[editor's note, by wiggins] - From the desk of Craig.
Disclaimer: As some of you know, I reside in Texas. If the Marlins were to move to San Antonio, I probably wouldn't be able to see them on television and definitely not on MLB.TV or a cable "Extra Innings" broadcast since I am blocked from seeing any Texas team.
MLB allows teams to have an official regional monopoly for up to a 75 mile radius. But in truth it larger than that. I live in the Rangers area, though I live further than 75 miles away from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. If the Astros and Rangers are playing at the same time, I get the Rangers on Fox Sports. This wouldn't change with the Marlins moving to San Antonio.
I can't remember the last time I saw the Spurs on television, that wasn't a national broadcast or they were playing the Mavericks.
The Marlins moving to the Alamo City would be a complete screw job for me. I feel I should reveal that.
"It's pretty unbelievable that Texas is the second largest state in terms of population and that we have only two baseball teams," Hicks said. "California has five. I think eventually we will have another team. Whether this is the time or not, I'm not sure. If the voters in San Antonio support it, we certainly would, too."
It's true that Texas is the second populous state behind California. But California has 35-plus million while Texas has about 22.5 million residents. A closer comparison would be Texas to New York, which has 19-plus million. New York only has two teams. Granted a third could easily be supported if you include the Northern New Jersey corridor. But that has more to do with population densities than total population.
MLB is expected to rule on San Antonio's viability soon. The Marlins organization is concerned about the city's television market. San Antonio is 37th while the Miami area is 17th. The Marlins would lose about 800,000 TV-homes by making the move. Local television is a large part of a team's revenue.
The question most often asked of me while attending games at Minute Maid was: what do I think about the team moving to San Antonio?
My answer was always the same: I love San Antonio and they seem to be very enthusiastic, however, I don't see moving to potentially the smallest market in the Major Leagues solving the financial problems that exist. But that doesn't mean they won't move there.