MLB vs. Forbes

[consigliere]

Ok, the Forbes financial info has come out. Always an interesting hot button topic as some live by it, and others question its credibility.

Here is the Forbes info:

http://www.forbes.com/sportsbusiness/20 ... intro.html

Take from that what you will.

Do not, that Doug Pappas did a nice piece on the MLB vs. Forbes thing like 6 years ago.....:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/ ... ppas.shtml

In 2001, baseball's books had to be opened because of contraction hearings. It is the ONLY accurate data on the books we know. When you look at the side-by-side comparison between MLBs 2001 numbers and Forbes 2001 numbers, I have to question Forbes some.

Just too much of a disparity. For example, baseball said the Mets LOST over $7M in 2001.....Forbes said they MADE over $14M. Baseball said the Dodgers lost $54M, Forbes says they lost $30M. Baseball says the Braves lost $25M, Forbes says they made $10M....etc.

Use these tools to evaluate the data, but I wouldn't hang my hat on what MLB says or Forbes for that matter.

[swerb]

Three of the four most profitable teams in MLB ...

1. Florida Marlins
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Cleveland Indians

[consigliere]

Three of the four most profitable teams in MLB ...

1. Florida Marlins
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Cleveland Indians

And the least profitable: Yankees.

Huge red flags all around.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Yankees are the least profitable and yet they're worth the most? Yeah, right. They might be in the largest market and have a huge fanbase, but if they're not very profitable then you don't pay out $1.2Billion to buy them. At least not based on any business model I've seen.

Sorry, but I'm 100% positive that the Devil Rays didn't make $20Million last year. I'd guess that it was more in the $6M range.

Forbes doesn't show us their numbers. They don't show us their methodology. They likely have no idea how much was spent on the farm system outside of bonuses paid to draft picks and who knows how well they account for all that. They have no idea how much debt is being carried nor do they know what the numbers for any contracts between the team and a third party are.

One thing is for sure, Forbes is so full of shit that you should put on boots before reading their baseball business summaries - unless you like brown, squishy, smelly stuff oozing between your toes.