At age 30, it would seem that Golden Baseball League CEO and Founder Dave Kaval has spent most of his adult life making his dreams come true.
After earning a BA from Stanford University, Kaval and friend Brad Knull embarked on a baseball odyssey in 1998 like few others--to see a baseball game in all 30 ballparks in 38 days. He and Knull chronicled their adventure in the book, The Summer that Saved Baseball.
Subsequently earning his MBA from Stanford as well, Kaval was able to turn a class project into reality, and thus the eight-team Golden Baseball League was born.
One of the unique aspects of the league is its single-entity ownership model, where the league owns all the teams. This is designed to provide stability and "sort of align incentives in the early years," according to Kaval.
The league, now in its second year of play, enjoyed an encouraging season in 2005. One of the noteworthy events of that season was the formation of the Samurai Bears, the first all-Japanese born team to play in an organized American league. Although the team folded after the 2005 season, it showed the possibilities of what professional international baseball has to offer an American audience.
In the end, Kaval’s vision is to make professional baseball fun and accessible to communities across California and Arizona. A SABR member since 2004, Kaval has worked with members of the San Diego Chapter to record the development and progress of the league and archival material that can be useful in the future for historical research purposes. We hope it’s the start of a long and fruitful partnership.
What inspired you to start the Golden Baseball League?
Growing up in Cleveland in the 1980s, I saw first hand how a professional sports team like the Browns or Indians could bring a community, and in my case a family, together. I spent many evening on the shores of Lake Erie at old Municipal Stadium watching Cory Snyder and Andre Thornton hit home runs towards the Dawg Pound. The team usually lost but the hours of conversations and shared experiences with my father, grandfather, and brother were some of my best memories as a child. It is this magic of baseball and how it creates a bond in families and in a community that inspired me to start the Golden Baseball League.
My baseball trip in 1998 to see a baseball game in all 30 MLB ballparks in 38 days also contributed to my passion for baseball and desire to start the Golden Baseball League. The wonder and thrill of traveling the country for six weeks and seeing a ball game almost every night was a life changing event. Plus, it was a ton of fun. The ambience of each ballpark combined with the unique fans from Montreal to Chicago rekindled my boyhood love of the game and its power to make a positive impact on people’s lives. Following the dramatic home run chase between McGwire and Sosa first-hand on our trip was an unexpected bonus that signified a rebirth of the game after the terrible 1995 strike. Our subsequent book, The Summer That Saved Baseball, put us in the middle of the great debate on the best ballpark in MLB. Brad and I choose Fenway with Wrigley close behind. The trip clearly demonstrated to us that ballparks are truly the modern day cathedrals that serve as village greens for their respective communities. In founding the Golden Baseball League, I wanted to create that same feeling that we experienced in the stands of Wrigley, Jacobs Field and Yankee Stadium across cities in the west.
What is your role as CEO of the Golden Baseball League?
As CEO of the League, I oversee all business functions for the Golden Baseball League and serve as one of the four managing partners of our ownership group. Since we operate as a single-entity League, my business oversight extends to all the teams as well as League matters. At this point of the League’s development, I am focused on sponsorship and expansion markets.
However, as a founder I am involved in all aspects of the company. For instance, I worked with Commissioner Kevin Outcalt on securing former Cleveland Indians great, Cory Snyder, to manage our new team in St. George, Utah. Cory was living in Utah and was interested in getting back into professional baseball. The new team in St. George was a perfect fit for Cory to start developing young kids into professional baseball players. Plus, it didn’t hurt that he had some standout years with the Tribe!
What are the advantages to a single-entity ownership over individual owners and why did you decide to choose that model when you founded the league?
The key to our success to date has been the single entity ownership model. Such a model brings more stability and aligned incentives across the teams. You do not have the trials and tribulations of managing individual owners and their egos. Instead, the League can focus on growing the business, putting the best possible baseball product on the field, and creating a top notch family entertainment experience for the fans.
The model also allows for new revenue opportunities like our $3M partnership with Safeway, and better economies of scale on the cost side. For instance, we buy baseballs, bats, uniforms, promotional items and food goods at a significant discount to an individual team owner by leveraging the buying power of our multiple teams.
Finally, owning the League allows you to set standards on the concessions and promotional side to ensure a great experience at every GBL ballpark.
What is the best part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is launching a new team. The excitement of working with a community to bring professional baseball to its residents is unmatched. That feeling at opening day with thousands of fans rooting for their new home town team is unparalleled.
The other area of my job that I truly enjoy is giving players an opportunity to make it back to the big leagues. We sold over 30 player contracts to MLB organizations in our first season (tops in all Indy ball). It is an amazing feeling to give these kids a chance to play and to see them thrive. I am looking forward to the day when the first Golden Baseball League veteran plays in the show. We have a couple of kids in Triple-A this season, and I will be watching closely as they get called up.
Has the success of the World Baseball Classic had an impact on your operations?
It has been very positive for the League. I think there has been a renewed interest in the international aspects of the American Pastime. We have been on the forefront of that move with our all Japanese team, the Samurai Bears, and with our player sales to the Taiwan Professional Baseball League. International player development is a key part of our business and we hope to continue to have both players and teams from Latin America and Asia.
What lessons did you learn from the rise and fall of the Samurai Bears?
The Samurai Bears were one of the most exciting elements of our inaugural season. Seeing a team play in the Japanese tradition of small ball was great for fans here in America. It also created huge interest in southern California amongst the Japanese communities and whole fan clubs sprung up in support of the Samurai Bears. The experience really showed us how the game has become internationalized and that more such exchanges of players and teams is good for baseball.
It was also one of the most difficult aspects of the business to manage since the team was on the road for all 90 games. In the future, we hope to have international teams that exist in a fixed location like our other teams in the League.
Would the league ever consider fielding another international team like the Bears?
Yes. We are looking at several Latin American possibilities for 2007. The team would have a home field and would not be an exclusive traveling team like the Samurai Bears.
The league has established a rigorous drug-testing policy based on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s guidelines. Why so stringent?
I feel that there is no place for illegal drugs in our business. We run a family friendly operation off the field and illegal drug usage by our players would undermine the trust we have established with our fans. That is exactly what has happened at the MLB level. As a steward of the great game of baseball, I am proud to say that we have the most stringent drug policy in all of professional baseball.
What are your long term goals for the GBL?
My vision for the Golden Baseball League is to create the premier professional minor league in the country. With ownership of all the teams, the League will be stable and provide high quality family entertainment for our fans. At the same time, the League will continue to sell players back to MLB organizations and provide players another route to the Big Leagues. Finally, the Golden Baseball League will provide families and communities the same opportunity to come together around the American Pastime that I had growing up in Cleveland.
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