Don't take the air out of the stimulus

Indeed, baseball learned that the hard way.

As the 1931 season dawned, Frank J. Navin, the acting American League president and the owner of the Detroit Tigers, saw no sign of the impending collapse.

“Former business depressions have not hurt baseball,” he told The Associated Press, “and I do not think the present depression will materially affect attendance this year.”

But the hard times did arrive, and quickly. Attendance fell 16 percent in 1931, driven not just by rising unemployment but also a decision by the owners to dampen the scoring boom by changing the rules for what constituted a home run and tinkering with the composition of Spalding’s baseballs.

Not a good idea. Nor was it a good idea to let Herbert Hoover attend Washington Senator games. I would suggest the Texas Rangers not make a similar mistake should one of their former owners arrive at the gate.

I don't think the current owners will do anything to dampen scoring (PED testing not withstanding) this time around.