MLB: Revenge of the Small Market Baseball Teams

By JOE FRISARO UsFANS.com Managing Editor

Call it the Revenge of the Small Spenders.

In a made for Hollywood moment, the Oakland A’s, who hold prime real estate in baseball’s low-rent district, have won the American League West. Back in the playoffs for the first time since 1992, the A’s take on two-time defending World Series champions, the New York Yankees.

Get this, the A’s are favorites.

Hard to imagine that a team that started the season with a payroll of just over $32 million finished with a better record than the Yankees, who possess the richest roster ($112 million) ever assembled.

For at least one year, money wasn’t the single most decisive measure of a big league team. That’s a reversal from the past four or five years where all eight teams to make the postseason ranked in the top 10 or 15 in player salaries. A year ago, all the postseason squads were in the top 10.

A few frugal franchises made the cut this season. The Chicago White Sox being the other.

The A’s are the biggest surprise because a number of their stars are 25 years of age or younger.

Good for the A’s. Good for baseball, too. New blood in the postseason is always refreshing. But don’t get fooled into thinking just because the A’s are in, that the playing field in the league is now level. A few inside baseball people, those satisfied with the status quo, argue that if the A’s can do it, then the Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins and Florida Marlins aren’t far behind.

Don’t believe it for a second. Off the field, the A’s have major issues. Their fan base has dwindled and their stadium is obsolete by modern-day standards. Proof resides across the San Francisco Bay, where state-of-the-art Pac Bell Stadium is the splendid new home of the Giants.

To keep pace financially, the A’s need bigger crowds and a better ballpark.

Prior to the season, owner Steve Schott set a goal to increase ticket sales by 20 percent. The A’s did that, but the club still isn’t happy. That’s because Oakland ranks near the bottom of the American League in attendance.

Down the stretch, the A’s averaged 17,500 over a crucial four-game home swing. Shrewd marketing gimmicks, such as $1 tickets on Wednesdays, failed to fatten the crowds.

You can imagine the elation when 45,000 packed the house to see the A’s clinch on the final day of the season.

Winning tends to heal a lot of wounds. Perhaps the A’s remarkable run in 2000 will bring back fans in greater numbers next year. It might also provide the impetus for construction of a new stadium.

For now, the A’s and their fans should enjoy the ride. There is no telling how long it will last.

Some will say Oakland’s remarkable run proves anyone can win any given year. I’m not convinced. The A’s seem to be following the same paths the Florida Marlins (1997) and the San Diego Padres (1998) traveled a few years ago. Those teams each had a miracle season, only to dismantle because they couldn’t keep pace with the rising economics of the game.

Article courtesy of UsFANS.com