Interesting article on pro sports, particularly baseball, as entertainment and not just a competition. Cubs' management probably thought long and hard about the impact of losing their top "entertainer", Sammy "Me Me" Sosa, on ticket sales before trading him. Or maybe not, since Wrigley Field seems to have cult status now, and it would take a few solid years of pathetic losing by the Cubs (not that that has ever happened!) before attendance is significantly affected.

Anyhow, the article looks at Jose Canseco's take on how the fans "want" the players to take steroids - so that they can see more home runs.

And like a logician, he takes his philosophy to its inevitable conclusion. Baseball is not a contest or competition between two teams—the traditional understanding. Instead, "[Baseball] needs to remember that this is a game about individual athletes … . It needs to encourage players to turn themselves into entertainers, and look for new players who are born that way. And the teams have to learn how to market their players that way—the same way pro wrestling does" [ital added].
I have to hand Canseco one thing: His idea is absurd, but his logic is flawless. When sport becomes primarily about entertainment, every sport becomes a version of pro wrestling.

Well, at least baseball players don't smash each other on their heads with bats (yet?). Perhaps we should look at the owner's incentives: do they maximize their profit by winning a championship or finding a way other than a title to put fans in the seats (and watching on cable)? A "colorful" player, if managed properly, can draw much more interest to a losing team.

Unfortunately, the freak show takes away from the game and its tradition. If owners truly have their heart in perpetuating America's pasttime, then they need to get away from the entertainment and maximize competition.