When the Red Sox get two big name players from small market teams in the same week it is bound to bring up concerns about the current state of baseball. Adrian Gonzalez was on the trading block because the Padres could not afford to keep him beyond next season. The Rays had no chance of affording Carl Crawford’s salary demands as a free agent. The Red Sox took advantage of the situation with their big budget and drew the ire of small market fans everywhere. Is the Crawford deal bad for baseball? 54% of the views on ESPN’s SportsNation poll think so. The hosts split on the issue:
SportsNation co-host Colin Cowherd disagrees, “It’s good. I talked for two and a half hours on my radio show today and got a thousand calls and two thousand emails about baseball. That doesn’t happen if Carl Crawford goes to the Padres.”
Co-host Michelle Beadle agrees with viewers, “The reason I loved the World Series this year is because it was the Giants and the Rangers. Now we have two Yankees type teams in the Northeast and I’m over it. This is when I go back into my ‘I hate baseball cave.’”
If the Red Sox did not sign Crawford the Yankees likely would have, and Red Sox fans were growing restless after the “bridge year.” NESN viewship was down and the ownership went out and did what they were supposed to do; they made their team better. They did this under the rules of baseball. Red Sox fans pay high prices for their tickets and they support their team. They drew over 3 million fans last season for a team that did not make the playoffs while the Rays drew less than 2 million for a team that won the division.
The Red Sox also drafted well and had the talent in their farm system to trade for Adrian Gonzalez. While being a big market team is part of the picture, it is not the whole picture. The Red Sox did not go out and buy a championship this week but they did get better on paper. Money had something to do with it as did the entire structure of MLB.
The Carl Crawford deal can be seen as a reward for a loyal fanbase or the rich getting richer depending on who is looking at it. But one thing is for sure, all teams would make the same move if the shoe was on the other foot.
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