The Continental League
The Continental League

Author: Russell D. Buhite

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 0803273827

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Long before there was Moneyball, a group of investors led by baseball legend Branch Rickey proposed a new economic model for baseball. Based on an innovative approach to evaluating and developing talent, the Continental League was the last serious attempt to form a third Major League. The league’s brief history affords a glimpse of any number of missed chances for America’s game. As one of the original Continental Leaguers, historian Russell D. Buhite is—literally—talking “inside baseball” when he describes what happened in 1959 and 1960. Part memoir, part history, his account of the origin, development, and eventual undoing of the Continental League explores the organization’s collective corporate structure as well as its significant role in building a thriving Minor League and forcing expansion on Major League Baseball. Buhite captures a lost era in baseball history and examines its lasting impact on the game.

Baseball's New Frontier
Baseball's New Frontier

Author: Fran Zimniuch

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2018-08-01

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 1496210042

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When Major League Baseball first expanded in 1961 with the addition of the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators, it started a trend that saw the number of franchises almost double, from sixteen to thirty, while baseball attendance grew by 44 percent. The story behind this staggering growth, told for the first time in Baseball’s New Frontier, is full of twists and unexpected turns, intrigue, and, in some instances, treachery. From the desertion of New York by the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants to the ever-present threat of antitrust legislation, from the backroom deals and the political posturing to the impact of the upstart Continental League, the book takes readers behind the scenes and into baseball’s decision-making process. Fran Zimniuch gives a lively team-by-team chronicle of how the franchises were awarded, how existing teams protected their players, and what the new teams’ winning (or losing) strategies were. With its account of great players, notable characters, and the changing fortunes of teams over the years, the book supplies a vital chapter in the history of Major League Baseball.

In Pursuit of Pennants
In Pursuit of Pennants

Author: Mark Armour

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

Published: 2018-04-01

Total Pages: 526

ISBN-13: 1496206010

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The 1936 Yankees, the 1963 Dodgers, the 1975 Reds, the 2010 Giants—why do some baseball teams win while others don’t? General managers and fans alike have pondered this most important of baseball questions. The Moneyball strategy is not the first example of how new ideas and innovative management have transformed the way teams are assembled. In Pursuit of Pennants examines and analyzes a number of compelling, winning baseball teams over the past hundred-plus years, focusing on their decision making and how they assembled their championship teams. Whether through scouting, integration, instruction, expansion, free agency, or modernizing their management structure, each winning team and each era had its own version of Moneyball, where front office decisions often made the difference. Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt show how these teams succeeded and how they relied on talent both on the field and in the front office. While there is no recipe for guaranteed success in a competitive, ever-changing environment, these teams demonstrate how creatively thinking about one’s circumstances can often lead to a competitive advantage.

The Continental League
The Continental League

Author: Russell D. Buhite

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 0803271905

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"The history of the Continental League, the last serious attempt to start a third major league"--

Late Innings
Late Innings

Author: Dean A. Sullivan

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780803292857

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The third volume in this exciting, well-researched history of America's pastime retraces some of the most important people and events in the game, from Jackie Robinson's shattering of the race barrier to the labor unrest of the 1970s.

Major Leagues
Major Leagues

Author: David Pietrusza

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2005-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780786425303

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New major leagues have sprung up throughout the history of baseball, both long-term successes (the American and National leagues) and the transitory, of which the Federal League (1914-15) and the Mexican League (1946) were two. Some leagues were born of noble motives (the Union Association, 1884, to abolish the reserve clause); others, farcical (the Global League, 1969). And many were stillborn, never playing that first inning (such as the Continental League, 1959-60). Here is their history and an analysis of the conditions that determined success or failure.

The Integration of the Pacific Coast League
The Integration of the Pacific Coast League

Author: Amy Essington

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2018-06-01

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 0803285736

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"An account of the desegregation of baseball's Pacific Coast League, the first American League of any sport to desegregate all of its teams"--

May the Best Team Win
May the Best Team Win

Author: Andrew Zimbalist

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2010-12-01

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780815719403

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The business of baseball stands in sharp contrast to the game’s wholesome image as America’s favorite pastime. Major league baseball is a deeply troubled industry, facing chronic problems that threaten its future: persistent labor tensions, competitive dominance by high-revenue teams, migration of game telecasts to cable, and escalating ticket prices. Amid the threat of contraction, existing franchises are demanding public subsidies for new stadiums, while viable host cities are begging for teams. The game’s core base of fans is aging, and MLB is doing precious little to attract a younger audience. According to Andrew Zimbalist, these problems have a common cause: monopoly. Since 1922 MLB has benefited from a presumed exemption from the nation’s antitrust laws. It is the only top-level professional baseball league in the country, and each of its teams is assigned an exclusive territory. Monopolies have market power, which they use to derive higher returns, misallocate resources, and take advantage of consumers. Major league baseball is no exception. In May the Best Team Win, Zimbalist provides a critical analysis of the baseball industry, focusing on the abuses and inefficiencies that have plagued the game since the 1990s, when franchise owners appointed their colleague Bud Selig as MLB’s “independent” commissioner.

Hearings
Hearings

Author: United States. Congress Senate

Publisher:

Published: 1960

Total Pages: 2402

ISBN-13:

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The Big Leagues Go to Washington
The Big Leagues Go to Washington

Author: David George Surdam

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2015-04-15

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0252097122

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Between 1951 and 1989, Congress held a series of hearings to investigate the antitrust aspects of professional sports leagues. Among the concerns: ownership control of players, restrictions on new franchises, territorial protection, and other cartel-like behaviors. In The Big Leagues Go to Washington, David Surdam chronicles the key issues that arose during the hearings and the ways opposing sides used economic data and theory to define what was right, what was feasible, and what was advantageous to one party or another. As Surdam shows, the hearings affected matters as fundamental to the modern game as broadcasting rights, player drafts and unions, league mergers, and the dominance of the New York Yankees. He also charts how lawmakers from the West and South pressed for the relocation of ailing franchises to their states and the ways savvy owners dodged congressional interference when they could and adapted to it when necessary.