The country as a whole is about to get a crash course in why sports are important, even amid the coronavirus pandemic. And spoiler: It’s money.
The idea that baseball, or any professional sport, is a business is said almost exclusively with derision. As an explanation for owner greed when Mookie Betts is traded or broadcast opportunities when an expanded playoff structure is floated. It explains why minor-league players are paid so little and also, frankly, why stars in the bigs are paid so much.
Baseball is not a public institution but a corporate one.