National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer

by Stefan Szymanski, Andrew Zimbalist

This is the story of two great sports. One is "America's game," while the other is "the world's game." Baseball and soccer are both beloved cultural institutions. What draws fans to one game is often a mystery to fans of the other. Despite superficial differences, however, the business and culture of these sports share more in common than meets the eye. This is the first in-depth, cross-cultural comparison of these two great pastimes and the megabusinesses that they have become. In National Pastime, Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist illustrate how the different traditions of each sport have generated different possibilities for their commercial organization and exploitation. They pay special attention to the rich and complex evolution of baseball from its beginnings in America, and they trace modern soccer from its foundation in England through its subsequent expansion across the world. They illustrate how Victorian administrators laid the foundation for Major League Baseball (MLB) and soccer leagues such as the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A, and the European Champions League. The authors show how the organizers of baseball and soccer have learned from each other in the past and how they can continue to do so. Both sports are rich in tradition. In some cases, however, these traditions --often arbitrary rules established by long-defunct administrators --have obstructed the healthy development of the sport. By studying the experiences of other sports, it might be possible to develop new and better ways to operate. For example, soccer might benefit from greater cooperation among teams as in baseball. On the other hand, MLB could learn from soccer's relegation rules and more open system of ownership, thus avoiding some of the excesses (competitive imbalance, uneven team resources) associated with monopoly. National Pastime does not advocate the jettisoning of all tradition to adopt wholesale the approach of another sport, of course. In an era of globalization, where business interests are increasingly looking to transplant organizational ideas in order to maximize profits, the authors argue that fan-friendly reforms may be necessary in order to avoid something worse. Ultimately, they propose no simple solutions, instead suggesting specific reforms to the organization of baseball and soccer, drawing on each other's experiences. Lively and accessibly written, this book is essential reading for business analysts, journalists, policymakers, and managers of both sports. Most of all, however, it will appeal to baseball and soccer aficionados, whether they root for the New York Yankees, Manchester United, or Real Madrid.

Genres: Sports, Soccer, Baseball, Football, Nonfiction, Economics

285 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Professor of Sport Management at the University of Michigan. I am an economist whose research is focused on the business and economics of sports, as well as their culture and history. I write books to reach a wider audience than is feasible through the peer-reviewed academic papers that have been the mainstay of my career. I also write occasionally for the Soccernomics blog and tweet from time to time from @ssz.

(source: Amazon)

Reviews

[TG Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

我一直沒在中文書市上見到這類以經濟與歷史來析職業運動的作品，因此便將這本九年前曾經讀過的書，再從圖書館借來看一次。大體的想法還是一樣︰這部書寫得很凌亂，比較像是兩位熱血球迷兼經濟學家的雜談。不過在這次二刷後，還是有些體悟︰
　
1. 關於職業運動的競爭，與我們熟悉的傳統生意有很大的不同。一般做生意的通則，打倒競爭對手、獲得獨占利益，是經營者最希望達成的目標。但職業運動，如果某支強隊將所有弱隊給「消滅」掉，那麼這支強隊根本找不到比賽對手（或者勝負在賽前早就因實力差距而可以預測），那麼球迷根本不會有任何興趣觀賽，整個職業運動也就無以繼一起消沈了。這也是為何美國職棒大聯盟可以一直避開被政府「反壟斷」這把大刀開鋤的原因。
　
2. 現代規則的足球和棒球，分別是十九世紀由英國和美國所發源的，也反映出這兩個國家的民族文化性。大英帝國時代，全球處處都有殖民地，因而當足球成為英國風行的運動後，很快便因為其母國的而普及至全球性的規模。美國將英國板球改良成棒球的年代，美國仍是局限於北美大陸的一個新國度，即使有幾位商業大亨有興推廣，最後也因為國內誘因充足而無心向外推廣。所以直到今天，棒球的世界普及性仍然遠遠跟不上足球，乃至於列為奧運比賽一直都是會員國之間的嚴重爭議。
　
3. 職業運動的商業化，都是這兩項運動開始蓬勃發展時的爭議。美國人很老實，當棒球職業化之後，便老實地拋棄紳士的高尚外衣，並由幾個大亨之間的商業抗鬥，發展出不折不扣的排他性壟斷聯盟性質「以賺大錢為目的」的生意方式。英國人呢，在商業風不可避免地吹入之後，仍然抱持著保守的良知，讓職業足球維持任何新球隊都能加入的「開放」態度，而以球隊的「升降級」制度來促成其競爭性。但這樣一來的情況，是足球場內的比賽一般都比棒球場「精彩」，而球隊獲利則是棒球隊老闆的荷包永遠比足球隊老闆來得滿。（但很吊詭的是，美國運動球員制服一向很「乾淨」，不像足球選手衣服上一直都掛滿商業廣告的補丁……）
　
這本書的原書名是《National Pastime》。在這一百年來的全球人民生活史中，Pastime（休閒時間）的內容，可以說是衡量該地區人民現代化與富足程度的重要指標之一。對於不處於戰亂或饑荒的社會（也就是避開生存危機的條件下），我覺得只有將人民生活的內容給列入觀察，比專注在幾隻統治菁英之間的鬥爭愛恨，更能反映該國的情況。

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read 17 years after it was written.

[Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

SOCCER SUCKS!!! Not really. A comparative economic history of baseball and soccer. Szymanski and Zimbalist's thesis is the soccer spread via the British's imperial reach while baseball didn't because American economic hegeomony did not set in until soccer had become firmly rooted around the world. Furthermore, baseball teams were monopolistic corporations that harbored no desire to expand, while soccer clubs were more like the YMCA.

The major take-home was that I should do everything to enjoy the national pastime while keeping my wallet away from Major League Baseball. Baseball won exemption from anti-trust laws, extorted taxpayer dollars to build municipal stadiums (especially under Selig), and legally cooked their books in order to tell Congress that they're not profitable.

Most chapters did not have in-depth economic analysis in the body of the book. A lot of economic terminology was in the footnotes. Bummer for me.

There also was not a lot about international baseball, which I would have liked. It's because their thesis is that baseball didn't spread globally.

I also learned a lot about soccer I didn't know before. And a lot about baseball history, with many interesting facts, like that cricket aficionados in the UK were fans of Babe Ruth.

Overall, glad I read it.

[Kirk Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at how baseball became the USA's favorite sport while at the same time soccer became the UK's- then later the world's- most popular. More than just history though the authors do a wonderful explaining the cultural forces at play and the economics the sports' growth- particularly a globalizing world. I'm particularly struck by their analysis and predictions for the future. If you are interested in how sports are followed worldwide you'd be hard-pressed to find a better book on the subject than this.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to like this book a lot, but I really didn't click with it. It is, however, a well written piece. Perhaps the issue is that it reads like the longest, most involved and well researched comparison/contrast essay ever!

At any rate, thei book does give some good insight into the issue. Not the best book, but worth looking at.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides]

I may or may not have actually read this.

[Chris J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, scholarly work on global sports that could pass beyond academia into the general public.