00:00I just think we have to acknowledge
00:02that this is going to be a difficult winter
00:05and we're going to see baseball.
00:07We're not seeing spring training.
00:09We're not seeing April.
00:10We're not seeing May.
00:12I think we might have some pressure
00:15come around Memorial Day
00:16for these guys to get back.
00:19But as a baseball guy,
00:21I am sad.
00:23I'm angry.
00:23I'm frustrated to know
00:25that this is going to be the last day
00:27where we have four games on the schedule.
00:28Maybe all the way until 2028.
00:31We may miss an entire year of baseball.
00:34And there are so many things
00:36that come around the sport
00:37that impact the ballparks,
00:40the businesses around the ballpark,
00:42the people that cover the team,
00:44the people that broadcast the games.
00:46Like there's just so many jobs
00:48that are the shoulder jobs
00:50to Major League Baseball
00:52that, yeah, the players on the field,
00:54that's what matters.
00:55And the owners, yes, they own
00:57and they pay the players,
00:58but there is so much
00:59there's so much business
01:00that's done around the ballpark
01:03and around the games
01:04that if you just go ahead and say,
01:05OK, we're not going to play
01:06because we can't get together
01:09on a contract
01:10for the future of the game,
01:12that's extremely frustrating.
01:15And I think that's where
01:16the average fan
01:17turns their back on baseball.
01:19And I think if you ask
01:20most people right now,
01:21they truly believe that baseball
01:23is not going to be played
01:25in 2027.
01:27And I think that really
01:28is impacting people's ability
01:30to enjoy the playoffs
01:31because they feel like
01:32this game is going away.
01:34So why should I give you my time?
01:36Billionaires are going to fight
01:38with millionaires
01:38and we're not going to get
01:39baseball next year.
01:41So why should I spend my time?
01:42The White Sox,
01:44because of their history,
01:46and they haven't been
01:46in the playoffs in forever,
01:48and today could make history
01:50for the first time since 1906,
01:51like we talked about
01:52about winning a series.
01:53Chicago is all in.
01:55The White Sox,
01:55either the Cub fan
01:56is hating on the White Sox
01:57or White Sox fans
01:58are going crazy.
01:59So Chicago is locked in.
02:01You've got a Padres team
02:03that got red hot
02:04in the second half of the year,
02:05and that's a franchise
02:06that plays in a city
02:08with only one team.
02:09There's nothing else
02:10in San Diego.
02:10So San Diego is all in on that.
02:13That's a market that's on fire.
02:14Same thing for the Brewers.
02:16The Brewers haven't won
02:17a championship
02:17and the Brewers are going to have
02:18a chance to get after it here.
02:20They're the number one seed
02:21and they fell short last year
02:22and they're going to maybe
02:23see the Dodgers again
02:24in the postseason,
02:25so that's got that market.
02:27But it's the non,
02:29it's the markets
02:30that are baseball markets
02:31that do not have a team in.
02:33The Boston markets,
02:35the Philadelphia markets,
02:36like these are the important markets
02:38that baseball needs,
02:39but there's a lot of frustration.
02:41There's a lot of anger right now
02:43towards Major League Baseball,
02:45and that I think causes people
02:47to not commit and not watch
02:49the same way that they should.
02:51So I'll be curious to see
02:54if it's the Rays and the White Sox
02:55in the American League
02:56Championship Series.
02:58What's the overall
03:00television attendance,
03:01television viewership
03:02going to look like?
03:03Because it feels like
03:04it would be zero.
03:05It feels like that's
03:06the worst case scenario.
03:08If the Rays get into
03:09the World Series
03:10up against the Brewers,
03:12a Brewers-Rays World Series,
03:14that's the other problem.
03:16What do you,
03:17if you're Major League Baseball,
03:18what are you looking at
03:18from a numbers perspective
03:20if that's the World Series?
03:21If it's the Dodgers
03:23against the Rays,
03:24you'll get some eyes.
03:25People will watch
03:26because one,
03:27it's the Dodgers,
03:27and two,
03:28people like the Rays,
03:29little engine they could.
03:30Let's see if they can knock off
03:31the two-time defending champs.
