Baseball Business | The Baseball Zealot

The Yankees and confidentiality agreements

It’s being said that the New York Yankee organization is thinking of putting in a “non-disparagement clause” in management and player contracts to help dispel future tell-all books that reflect badly on the team.

It’s already being done on the front office level.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Yankee official said yesterday that some members of the front office staff already are required to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to protect “proprietary knowledge of our business model.” The proposed clause is intended to ensure that future books about the Yankees are “positive in tone,” and “do not breach the sanctity of our clubhouse.”

One, I’m surprised it’s not being done already. I don’t agree with the policy but most large corporations do this on some level and to some degree. With the high popularity of baseball, it surprising that all team organizations don’t do this.

Two, assuming that this is in place, I’d be surprised that this would hold up in court. Say Joe Torre did sign this and then wrote The Yankee Years. I’m not a lawyer (and don’t even play one on this blog) but I’d reckon the Yankees would be hard pressed to make a good case in court despite the confidentiality agreement.

Three, *if* it went to court, I hope it someone like Torre. Maybe it’s me, but Joe Torre seems to have a little more authority (fairly or unfairly) compared to a lowly draft pick or a rookie who would probably have to sign the the same the clause.

No, I don’t like the non-disparagement clause. It smacks of withholding information. Yes, there’s the danger of inaccurate information which Steinbrenner and Co insinuate. But let’s be realistic, that’s not what they’re after. It’s an issue of media control. If they don’t have to worry about players or managers leaving and speaking their mind, then that’s less work for their PR guys. They get pretty dizzy from all the spinning they do, you know.

(h/t The Hardball Times and Baseball Musings)

MLB web sites: A look back

I got to playing around with the Internet Wayback Machine tonight and wondered what some of the MLB web sites I go to on a regular basis looked liked in the olden days. And by “olden days”, I mean at the beginning of this decade.

MLB teams at that point, were still responsible for maintaining their own websites; they weren’t under the MLB.com umbrella like they are now.

Let’s get started. All thumbnails of the web sites from 2000 click to a larger image:

cubs.com on May 20, 2000

I don’t know why I chose this particular date for the Cubs. They were dead last in the NL Central and they had just gotten beat by the Cardinals 4-2. But it’s a good sample nonetheless.

Vivid blues and reds. And hey, they have a Multimedia section complete with a “Cubs Cam”. Back then, folks could bid on a Ernie Banks flag or a VIP tour of Wrigley.

I noticed a link to the Trib’s sister organization (or were they back then?) ChicagoSports.com. Also in the sidebar a link for Yahoo Broadcast (??).

whitesox.com June 20, 2000

The Sox’ slogan was ‘The Kids can Play’. On this date, the Sox were holding on to first place in the AL Central. James Baldwin was off to a 5-0 start.

They had a pretty decent web site too, in my opinion. Of course, it’s easy when your colors are black and white.

To follow the Sox games live, you could listen to the Live Audio or choose DiamondCast whatever that was.

Hey! Wllie Wonka Kids’ Day is (was) May 14th.

But the kicker for me was…

majorleaguebaseball.com on June 20, 2000

Yes, I went to mlb.com. At the turn of millennium, that domain name belonged to the law firm of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius L.L.P. Sometime in the month of October 2000, the domain changed hands and mlb.com began redirecting to Major League Baseball’s web site.

Most likely tired of fielding requests of “where’s the baseball?”, Morgan Lewis did offer the above image link at the bottom of their site.

For the time being though, majorleaguebaseball.com was where folks would go to get their baseball info.

Suggested bandwidth speeds for video downloads were in the modem range i.e. 56.6, 28.8, oh yeah ISDN too).

I noticed that Jonathan Mayo (who I think heads up mlb.com’s minor league coverage now) was doing the Fantasy Baseball bit back then.

One that should make Teddy Ballgame happy: their poll at the time was “How far will the White Sox go this year?”

