Opening Day 2011: Play Ball

It's Opening Day, and the baseball business is gearing up for another season that could be its richest ever

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

Through a baseball lens, this weekend's shocking NCAA Final Four matchup is something like the Minnesota Twins vs. the Texas Rangers, and the Marlins vs. the Pirates. It's the Pretty High Up Guys vs. the Been There Befores, and the Zero Chancers vs. the Wild Cards (with Butler playing the role of the unpredictable Marlins).

Conversely, with the average value of an MLB franchise reaching an all-time high in 2011, PED issues receding, and a more tranquil labor outlook than any other major sport on the horizon, is Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig stepping into the glass slipper of the forever-charmed Cinderella?

They Might be Giants: Franchise Valuations

In sports, no day is giddier than the start of baseball season, and in MLB, things have perhaps never been as giddy as this year. With the NFL locking out its players, and the NBA facing a similar threat this summer, MLB and its players association are preparing for the second round of collective bargaining negotiations. Baseball's CBA expires in December. The two sides expect regular negotiations to occur after the season begins—and they expect them to go smoothly.

The start of baseball season also brings new franchise valuations. The average MLB franchise value this year increased to an all-time high of $523 million, according to just-published annual rankings. The Texas Rangers, sold at auction last fall, jumped a MLB-best 25 percent in value, and all but three teams increased in value from last year.

For the 14th straight season, the New York Yankees are MLB's most valuable franchise, rising 6 percent in value, to $1.7 billion. Tellingly, the gap in 1998 between the Yankees and the No. 2 Baltimore Orioles was 12 percent. Today the Yankees are 86 percent more valuable than the No. 2 Boston Red Sox.

Total revenue for MLB's 30 teams increased 4 percent, to $6.1 billion, while operating income fell 5 percent, to $494 million, as rising facility, player, and marketing expenses eroded profits. In San Diego, the Padres ranked as baseball's most profitable team, with an operating income of $37 million (and a revenue-sharing check of more than $30 million).

It has been 89 years since the San Francisco Giants won back-to-back World Championships. That long stretch doesn't scare the nearly 7,000 new season-ticket holders who signed up this year, bringing the number of full-season tickets sold to more than 27,700. Last Thursday, the Giants launched their Premium On-Deck Wait List, which will give fans the opportunity to secure season tickets as they become available in a nonrefundable $500 per-seat deposit.