Baseball and basketball

October is a relatively quiet sporting month on these shores – however this is far from the case across the pond and this month Inside Sport brings you up to date on two of America’s greatest loves; baseball and basketball. 

The Major League Baseball (MLB) season is closing in on an exciting finish, culminating in the World Series, while the National Basketball Association (NBA) season gets underway on 22nd October.

MLB

For those unfamiliar with MLB, it works in a very similar way to the other major American sports in that you have the initial league season, or ‘regular season’  as it’s referred to followed by the ‘postseason’ which lasts throughout October. The American and National Leagues are each separated into three geographical divisions; Central, East and West and each division contains five teams, making 30 teams in all. Incredibly, each team then plays 162 games during the regular season with six teams from each league qualifying for the post season play-off tournament. This determines who makes it through to the prestigious World Series, which is contested over seven games. 

Baseball players can command extremely lucrative financial contracts as they have some of the most well-paid media rights agreements. The top 30 players earn over $25 million (£19 million) per year and in 2023, Shohei Ohtani, formerly of the Los Angeles Angels, signed an astonishing $700 million (£525 million), 10-year contract with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, securing him $70 million (£50 million) a year, not bad for a bit of bat and ball.

Contenders

So, who are the contenders for glory in 2024? As we move into the post season stage it is one of the most wide-open championships in recent years, as there isn’t one outstanding team in the league. In fact, no team is on course to win 100 games, which will be the first time this has happened since 2014. The Dodgers were pre-season favourites; sporting a host of star players. Other teams leading their divisions in the final days of the regular season included the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers in the National League, and the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians in the American League.  

NBA

The 79th season of the National Basketball Association tips off with the opening night match-up when the defending champions, Boston Celtics, host the New York Knicks. Divided into two conferences, East and West, 30 teams will each play 82 games which will decide which 8 teams make it through from the regular season into the April playoffs. The Celtics 18th championship success last year made them the most successful team in NBA history, taking them clear of the Los Angeles Lakers who have been stuck on 17 since their last championship in 2020. 

San Francisco’s Golden State Warriors have dramatically improved – winning 4 championships in the last 9 years to move to a total of 7 and the Michael Jordan inspired Chicago Bulls claimed all of their 6 between 1991 & 1998. Jordan is regarded by many as being the greatest player of all time; however in recent years Lebron James has emerged as a real contender to be considered in that particular argument. ‘King James ‘as he is affectionately known may only have four championship rings compared to Jordan’s six but the Los Angeles Lakers 6ft 9 powerhouse has now become the first player to reach over 40,000 points – in the process beating Jordan on average per game steals and assists. Whilst Lebron is now 39-year-old, he is showing no signs of ageing; however his Lakers team are 33-1 long-shots this season, although as we know, sport has an uncanny habit of throwing up such stories. 

As the end of an era approaches, the family name looks like it will live on as Lebron’s 19-year-old son Bronny signed for the Lakers in July on a four-year $7.9m (£5.9 m) contract, thus creating the NBA’s first father and son duo in history. On the same day, Lebron signed a two-year extension worth $101m (£76 m).

Contenders

The Celtics start the season as stand-out favourites to retain their title. Those seen as most likely to challenge include the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers in the East; and the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves in the West.

The Great Debate: Is Test cricket on its way out?

The first Test match, between England and Australia, took place in 1877. But with the massive popularity of the T20 format since its introduction in 2003, has the five-day game simply lost its edge?

YES

All sports need to adapt, move with the times, and be able to attract new fans / youngsters and the shorter one-day formats like T20 provide action-packed entertainment with a result within hours, compared to the possibility of a Test cricket draw after 5 long days.

Like it or not, sport is big business so the top players will want to play where they can earn the most lucrative contracts and currently the place to be is in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where the top ten players are on contracts earning them more than £1.5 million a year – nearly three times what you can earn playing Test cricket for England.

Attendances are plummeting, particularly if a Test match doesn’t involve England, Australia or India then the public are voting with their feet, coupled with the fact that the top players are choosing to play the one-day format then teams like South Africa and West Indies are ending up fielding fringe players. 

NO

Test cricket is regarded as the most prestigious and purest version of the game, so it will naturally find a way to survive. Its longer format provides a different challenge and skill-set for players to try and master, which the shorter over format simply cannot replicate. Can you seriously imagine cricket without the Ashes?

A survey in 2019 at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) revealed that 86% of global cricket fans prefer to watch Test matches – however, there are some people who believe that perhaps it should be modernised.

England captain Ben Stokes says, “Test cricket must become more exciting to survive” and has urged admin-

istrators to make Test cricket more attractive and exciting to ensure that the sport’s brightest talents aren’t lured away by more lucrative alternatives.

At the end of the day, surely the cricket authorities have the power to come together and adjust financing and rules for the benefit of all versions to exist in harmony?