Despite a rocky start to Major League Baseball following some issues with testing and a number of players returning positive, the back half of the returned baseball season has fostered plenty of excitement. Some favourites that were expected to make a big sweep will now be going home with others being lifted high – the New York Yankees are certainly up there as one of the favourites despite their ten-game winning streak being brought to an end by the Blue Jays. They’ll still look to finish second in the AL East and see themselves through to the post-season, granted nothing goes wrong. The good news could come from the many different businesses that rely on the success here however, after a very tricky start to the year and a potentially tough winter, these coming months could be extremely important.
(Image from nj.com)
No tickets, no merch – One of the biggest challenges to be overcome is operating the sporting events behind closed doors. Ticket sales and attendance have been a large part of different teams cash flow for a long time, and at first it had been looking concerning for many that they may not survive without the ticket sales, and whilst many have stabilised they’re far from being as healthy as they once were. But another big factor for revenue has always been in merch sales, often influence by on-field performances and game day sales too, but with such a huge change in activity it had been long anticipated that things such as jerseys would take a hit. This could be some great news for the teams who have made it to post-season however as this could be an area bolstered by the successes here.
As the post-season arrives however there are some notable changes to keep in mind that could have a bigger impact too. With the AL teams travelling to Southern California there may be adjustments in state that allow for fans to attend, as such where ticket sales may have been a problem for Yankees fans in New York, there is a possibility that you will be able to attend in California. Similarly if NY is able to make it through toward the end of the post season and the finals in Texas, there yet again may be changes to allow fans in attendance which has already been discussed, and ticket sales and merch as a result may find some recovery.
A wager or two – Sports betting has also been a huge part of the majority of sporting events for a long time now too, early postponements and cancellations in the year saw many betting operators struggling heavily, and although many events have returned the risk that some may be cancelled once again is a cause for concern. Whilst betting rules and legislation may be different in states such as New York, many fans will be excited to see the return of things they are able to do such as fantasy leagues, and those who have been building their team will be happy that the post season is on the cards.
Of course for this to be possible and recovery to be found, the NY Yankees do have to make it into the post-season – and with many now looking forward to the future of baseball much of what we are seeing could become a more permanent change. Many of the rules that have been mulled over for years could now start to come into question and potentially see change, including the extension of the designated hitter rule, three batter minimum rule for relief pitchers, and extra innings rules – even changes such as the 16-team-postseason is rumoured to remain moving forward and drawing out any winner of the world series over the course of an additional few weeks – whilst this may be good for profits as more games equals more sales, fans are seemingly unhappy with the change and could see these potentially bolstered businesses in these tough times face yet another challenge as they try to push further interest in to an extended post-season. It has certainly been an interesting few months, but the excitement or frustration is seemingly far from over.
