As every American knows our nations favorite pastime is also big business. The last fifteen years have been exceptionally good to the business of baseballwith the growth in fan attendance the spread of cable television the burgeoning interest in cards and other baseball memorabilia the historical appreciation of franchise values the emergence of a powerful players union and average salaries that are almost twenty times their pre1976 levels. Yet at this time of prosperity major economic issues trouble the sport the threat of franchise relocation the continual flash points in collective bargaining the growing commercialization of the game the club owners collusive response to free agency lingering concerns of race discrimination and the arguably tenuous link between player pay and performance.