As we celebrate Opening Day, I can't help but wonder why Congress seems so determined to challenge the insurance industry's limited federal antitrust exemption, yet appears content to let Major League Baseball restrict competition in our national pastime in far more fundamental and damaging ways.
The insurance antitrust exemption allows carriers to share data for purposes of more accurate underwriting and pricing of risks, to more effectively investigate potential fraud, and to create standard policy documents–all to the ultimate benefit of consumers.
Contrary to popular belief, however, It does not permit insurers to collude, fix prices or conspire to deny coverage or claims payments. And it certainly does not allow carriers to claim markets as their own private fiefdoms.
Yet that is exactly what Major League Baseball is permitted to do. Indeed, because of baseball's antitrust exemption, I am only permitted to watch a low minor league team play in Brooklyn (my beloved Cyclones, a New York Mets farm club, in a stadium on the old Coney Island Steeplechase Park grounds). That's because under the exemption, baseball is allowed to grant exclusive territorial franchises, which means the Mets and Yankees can keep out any other major league club, as well as any minor league team affiliated with the majors, unless they sign off. (The Cyclones are a Mets farm team, in the same league as the Yankees' Staten Island club.)
Without that franchise system, don't you think the Pittsburgh Pirates, or perhaps the Kansas City Royals might gladly move to Brooklyn, with millions of baseball fans to draw from? But they can't because the Yankees and Mets OWN the territory.
The antitrust exemption also allows teams to draft American players, who can then only play for that club's system unless they want to wait a year and re-enter the draft. And once they sign, they are locked into that club for years until they can be a free agent.
Could you imagine if the insurance industry pulled that? If an insurer in Idaho was permitted to draft an underwriter out of the College Of Insurance (now part of St. John's University), and if that underwriter didn't choose to sign, he or she would be out of luck and unable to work in their chosen field?
Baseball defends the exemption by contending that it helps franchises survive, and makes sure that less populated areas and smaller media markets can get major league teams.
So, I say, either leave both industries alone, with the understanding that the antitrust exemptions do far more good than harm, or revoke baseball's immunity first. The so-called Lords of Baseball have had it coming for a long time.
As for baseball itself, my favorite sport, here are my picks for the coming season. What's yours?
NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: L.A. Dodgers
Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies
AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
AL West: Oakland A's
Wild Card: Cleveland Indians
That's right! Not only will the Yankees not win the division with their shaky rotation–they won't even make the playoffs for the first time in a dozen years! Boss George will have a fit!!
NL Playoffs:
Mets Beat L.A.
Cubs Beat Philly
Mets Beat Cubs
AL Playoffs:
Red Sox Beat Indians
Twins Beat A's
Red Sox Beat Twins
World Series:
Mets Beat Red Sox In Seven Games on a walkoff homer (inside the park) by Jose Reyes!
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