The year 2000 was Summer Olympic time and the idea of ridding baseball and softball was probably just being discussed in the boardrooms. Meanwhile, majorleaguebaseball.com was covering that year’s manager Tommy Lasorda and his preparations.

Despite team’s having autonomy over their own web content, majorleaguebaseball.com did provide a drop down link to all team’s websites.

A quick snippet of the 2000 stats page…

… and the standings page.

Nine years doesn’t seem like a long time but in Internet time it’s forever. With the advent of the MLB Advanced Media, the web presence of professional baseball has come a long way… mostly in the right direction.

This year’s rule changes to be considered

MLB team owners are set to decide on two rule changes for Major League Baseball. They’re relatively minor changes but worth noting.

The first rule change only codifies what essentially took place during the rainy Game 5 of the World Series between the Phillies and the Rays. Under current rules, these games only become official when the trailing team record 15 outs.

Selig used rules governing suspended games at the time, but said had it been stopped with the Phillies leading, 2-1, in the fifth, the game would have gone into a rain delay until it was safe to resume.

“We’ll stay here if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving here,” he said.

After the last owners’ meetings in New York in November, Selig said he told the owners that his interpretation of the rule would be codified.

The second change under consideration regards how the decision is made who hosts one-game tiebreakers. Currently, coin flips a few weeks beforehand are used to make the decision.

Teams are asking that head-to-head records be used instead.

Influential Sports Businessmen: how do you rank them?

Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal in their special report lists The 50 most influential people in sports business. Oh, cut the crap and just say businessmen ’cause I didn’t see any women on the list.

George Bodenheimer, prez of ESPN and ABC Sports heads the list. Bud Selig came in at sixth.

Two points of contention…

I would have raised Bob Bowman, president and CEO of MLB Advanced Media from his position of 29 on this list. I’m not exactly a fan of Bowman with his digital rights managements issues but no one can argue what he has done for MLB in the past few years. He’s brought video (and audio) content to the fans, developed a high quality web site for the game of baseball and now he’s going to set up a network for the game (that major cable systems will actually carry).

Scott Boras is at 42. Is there any business man in baseball who holds such influence in where many players play, how much they make and how long they play? He sets the bar for the players he represents and in turn, the ones he doesn’t. Again, not necessarily a fan but I’m surprised to see him ranked so low.

Red Sox hold 09 tix prices at 08 levels

We can only hope that other clubs see it the same way.

From the Boston Herald:

“We have been listening to fans, friends, and family about the challenges they are facing in light of the current adverse economic conditions,” said Larry Lucchino, Red Sox President/CEO in a press release this morning. “We are also grateful for the unwavering faith and support our fans have shown us year after year and we hope our ownership’s decision to hold prices for the upcoming season will in some way help ease the burden on Red Sox Nation.”

Selig the Great

Wow, I think I found one of the few Bud Selig-lovers out there.

You can read the article yourself but it ends with this (emphasis mine):

The problems are many, and answers are hard in coming. Some are obvious. Others are obscure. Bud Selig has been right more than he’s been wrong during his stewardship, and I think history will rank him among the great Commissioners.

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

A happy story that involves MLB Advanced Media (really)

Sometimes MLB Advanced Media gets it. Sometimes they understand what is in their best interests.

This is one of those times.

Baseball fan Russ Gooberman created a mash-up video of Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton featuring his longest homerun from the All-Star Game Home Run Derby. He set it to some music and uploaded it to YouTube.

Gooberman says the very next day, MLB Advanced Media sent a trademark claim to YouTube and the video was taken down. YouTube sent him a notice that read:

"This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by MLB Advanced Media claiming that this material is infringing:"

Through YouTube, Gooberman responded to MLB Advanced Media. His counter-notification was very well written in my opinion. It says in part (you can read the whole bit at lessig.com):

"Under established Fair Use principles, if a work is considered transformative, it does not represent an infringement. This video in particular, is extremely transformative. First of all, it takes less than a minute of footage out of an over three hour exhibition. Secondly, the footage is edited differently than the original telecast. Thirdly, the entire soundtrack has been removed and replaced. Fourthly, the footage itself has been altered, added to, subtracted from, and has had the meaning changed altogether.

