On this special Boxing Day edition, I’d like to take a look at a few things… really just once again to beat that dead horse and drive that point home that:

1. Bud Selig doesn’t have a clue
2. MLB is constantly trying to screw over its loyal fans

To begin, I have to start by reminding all of you that this year, once again, MLB tried to take control over all players’ names and statistics so that all sites with fantasy baseball would have to pay a licensing fee to use the names and numbers. But, if the sites have to pay, you damn well know that cost is getting passed onto you and me. Not only that, but if we had to pay for each fantasy team rather than the free options on Yahoo!, CBS Sports, and ESPN.com, how many millions of casual players might drop out?

The real problem is that MLB fails to see the direct connection between fantasy baseball and game attendance. See, according to a report from the New York Times, despite the Mitchell Report, ticket sales are up and looking to surpass the new record for attendance set in 2007: 79.5 million butts in seats. In fact, the average growth rate in MLB attendance has been 4% over the past few years… but Major League Baseball and the media seem not to know why.

Here’s the funny part. According to a 2006 FSTA press release, fantasy sports have grown at a slightly higher rate - around 7-10% - and 60% of fantasy baseball ‘players’ attend at least one game compared to 12% of others. In addition, “55% of fantasy sport players report watching more sport television since they started playing fantasy sports”.

So here’s the “no duh” conclusion that seems to be eluding Major League Baseball and paid journalists: giving away stats for free is a multi-million dollar enterprise which pokes its little head out in the form of increased ticket sales, higher television ratings (and thus more ad revenue), and in general a more dedicated fan base. If licensing fees are preferable to that, then I probably should have flunked out of business school.

Its really just sad how somehow MLB and the media have completely passed over the popularity of fantasy baseball as a possible explanation of how baseball rebounded and has seen such good growth in terms of attendance over the past 4-5 years; not to mention the debacle that was the 1994 strike. Instead the story has already been written; it was only steroids and homeruns that saved baseball, right?

I mean, I know the traditional media thinks all fantasy players are 48 year old dudes living in their parents basements (bloggers too for the most part), but they’re not, and it would behoove both the mainstream media, and Major League Baseball, to finally solve this great “mystery”; if for no other reason than to actually appear to be the professionals they claim to be.

Now I know the spirit of Boxing Day has nothing to do with pugilism, but when you come to a site called Seal Clubbers, holiday or not you have to at least a few jabs here and there. Happy holidays folks.