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Major League Baseball's business is peanuts, Cracker Jack and TV sponsorship deals

Jul 17, 2018
Teams aren’t as worried about declining ticket sales because their fortunes aren’t as directly tied to the gate anymore, one analyst says.
A cameraman takes a shot of a bobble head Babe Ruth before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston in 2015.
Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Fewer people are taking their families out to the ballgame this year

Jul 16, 2018
Watching the game on TV has made it a lot easier to stay home.
A pair of fans sit in a large section of empty seats during a rain delay before the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on April 15, 2018, in Cincinnati.
Joe Robbins/Getty Images

How to be an umpire

Apr 13, 2018
No, yelling "safe" at the TV doesn't count.
Carlos Guillen of the Seattle Mariners gets called out by umpire Rich Rieker during a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington.
Otto Greule Jr /Allsport

For some minor league baseball players, wages can seem like peanuts

Apr 5, 2018
Congress's Save America's Pastime Act may pre-empt a lawsuit challenging teams over player pay.
Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

How are sports fines set?

Mar 29, 2018
And does fining players actually work?
Fans cheer during the sixth inning between the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 30, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Rob Carr/Getty Images

Baseball’s opening day strikes some as more tempting than going to work

Mar 29, 2018
For baseball fans, opening day at the ballpark means an introduction to the players. It’s the season’s first taste of a stadium hot dog,  And, for some? A reason to call in sick from work. So what are employers doing to keep workers at the office? Click the above audio player to hear the full […]

Beer, big screen TVs and the Dodgers

Oct 13, 2017
Fall sports are in full swing. Football season began last month, hockey kicked off last week, basketball begins soon and playoff baseball has fans riveted. And lots of people will be watching from sports bars instead of the couch. This is perhaps especially true in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers are in the playoffs, but the […]
Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

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Sports teams try to accommodate special needs fans

Jul 24, 2017
The Kansas City Royals have created quiet zones for fans on the autism spectrum.
The Bennett family had a difficult time locating the quiet zones and special concession stands the team has created this year for those on the autism spectrum.
Laura Ziegler/for Marketplace

Can the Hollywood baseball movie make a comeback?

Jul 19, 2017
The strike and steroids " purged a lot of the sentimentality" from the game, says Jay Caspian Kang of the New York Times.
Kevin Costner and Ray Liotta in "Field of Dreams."
IMDB

Why do pro sports teams get tax breaks to build new stadiums?

Jul 11, 2017
It's become the norm for pro sports franchises to count on tax-free municipal bonds for building stadium projects.
 A general view of Marlins Park.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images