Business Lessons From Baseball...more specifically the Dodgers....

I have been watching and reading the past two days, with a great sadness, what has transpired with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Many of you know, I am a huge fan of Baseball.  I love to just sit and watch it. Darcy gets annoyed with me because I don't like to talk when I am watching baseball; I just want to watch the game unfold. <Darcy interjecting: I don't get annoyed, just bored. ;)>

I love almost everything about Baseball (except the tobacco spit). I love watching the way the shortstop and second basemen position themselves when there are runners on base, the way the third baseman cheats in when he thinks the batter is going to lay down a bunt, where the batter stands in the batter's box.  Okay, I could go on and on, to me this is fascinating.  I understand that this bores some people, not me, but some.

So it saddened me that the proud Dodgers were taken over by Major League Baseball and the team is in financial trouble.  I will admit, I am a fan convert when it comes to the Dodgers, Darcy is a lifelong Dodger fan.  I grew up dreaming of playing for the Big Red Machine, but I couldn't hit a real good curve ball, so that went by the wayside.  The Dodgers did a lot of things right historically, for Heaven's sake, they had the courage to integrate Baseball with Jackie Robinson!

It amazes me that a franchise like this could be in that much trouble financially!  I am not an expert, but from what I have seen there have been things that have not been done well for awhile and there are lessons that we alll can learn from these problems.

1. Don't overspend, even if it is a lifelong dream!  In this day and age, I think that we have all learned, don't spend what you don't have!

2. Invest in your business, from the stories coming out in the news, this is the main reason that Major League Baseball is stepping in, the lack of reinvestment in the business.(See #4 below)

3. You need to remember who pays the bills, apparently, from what I have read, attendance is down at Dodger Games.  Without fans (clients), everyone goes out of business.

4. Live up to expectations, remember it was only 4 Seasons ago that the Dodgers were in the midst of the Manny histeria and a deep playoff run, eventually losing to the Phillies in the NLCS.  Many people thought that they were just a pitcher away from a World Series run, but they lost Derek Lowe and Randy Wolfe, and have never been the same.  Remember it is all perception to the fans, they see losing pitchers instead of adding ones.(See #3 above)

5. Protect your assets, the fans have to feel safe at the game.  Your clients have to feel safe with you as well.  I am not sure where the lapse in security was that allowed a man to be beaten nearly to death for being a Giant fan, but whatever the reason, it is unacceptable!

6. Love what you do, especially if you have that much invested in it!  To me, owning a Major League Team would be the absolute coolest gig ever!  It would be like going to Disneyland everyday instead of going to work!  I have seen interviews with the owners and never got that vibe as I have watched them.  Maybe it's me and I just don't see it.  They may love what they're doing, I don't know.  I do know that if it were me, my face would hurt from smiling!

I am not an expert on what is going on, these are just my observations as a fan gathered from the media reports that I have seen and read.

Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona, it was the only baseball picture I have.  I need to get out more!