Don't Buy the Tanking Arguments Whole Cloth
It’s the off-season again, and we are heading into the Major League’s Winter Meetings. Not surprisingly, there are rumblings of “tanking” being heard across the land, and proposals on how to combat this evil. But before falling for the arguments and the proposals, consider the true source of the accusations. Are teams really risking their box office draw by being bad? Or is “tanking” just the latest ruse meant to benefit marginal players reaching free agency years. Free agency is a ticket many players see to greater wealth. A player spends a few years under the control of their team. Then, once they have a track record of being a consistent major league player, the door is open to negotiate multi-million dollar contracts. And of course the representatives of the players, the agents who negotiate their contracts, like this arrangement, as they get a cut of their employees’ pay. Financially, then, there is an incentive among e...