Preference for a National Pastime: An Examination of Baseball's Antitrust Exemption, Its Destruction of Healthy Competition, and the Inherent Need for a Competitive Market
             Over the past century, baseball has become affectionately known as the "National Pastime" in the United States. As this title connotes, baseball is more than just a sport or a form of entertainment. It is a phenomenon that grasps a nation's heart and unites its citizens under a common threshold. Thus, one would assume that the main goal of a Major League Baseball organization would necessarily reflect this commitment to the betterment of the American public. However, baseball remains to be a business, and as a business it often misconstrues its organizational objectives. Considering baseball from its production side, one witnesses the unfortunate divide between maximizing an organization's profits and providing a public good to the American people. Presently, it seems that Major League Baseball has decided to pursue individual profit maximization at the expense of society's well being. The primary contribution to this approach is the antitrust exemption that baseball has received from the Supreme Court. Through this legislation, the existing baseball leagues are able to establish a monopoly in this market of athletic entertainment. In doing so, Major League Baseball has eliminated the possibility for rival league competition and the inherent benefits that this competitive market would provide its consumers. The inefficiencies that accompany baseball's antitrust exemption can only be resolved through the elimination of this legislation and the subsequent establishment of a competitive industry.
             Antitrust legislation began in the United States in 1890 in the form of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The main goal of antitrust legislation is to encourage organizations to establish a competitive market that would efficiently provide consumers with premium products or ser...