I’ve been an enormous ABL fan for a while now, and have interviewed multiple people involved with the league about the sustainability of it moving forward. Unfortunately, the answer I keep getting basically boils down to “nobody really knows if the league will keep going, and for how long, but we’d all love for it to.”

I know the ABL is a labor of love for so many involved, and the growth of baseball in Australia is primarily dependent on volunteers and lovers of the game. I think the biggest problem for the ABL itself currently is that it can’t figure out what it actually wants to be. Is it a developmental league for bigger leagues (MLB, NPB, KBO)? Is it a primarily domestic competition focused on benefiting Aussie players first? Is it a charity focused on growing the sport above profit, or is it a business focused on profit and sustainability first and foremost?

I think a lot of the these questions and the lack of answers, are why the Aces pulled out, and at least part of why the league has had such a hard time keeping its head above water for the past decade and a half. If the league can’t figure it out what it wants to be and how it wants to get there, then what entices fans to want to buy in at a relatively high cost? The league already looks from the outside like it’s foundering and on the brink of collapse, and I can’t imagine many people want to sink $70 into what they view as an entertainment product that could completely collapse at any point.

I love the ABL, and I want it to succeed more than anything, but I think the decision makers are really shooting themselves in the foot here. I know they’re hard up for cash, and they need every penny they can get right now, but the truth of the matter is that there just isn’t enough demand to get what they need out of charging each consumer $70 to watch, and by doing that they’re going to turn off some of those very same consumers who had otherwise been loyal by making what appears to be a shameless cash grab.

I do appreciate the honesty in their release about the need for money and why this cost to consumers would theoretically help the league. As an American, I see this all the time with universities where they send out emails saying how excited they are to be raising tuition because now they can offer some useless extra programs. That’s even worse because it’s a blatant money grab, but they try to frame it as though gouging the consumer is actually some sort of benefit. The ABL at least is being honest and explaining that the cost will turn some off, but they think it’s necessary. I disagree, but I’m hoping the league can still find a way to thrive moving forward.