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Health & Fitness

Money Ball

Major League Baseball or Rip-off?

Having recently watched "Moneyball," the story of Bill Beane's reinvention of methods of assessing baseball players, I was impressed by how he matched the successes of teams with payrolls three times that of the Oakland Athletics. The A's recent lack of success is caused by other teams adopting his methods of assessing talent.

After my about the 49er projected ticket prices and seat licenses, it seems only fair to pounce on our beloved Giants, who just signed Tim Lincecum to a two-year, $40 million contract.

Based on last year's record, projected to this coming year, Timmy would be paid over $960,000 for each of his 13 wins, but also over $1 million for each of his 14 losses.

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How does that affect me? It means that I and all the other attendees get to shoulder these costs, along with those of other player contracts, management, public relations and ownership costs and profits.

If I was interested in a Saturday game in April at At&T, given differential pricing (higher costs for better opponents), the cheapest assigned seat (upper deck, edge of the Bay in left field) is a $34 bite (without the oxygen mask included). If Tim pitched, I'd have to watch the replays at home on the 11:00 news to see the pitches.

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It's a reminder to me, and perhaps others, that obscene contract costs given by insulated ownership hit the average fan. I realize that the Yankees have a $200 million payroll, and the Giants one of perhaps $130 million and that there are television revenues, but isn't there also a tipping point where Joe Q. Fan says "Enough?"

It may well be time to return to watching high school baseball at , where the fielding may not be as crisp, but playing for the intrinsic value of the game is greater.

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