Maybe, Just Maybe…

There are secret societies throughout our culture: you just have to know where to look. Some, like the Masons, cross cultures. Others, like the Skull and Bones of Yale, are culturally exclusive. Rumors abound to their habits, practices, and by-laws. Most of us know of these fraternal organizations, but very few of us know about their inner workings. An air of exclusivity casts a pall over what actually occurs at meetings, making them even more mysterious. It is an honor to be asked to join, and with membership, comes privilege. Much has been written and glorified in film about the Masons, and Skull and Bones.

Dan Brown has made a nice living off his written speculations regarding the Masons. The Skull and Bones was prominently featured in the Matt Damon film The Good Shepherd. The movie infers that the newly formed CIA was outfitted with Skull and Bones members. At one time, there was speculation that Skull and Bones were privy to who really killed John F. Kennedy. There is another fraternity that’s not so secret. However, what goes on within its ranks is as guarded as that of either the Masons or Skull and Bones. Who is this other clandestine organization? Why it’s Major League Baseball.

Please don’t be so naïve as to be surprised at this revelation. I have spent much of the last six years researching Major League Baseball on many levels, pertaining to many topics. One thing I have learned is that for nearly one hundred and fifty years, the powerbrokers of the sport only allow the public access to what’s “good” for the game; most recently, the Congressional hearings focusing on the abuse of steroids by players. The committee was only going to find out what the honchos at MLB wanted them to. For evidence, you need only look as far as the now infamous “list of 200,” the supposed “leaked” findings of players who had tested positive. This is not new behavior. It’s been going on for years.

As far back as the nineteenth century, owners, who were the only ones who did the regulating, often kept each other in the dark when it came to future plans for the sport. This blog does not allow me the space to cite each specific example, but I assure you there are many. One issue you may be aware of, is over ninety years of America’s courts denying that baseball was a business which protected the owners from anti-trust and monopoly laws. It was only until baseball was firmly entrenched as America’s Game, that the Supreme Court relented, and finally ruled against the owners, ushering an era of escalating player salaries and player freedom. When one entity can wield that kind of power, it may not shock you as to the “Dan Brown-like” supposition I will now set before you to consider.

The New York Yankees are, and over the course of time, the most successful sports franchise in the history of organized sports. Their success is not just measured in wins and losses, or their global popularity, but the Major League’s financial well being. The Yankees have won forty American League pennants, and twenty-six World Series Championships. The franchise winning percentage is .568. The Yankees since 1901, have won an astounding 2281 more games than they have lost.

The Yankees are so popular, that when Iraqi television aired the program Sport of the Week, ratings are highest when the Yankees are featured. Neighbors would gather around those fortunate enough to own TVs, just to catch a glimpse of this storied franchise.

For years, the Yankees have had the highest payroll in the Major Leagues. They are literally, “the best team money can buy.” This is not said with resentment, but with envy. I admire their success, though I am a staunch Mets fan. No matter what my personal feelings may be, I cannot deny that the Yankees are one of the finest teams assembled year in year out. It is for that reason alone I want to see them achieve their goals without their accomplishments being tainted.

Much has been written recently concerning the poor umpiring that has marred the American League Division Championship, the American League Championship Series, and now the World Series. Sure, a couple of calls have gone against the Yankees, but the majority have gone in their favor. Phil Cuzzi’s 11th inning “inexplicable game-changing miscall” of a hit that was hit by Twins catcher Joe Mauer, that was ruled foul, though no replay was needed to see it was fair. The Yankees went on to win the game. Would the Twins have won that game? No one will ever know. Had they won, would that game have served as the springboard for more wins? No one will ever know. The umpire made sure neither scenario would ever take place. The game changing bad calls continued in the American League Championship Series between The Yanks and the Los Angeles Angels.

The Angels did plenty to sabotage their chances to win the series. They didn’t need the umpires assuring the outcome. I personally witnessed two calls in one game that were such blatant examples of incompetency, coming on the heels of the series against the Twins, to question how legitimate was the umpiring? Both calls, as with the Mauer hit, did not require instant replay. Knowledge of the rules, and decent eyesight would suffice. Why was this happening on baseball’s biggest and most scrutinized stage? A light bulb came on. Major League Baseball needed the Yankees to win.

Major League Baseball finds itself in a very unfamiliar position, though they refuse to acknowledge it. Football is more popular than America’s Game. The reasons are too numerous to go into here. Attendance figures for the 2009 season dropped by 16% from 2008. Baseball will say it was the economy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the economy pretty putrid in 2008 as well? MLB bases attendance figures in both leagues on the total number of tickets sold, not the number of people who walk through the turnstiles. That figure was lower still. The television contract agreement for airing baseball games is coming to an end. New negotiations are in the works for a renewal. MLB is hoping for an increase. I have a newsflash. Network TV does not want to see all those empty seats behind home plate when games are aired. Those seats are not for “fans,” they are for corporate write-offs. Advertisers don’t want to spent mega-dollars when ratings are down. Their money dictates how much networks will pony up to MLB for broadcast rights. Network money is all that keeps many franchises afloat. If less people are watching, and less people are going, why does MLB think networks will pony up? Let’s take a look at what makes fiscal economic sense. Oh, that right, the Yankees do.

The networks did not want to see the Twins against the Angels. That would have been a ratings nightmare, the same for a Red Sox versus Twins League Championship Series. The Yankees are MLB’s ratings savior. Their fan base is global. As long as the Yankees advanced, hope remains for a new TV contract bonanza. The Yankees will get great ratings, they always have. It’s like death and taxes, it’s one of those things you can be sure of.

Is all this speculation plausible? No one will ever know. This kind of premise exceeds Watergate secrecy by a long shot. Woodward and Bernstein would never, ever, get to the bottom of it. Major League Baseball would make sure. If there ever was an inquiry, MLB would swear umpires are beyond reproach. If that didn’t pacify the masses, MLB could point to the human error element that makes baseball endearing. They’d point to all the other bad calls that altered baseball history as evidence to dismiss any claims of foul play. No pun intended. I can smell the bullshit now.

The Yankees didn’t need any unsolicited assistance. They play like a well oiled machine. I think the Yankees should win each and every game on their own. They don’t need help, they’re that good, and for this excellence they should be commended. I am not surprised no sports journalist has broached this hypothesis. I am quite sure if they did, their career would be over. MLB has that kind of influence.

Using instant replay will not change what goes on behind closed doors at the Major League Baseball offices. The system for assigning umpires may change, but that is for MLB to decide without input from anyone on “the outside.” MLB will not ever bend to anyone when it comes to saying what is best for their sport. What MLB will definitely admit to is that the New York Yankees are the best thing to ever happen to baseball. MLB used to rail against George Steinbrenner and his business practices. You don’t hear much criticism anymore. MLB knows who its cash cow is; they don’t have to pass it off as counterfeit.

So sit back and watch the rest of the World Series secure in the knowledge that everything is above board. Can the outfield be considered a “grassy knoll?”