--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And then came the nineties, when…" description: "\"And then came the nineties, when management, suddenly frightened that they had ceded control to the players, sought to restore baseball's profitability..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/john-thorn-14783_baseball_and-then-came-the-nineties-when-manageme_1700531.png" --- # And then came the nineties, when management, suddenly… ![“And then came the nineties, when management, suddenly frightened that they had ceded control to the players, sought to restore baseball's profitability by 'running the game like a business.'” quote by John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/john-thorn-14783_baseball_and-then-came-the-nineties-when-manageme_1700531.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/john-thorn-14783_baseball_and-then-came-the-nineties-when-manageme_1700531.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/john-thorn-14783_baseball_and-then-came-the-nineties-when-manageme_1700531.png) > “And then came the nineties, when management, suddenly frightened that they had ceded control to the players, sought to restore baseball's profitability by 'running the game like a business.'” [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Managers feared losing control, so they treated baseball like a business to boost profits. **In simple terms:** Management turned sport into business for profit. Key Takeaway Balance tradition with business efficiency. Themes control profit tradition Mood analytical critical Type historical commentary When to use this quote - team ownership - league negotiations - marketing strategies Key Concepts sports management organizational change Questions to Reflect On - Is profit more important than heritage? - How can tradition coexist with modern business? A Different Perspective Business focus can erode fan culture and sport spirit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseball/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) ## Related quotes > [What I like about Pochettino is the way that he looks in control. He is in control of his players, in control of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-scholes/what-i-like-about-pochettino-is-the-way-that-he-looks-in-control-he/) [Paul Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-scholes/) > [When evaluating the players, too little emphasis is placed on the individual. Reaction times are measured, stress situations are simulated, sleep behaviour is analysed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ballack/when-evaluating-the-players-too-little-emphasis-is-placed-on-the/) [Michael Ballack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ballack/) > [I like to be able to control which players I'm working with. Because it doesn't matter how good a coach you are if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-strachan/i-like-to-be-able-to-control-which-players-i-m-working-with-because/) [Gordon Strachan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-strachan/) > [You cannot control the market, you cannot control the players, you cannot control the clubs. You can try - but we have done our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-benitez/you-cannot-control-the-market-you-cannot-control-the-players-you/) [Rafael Benitez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-benitez/) > [Am I a control freak? No. Do I believe in organization? You bet. In discipline? In being on time and making sure everything at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-riley/am-i-a-control-freak-no-do-i-believe-in-organization-you-bet-in/) [Pat Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-riley/) > [Tear away fantasy football's fraternal facade and you discover it's built on megalomaniacal anarchy. Its subliminal message: Forget the team you've always rooted for.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skip-bayless/tear-away-fantasy-football-s-fraternal-facade-and-you-discover-it-s/) [Skip Bayless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skip-bayless/) > [Profitability is a shallow goal if it doesn't have a real purpose, and the purpose has to be share the profits with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/profitability-is-a-shallow-goal-if-it-doesn-t-have-a-real-purpose-and/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) > [The fact is, there's no single magic number that defines profitability for a game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-fils-aime/the-fact-is-there-s-no-single-magic-number-that-defines-profitability/) [Reggie Fils-Aime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-fils-aime/) > [The genius of the economic machine is in its ability to convert these indulgences into profitability. It converts desire into attention, a grip on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/the-genius-of-the-economic-machine-is-in-its-ability-to-convert-these/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [Companies should not have a singular view of profitability. There needs to be a balance between commerce and social responsibility... The companies that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/companies-should-not-have-a-singular-view-of-profitability-there/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) > [The success of the Starbucks has been based on this balance between profitability and a social conscience. Everywhere we're doing business, were trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/the-success-of-the-starbucks-has-been-based-on-this-balance-between/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I don't care about awards and public image. We know the business of entertainment. We worship our work, we worship our clients and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shailender-singh/i-don-t-care-about-awards-and-public-image-we-know-the-business-of/) [Shailender Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shailender-singh/) > [We set no volume goals in our insurance business generally-and certainly not in reinsurance-as virtually any volume can be achieved if profitability standards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/we-set-no-volume-goals-in-our-insurance-business-generally-and/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“Competition on dimensions other than price - on product features, support services, delivery time, or brand image, for instance - is less likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-porter/competition-on-dimensions-other-than-price-on-product-features/) [Michael E. Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-e-porter/) ## More by John Thorn > [In over 160 years of recorded baseball history, no team had ever won a championship this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/in-over-160-years-of-recorded-baseball-history-no-team-had-ever-won-a/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [One of the first lessons he or she learns is that in baseball anything, absolutely anything, can happen. Just two days ago as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/one-of-the-first-lessons-he-or-she-learns-is-that-in-baseball/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Life is more about losing than winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/life-is-more-about-losing-than-winning/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Why we play as children is not because it is our work or because it is how we learn, though both statements are true;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/why-we-play-as-children-is-not-because-it-is-our-work-or-because-it/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [We are fans because the game also appeals to our local pride, our pleasure in thinking of ourselves as, yes, Americans but nonetheless different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/we-are-fans-because-the-game-also-appeals-to-our-local-pride-our/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Pursuing employment or climatic relief, we live in voluntary exile from our extended families and our longer past, but in an involuntary exile from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/pursuing-employment-or-climatic-relief-we-live-in-voluntary-exile/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [There was much woe and lamentation in the seventies that the game was dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/there-was-much-woe-and-lamentation-in-the-seventies-that-the-game-was/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [The heroes of our youth grow old - 'the boys of summer in their ruin,' in Dylan Thomas's verse - yet we seem the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/the-heroes-of-our-youth-grow-old-the-boys-of-summer-in-their-ruin-in/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Finally, for all of us but a lucky few, the dream of playing big-time baseball is relinquished so we can get on with grown-up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/finally-for-all-of-us-but-a-lucky-few-the-dream-of-playing-big-time/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [If I haven't made myself clear, this worrisome chain of events describes the game of the nineteenth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/if-i-haven-t-made-myself-clear-this-worrisome-chain-of-events/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [My egotistical concern was less that I would fail to relate to my classmates than that they would know nothing of my uniquely tortured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/my-egotistical-concern-was-less-that-i-would-fail-to-relate-to-my/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [More fundamentally, it is a dream that does not die with the onset of manhood: the dream is to play endlessly, past the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/more-fundamentally-it-is-a-dream-that-does-not-die-with-the-onset-of/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Yes, we've seen it all before. And yes, those who do not study history are condemned to repeat it. But no, the sky is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/yes-we-ve-seen-it-all-before-and-yes-those-who-do-not-study-history/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [We know these men are professionals whose services are up for bid and whose bags are packed, and yet we call them our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/we-know-these-men-are-professionals-whose-services-are-up-for-bid-and/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [The National League was born the following year, as an attempt to exert the control of capital over labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/the-national-league-was-born-the-following-year-as-an-attempt-to/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) [Explore all 45 John Thorn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) ## More Baseball quotes > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. 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Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Pitchers pitch differently. Hitters, hardly anyone has the same stance. That's just how it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-zimmerman/pitchers-pitch-differently-hitters-hardly-anyone-has-the-same-stance/) [Ryan Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-zimmerman/) > [Five World Series rings, 3000-plus hits, the fame, the fortune and playing for the second most historic franchise in baseball... These are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mookie-betts/five-world-series-rings-3000-plus-hits-the-fame-the-fortune-and/) [Mookie Betts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mookie-betts/) > [I don't want the electronic strike zone. I like the element of sometimes pitches don't get called. Guys don't receive it well or whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/i-don-t-want-the-electronic-strike-zone-i-like-the-element-of/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) > [I sang the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium - at a baseball game - which was crazy; there was, like, 60,000 people there, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/i-sang-the-national-anthem-at-dodger-stadium-at-a-baseball-game-which/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [If I was going to make one rule change, I would bring the DH to the National League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brett/if-i-was-going-to-make-one-rule-change-i-would-bring-the-dh-to-the/) [George Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brett/) > [In all honesty, once you become a professional, number one, you're no longer a fan. I don't root for the Dodgers, really. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-scully/in-all-honesty-once-you-become-a-professional-number-one-you-re-no/) [Vin Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-scully/) > [I'll tell you what's helped me my entire life. I look at baseball as a game. It's something where people can go out, enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-caray/i-ll-tell-you-what-s-helped-me-my-entire-life-i-look-at-baseball-as-a/) [Harry Caray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-caray/) > [When I step into the batters box. The fans, the noise, the cheers, they all disappear. For that moment, the world is just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/when-i-step-into-the-batters-box-the-fans-the-noise-the-cheers-they/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [What we should have done is kept the same team that played in the '95 World Series. 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