By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
March 29, 2013
Another Major League Baseball season gets underway, as the Houston Astros join the American League, interleague play occurs every day, and the average franchise is valued at a record $744 million. Boosted by lucrative national and local TV contracts, franchise values increased a whopping 23% this offseason. The New York Yankees lead the way at $2.3 billion, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers at $1.6 billion and the Boston Red Sox at $1.3 billion.
As if the MLB’s financial future isn’t bright enough, the league is loaded with young, up-and-coming stars, helping make the game more marketable. At the top of the list are last season’s Rookies of the Year, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, just 21 and 20 years old, respectively. Both appear in MLB’s “I Play” ad campaign, which launched last week to coincide with Opening Day. Beyond just Trout and Harper, a total 14 MLB players made this year’s Bloomberg “Sportfolio” / Horrow Sports Ventures Power 100.
