The Initial Meeting
The year is 1985 and six unnamed individuals are meeting in a secret location. As baseball fans, issues are beginning to rise in the sport they love. Major League Baseball has become more of a business, and less of a national pastime. The owners of yesteryear have died or sold their teams, and the new owners are only interested in skimming the next dollar. The players are also more interested in making money than getting a ring. A potential labor negotiation breakdown looms.
The purpose of the meeting is to develop a direct competitor to Major League Baseball. The premise of the league is based on a few key points:
- Purity in baseball.
- Philanthropy.
- Fan focus.
- Respect of the game.
During the meeting, the six gentlemen determine that MLB is long past the point of fixing. Thus it is now necessary to create a new league. To succeed, the new league must cater to the key points right from the beginning.
Purity in baseball: MLB is rampant with rumors of significant drug use, steroid use is swirling throughout the league, and competitive balance is non-existent as even the MLB leadership prefers to see the big markets reach the pinnacle. Their ultimate goal is making more money for the league.
Fan focus: The fans walking into the stadiums will be seen as fans, not as dollar figures. Items sold inside the stadium will be reasonable and fair to families. Luxury Boxes will be banned in favor of adding more seating for fans. Sales to corporations will be limited, in favor of donating tickets to charities. Getting children and regular people into the ballpark, developing a loyal fan base versus selling out to the highest dollar will be the focus.
Despite having all the right ideas, the gentlemen present at the meeting determine the timing is not yet right to bring this league to the public. They agree to meet again in the future to see if their ideas still make sense and to see if the circumstances present a better opportunity to begin this new project.
