Henk Erik Meier,

Sports Analytics and Performance

This is story of two great sports. One is America's game, while 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 other. Despite superficial differences, however, business and culture of these sports share more in common than meets eye. This is first in-depth, cross-cultural comparison of these two great pastimes and megabusinesses that they have become. In National Pastime , Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist illustrate how different traditions of each sport have generated different possibilities for their commercial organization and exploitation. They pay special attention to 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 world. They illustrate how Victorian administrators laid foundation for Major League Baseball (MLB) and soccer leagues such as English Premier League, Italy's Serie A, and European Champions League. The authors show how organizers of baseball and soccer have learned from each other in 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 healthy development of sport. By studying 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 other hand, MLB could learn from soccer's relegation rules and more open system of ownership, thus avoiding some of excesses (competitive imbalance, uneven team resources) associated with monopoly. National Pastime does not advocate jettisoning of all tradition to adopt wholesale 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, 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 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 New York Yankees, Manchester United, or Real Madrid.