A newly formed group of baseball fans is making noise and gaining traction. FansAlign seeks to mobilize baseball fans to unite behind several principles to force the Major League team owners and the players union to give a representative of the fans a seat at the negotiating table. This article originally appeared in the Jan. 29, 2022 USA TODAY Sports Weekly. Used by permission.
by Joe Mock
Cliff Gardner is a serious baseball fan. For the past 35 years, the Dallas resident has held season tickets with the Texas Rangers, and in recent years the number of seats he controls has ballooned to a dozen. He also owns full season tickets with the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs.
Like many fans, he’s unhappy with the direction the sport has taken, particularly with the acrimony between the owners and players. “The fact that there is a lockout on the heels of the pandemic-caused shutdown is an affront to every fan,” he laments.
Instead of merely complaining about it, he took action. He’s striving to enroll one million fans in his organization called FansAlign (www.fansalign.com). He plans to establish FansAlign Advisory Boards in all 30 big-league markets.
“I’ve watched as ‘the best interests of the game’ has turned into ‘the special interests of the game,’” he says. “Baseball fans deserve to have their interests represented, because MLB has failed on how they’ve expended the fans’ revenue and the MLBPA has failed to receive it equitably.”
The Baseball Fan’s Bill of Rights |
Provided by FansAlign.com
|
Cliff Gardner |
An important aspect of FansAlign is the Bill of Rights it compiled from feedback from fans. It lists the non-negotiable tenets that, if enacted, would cure the ills that put the sport on the path to the current stalemate.
“There are three main goals for FansAlign,” explains Gardner. “First, we believe fans need to be the primary focus rather than being taken for granted. We will also clearly demonstrate that fans can provide real, progressive, dynamic solutions to the labor and economic issues between the owners and players. It’s also important for fans of both large-market and small-market teams to enjoy competitive balance.”
WE HAVE QUESTIONS
The FansAlign Bill of Rights raises a number of questions, which we posed to Gardner.
Sports Weekly: Why was it important to generate a Fan’s Bill of Rights?
Cliff Gardner: In one way or another, fans provide all of Major League Baseball’s revenue. In exchange, fans should have representation rights as to how the game is managed.
SW: How should players’ salaries be “balanced”?
Gardner: Because fans want to have competitive players at all positions on their favorite team, no player’s salary should be more than ten times the league minimum salary, which we think should be raised to $2 million. When there are salaries of 30 times or 40 times – or in the case of Max Scherzer, 76 times – the league minimum, it deprives a team of quality players at other positions.
SW: What do you mean about balancing team salaries?
Gardner: Right now, big market teams are spending up to six times as much on salaries as the lowest spenders. In a competitively balanced league, no teams should be able to spend even twice as much as another team. Let’s establish a “median” or fixed-midpoint team salary, say $160 million, and require all 30 franchises to spend at least 30% below that (so $112 million) but no more than 30% above that ($208 million). So there would be a hard minimum and a hard cap.
SW: Why should the current playoff system be changed?
Gardner: First, competition is all about winning, and if a team can’t win 50% of its games, it shouldn’t be rewarded with a playoff spot. The team they would’ve faced should get a first-round bye. Next, no more one-game play-in series. If a team does everything right and earns a playoff spot, its fans must be rewarded with at least one home playoff game.
NO TANKS
SW: Is “tanking” really a problem with MLB franchises?
Gardner: It’s not only a problem, it’s an embarrassment to the teams that do it and an insult to their fans, who are still being charged the same price for tickets. We insist that the draft order be changed so teams aren’t incentivized to play poorly down the stretch in a season.
SW: Draft picks are traded in other sports. Why not baseball?
Gardner: Clearly draft picks are valuable or teams wouldn’t tank to get them. Inept teams trading them away steal hope from their fans and would likely end up perennial losers. How did it work out when Mike Ditka (coach of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints) traded eight draft picks for Ricky Williams? Not well for the Saints, or Ditka.
SW: Why do you think fans want MLB to stay out of politics?
Gardner: Fans attend games and watch on TV to escape the polarizing political news of the day. They just want to have a delightful, relaxed experience. When MLB gets involved in politics, it forces the fans to take sides on unpleasant topics. Look how many fans were alienated and how many minority businesses and stadium workers were losers financially when the Commissioner made a purely political decision to move the 2021 All Star Game from Atlanta.
SW: Baseball is a $10 billion industry. Do you really think fans can influence the direction of such a huge enterprise?
Gardner: Absolutely. It is our $10 billion that is currently being mismanaged. It’s time for fans to step up and have a rock-solid voice in how their revenues are to be generated and spent.
SAVING BASEBALL
Another very serious, long-time baseball fan is Howard Peretz. In his 2021 book “Saving Baseball From Itself,” he outlines the problems with modern-day baseball, such as the way the NFL and NBA have become the National Pastimes, current league alignments have failed to take advantage of natural rivalries, and the lack of popularity and effectiveness of the current position of Commissioner. Among his solutions is a greater focus on satisfying the fans.
“I certainly agree that the owners and the players ignore the fans’ point of view,” says Peretz. “Do you think any fans are cheering this ridiculous lockout? The NFL and NBA have dominated the airways since baseball went underground on December 1. It’s inexcusable that MLB continues to be inept at selling its game.
“I’ve long advocated that someone representing the fans’ best interest should have a seat at the negotiating table,” he adds. “After all, the fans generate the revenue that the two sides take for granted. I’d love to see this Bill of Rights be adopted.”