[.ca] Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball (ISBN 0767904664)

From Amazon.com:
This isn't a commentator's diatribe against the sport, but rather a fan's case for baseball. What do I want? I think the same thing that most baseball fans want: To see the game prove worthy of our devotion. Bob Costas loves baseball. And he's worried about the state of the game--superstar players abandoning the teams that helped them rise to greatness, the awkward interleague play system, the pennant-race-weakening wild cards, and the payroll disparity that effectively eliminates two-thirds of the teams in the league from having any chance to win the World Series--even before opening day. Costas addresses these problems and offers provocative solutions in Fair Ball. Costas makes it clear from the outset that he's not a romantic, baseball-should-be-played-in-flannel traditionalist; indeed, some of his ideas--comprehensive revenue sharing and salary caps and floors--will be seen as radical by many team owners and players. Others are more standard--no more wild card, and farewell to the DH--but all are thoughtful and cogently argued. Throughout Fair Ball Costas's affection for the national pastime softens his occasionally strident tone. Ultimately, all baseball fans want the same thing; Costas's ideas, if adopted, would go a long way toward returning the game to full health. --Sunny Delaney

some good ideas about fixing a great game:
Bob Costas brings up so interesting facts about how to save baseball it can also be stated as a case to save all profesional sports like the NHL so this is a good book for even non baseball fans

Philosophically dubious:
There isn't a book's worth of material here, that's for sure. This could easily have been boiled down to a lengthy magazine piece for Sports Illustrated. And his prose is merely serviceable - far short of George Will's eloquent standard. I'm not familiar enough with the background of this debate to say whether his ideas are "original" or not. But they're certainly plausible enough to warrant examination. My only real beef with them is philosophical in nature, I suppose. He repeatedly insists that the few superstar players asked to sacrifice under his salary cap proposal could easily afford the loss. First of all: they wouldn't be "asked" anything. They would be legally prohibited from earning their full market worth. Say it's "for the good of the game" if you like, but that seems like one slippery damned slope to me. Second: I don't know if that's a judgment you're entitled to make, Bob. I'm sure you're making plenty of scratch these days too. Feel free to donate as much of your salary to the Expos - in the name of "competitive balance" - as you like. But taking money out of someone's pocket - even Alex Rodriguez's pocket - without their consent is usually called theft.

For Every Problem, There Is a Solution:
Though Major League Baseball is mired in a sea of problems, most dealing with economics, these are not problems that cannot be fixed. Bob Costas offers some cogent solutions to remedy most of these problems in order to restore the competitive integrity of the game. Costas' proposal to implement not only a salary cap but also a salary floor benefits not only the majority of the owners but also the players who make the minimum salary. He talks at length about the wild card and how he believes it should be abolished; I absolutely agree. Given the best-of-five first round, the team with the best record in each league should be rewarded, as the two best teams in each NFL conference are, with a bye (this is mentioned in the book, along with many more reasons for why there should be no wild card). Basically every major issue is brought up by Costas that needs to be rectified, and for many he answers questions many skeptics may pose. I would love to hear his evaluation of the most recent CBA, along with his take on the issue of steroids in baseball.

Considering the fan:
Bob Costas understands what makes baseball unique and appealing to its followers. He has provided a vision and plan that would return a semblance of competitive balance to the game. He is less concerned with whether owners or players are the primary blame for the decline in baseballs' public following, than to what can be done to return it to predominance in our national psyche. I agree completely that most fans do not begrudge the players the millions they make or the owner's right to make a profit. What we hate is that 25 teams serve as a minor league development system for the 5 or so elite teams that snatch up their stars just as they attain peak abilities. He is also right on target when it comes to the dilution of pennant races with wild card teams and balanced schedules, the dh and even Pete Rose. I would like to add a plea to spare us from the 200 dB musical assault we must endure at the ballpark, not only between each half inning, but now before each home team batter. Just give us good baseball and a chance for all well managed teams to compete.

COSTAS FOR COMMISSIONER!!:
Bob Costas gives a clear and concise analysis of the state of major league baseball today and how it was just 15 years ago. Bob is not afraid to tell it like it is, and explains concrete reasons (not just "being a tradionalist") why gimmicks such as new ballparks, interleague play, wildcard play, etc., and why crippling events such as owners who know no limits to their spending or players who know no limits to their greed are destroying the grand old game. But it's not a book of complaining. Oh, no. Bob gives a very comprehensive plan of how to fix many of these failures. There is one problem with most of his solutions -- they make sense. With today's wishy washy commissioner, with one or two owners having their own way no matter what, and with players who follow any ridiculous notion that their ill advised union throws out, ideas this well thought out will be immediately dismissed. Why fix team salary inequities when you can put Spider-man on the bases? Why control players' salaries when you can pump your players up with illegal steriods and then move the fences 25 feet closer to the plate? No, Bob's ideas will not be accepted in today's baseball family because they are not gimmicks. Let's hope that when Selig steps down (or falls down), Costas is considered for his job. I actually think that Bob could push through some of these ideas.