The Diamond Revolution: The Prospects for Baseball after the Collapse of Its Ruling Class
Sports - New York, New York, United States
The Diamond Revolution: The Prospects for Baseball after the Collapse of Its Ruling Class Employees
The Diamond Revolution: The Prospects for Baseball after the Collapse of Its Ruling Class Details
Author: Neil J. SullivanProfessor, Baruch College, School of Public and International AffairsWhile baseball is played much the same as it was in the past, behind the scenes a revolution has transformed the sport. Once an all-white game performed before local audiences in cities of the north and midwest and controlled by an old guard of owners who held players in feudal bondage, baseball today is an international affair, fueled by beer and television revenues, where players enjoy free agency's lucrative bounty.In The Diamond Revolution, Neil Sullivan examines the fall of baseball's ruling class and the rise of its new order. With a scholar's expertise and a fan's passion, Sullivan illuminates the key areas of change and what they mean for the future of baseball. Along the way he raises provocative issues, such as:- How baseball's racist policies helped maintain the famous team dynasties- The El Dorado option: how owners use the threat of franchise movement to win huge taxpayer-funded concessions- Free agency and arbitration: the twin demons the owners brought upon themselves- Beer and baseball: the game's golden goose and the movement that might kill itThese and dozens of other topics reveal the side of baseball that most fans never see - a field of play where the stakes are not just games but the future of the sport itself.Neil J. Sullivan is Professor of Public Administration at Baruch College, City University of New York. His previous books are The Minors (St. Martin's Press), the history of baseball's minor leagues, and The Dodgers Move West (Oxford University Press), a study of the Dodgers' move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