…

This piece is fully non-commercial. The website behind the creation of this piece takes in zero revenue, and is a free entertainment service. Non-commercial use is another standard by which copyrighted material is allowable for re-use.

Again, this is only a small part of what Gooberman wrote and his whole piece is quite eloquent. Kudos to him for taking the time and effort to make his case.

As I said, this story does have a happy ending. In response to his notice and perhaps a second look at the video, not only did MLB Advanced Media rescind their takedown notice, they featured Gooberman’s mashup video on the official MLB Entertainment Blog.

Is MLB starting to see the light about intellectual property? Are they beginning to realize that posting one minute videos or photographs of MLB baseball does not hurt their bottom line but indeed increases fan interest in the game?

Probably not. But it’s a good step in the right direction and I heartily applaud MLBAM for seeing the light in this one case.

There may be hope yet.

Here’s the video in question. If you are Josh Hamilton fan, you’ll love it.

MLB signs with IntelSat for International baseball access for ’09

MLB International signed a deal with a major provider of satellite services to provide streaming access to MLB games for next season. MLBI signed the contract with IntelSat, Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.

This comes at the heels of a deal between MLB Advanced Media and ESPN which will provide live streaming of games to fans also for next year. The ESPN deal did not extend to some international realms. The deal with IntelSat seems to answer that need.

"Major League Baseball enjoys an avid fan base around the world, and we are continually seeking ways to increase the profile of the franchise. As we continue to increase our distribution, we chose Intelsat because it offered us a seamless, one-platform solution for our international broadcasting needs," said Russell Gabay, Vice President and Executive Producer, International Broadcasting. "The Intelsat satellites provide coverage and access to video neighborhoods that help us expand distribution of our programs."

As I’ve said before, time will tell how this all will play out for the average fan. This won’t be free and given MLB’s actions in the past, it won’t be cheap either.

Author: Just one blown call saved worth it

I honestly couldn’t tell if Childs Walker was being sarcastic in his comments about instant replay via The Baltimore Sun. (emphasis mine)

Instead, commissioner Bud Selig implemented limited replay as soon as he reached agreements with his players and umpires. If the technology saves even one blown call down the stretch this season, it was worth it.

Really? Just one blown call saved would be worth it? All the money spent to put this in place. All the dissension from those who disagree with the policy?

A little perspective, please.

Bill Klem would have something to say about that.

On Instant Replay

It seems to me that I’m seeing a lot of articles online in favor of instant replay but I personally know very few baseball fans who like the idea.

Maybe I’m hanging out with wrong crowd.

I share the same sentiments with Scot from Coffeyville Whirlwind who has a thoughtful article on the subject.

I am willing to be proven wrong, but it all just doesn’t seem worth it at this point. For a handful of correct home run calls a season, baseball fans and players will be subject to delays, technology problems, and arguments over replay usage.

Indeed, with MLB’s rush to fast track this out (in response to a couple bad calls in a relatively wide span of games), the cynical side of me just makes me wonder, "what is their real agenda?".

Looks like Cubs manager still isn’t toeing the company line yet. Though to be accurate, he isn’t fully up on how it works. He’s the first to admit it though.

Via the Chicago Trib:

Piniella laughed and said it "could turn into a little bit of a fiasco initially" because it hasn’t been fully explained. "Do you throw out a red handkerchief or something?" Piniella said, laughing. "What’s the format? What do you do? I’d love to be able to throw a red hanky or a green hanky on the field. Can you imagine being able to throw something on the field and you can’t be ejected? Nobody has told us anything. I think we should be schooled on it somehow."

One more reason, if we really have to use it, to wait till next season so team personnel can be educated on its use.