NBA Legend Scottie Pippen's Sotheby's Auction; MLB Preps for World Baseball Classic

12:53Vanessa Perdomo:I kind of let them embrace and accept the game the way that they want. And they've embraced it. The only thing I do is just, you know, I push them to work hard and to try and be the best. And that's all I can ask.

13:11Scottie Pippen:We're talking with Chicago Bulls legend and NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. Stick around. We have more with Pippen on his career and his trove of collectibles.

13:19Vanessa Perdomo:I think I knew the value of it. I think that one day, I felt that one day that I would be able to open up my own museum. but once I went through it and saw the amount of stuff that I had I knew it was too overwhelming for me For Vanessa Perdomo, I'm Michael Barr you're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports, Bloomberg Radio around the world

13:56Vanessa Perdomo:This is Bloomberg

13:58Scottie Pippen:Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

14:02Vanessa Perdomo:This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.

14:09Scottie Pippen:And I'm Vanessa Perdomo.

14:10Vanessa Perdomo:We're talking with NBA Hall of Famer and Chicago Bulls legend Scotty Pippen about his career and his extensive collection of memorabilia he's auctioning off with Sotheby's. I mean, that's a beautiful collection what made you finally say you know what it's time actually um i was back home last summer in arkansas and um i looked in my container where i kept all my memorabilia and it's it's been such a a journey and a job to try to maintain all that stuff and to keep up with it And I just, I mean, I'm 60 years old now. And I looked at it and said, it's time for me to part ways with this stuff. What's sad is that you're younger than I am.

15:01Vanessa Perdomo:That's what's sad.

15:04Scottie Pippen:Well, I think the interesting thing there is, like you said, you went back to Arkansas. It's not where you stay all the time. So whenever you go back there, are you visiting those memories? Are you doing that?

15:14Vanessa Perdomo:Yeah, always. I mean, I got to check on it to make sure that the temperature and everything is set right. I didn't want to lose anything for his mildew or whatever. So I have to, you know, maintain check on it. But, wow, it's been 30-some years that I've been doing this. So it was time for me to say I don't want to do these checks no more.

15:36Scottie Pippen:It's funny because when we started the conversation, you had said, oh, I just, you know, threw the stuff in my closet and, you know, almost blase about the fact that. But you really took care of it, though. I mean, to make sure that it's not that you knew you were going to do a collection one day, but why did you take such care of it knowing that they're valuable? Or what was it for you?

15:57Vanessa Perdomo:I think I knew the value of it. I think that one day I felt that one day that I would be able to open up my own museum. But once I went through it and saw the amount of stuff that I had, I knew it was too overwhelming for me.

16:14Scottie Pippen:Was it overwhelming almost though seeing it in the display that it is at Sotheby's feeling like you do have your own museum?

16:22Vanessa Perdomo:No, they make it look good. They kind of make me want it back. But I don't have that kind of space to display the memorabilia the way that they are able to showcase it. It's pretty amazing what they've been able to do and how they do things. I want to, if I can, talk about when you played, the WNBA was just getting started. Now it has exploded, and I'm trying to race to the TV set with the clicker now. I'm still old. I got cable, and I'm still trying to click through it. The explosion today of the WNBA, your thoughts about it? Well, it's amazing. I mean, I'm happy that basketball continues to grow globally.

17:12But more importantly, I'm happy for the women league because they've spent most of their lives traveling abroad to be a part of a game that they love.

17:24Vanessa Perdomo:And we finally gave them a platform to showcase what they can do here on our own surface. So I'm very happy for the WNBA and how the NBA has embraced them and, you know, gave them a chance to live their dreams. And from a salary standpoint, I'm glad that we're starting to see that come up as well. But it's still a lot of room. It's still a lot of growth for them. But it's wonderful to know that they're in a place where they want to be and they're loving the game just like the guys are.

18:03Scottie Pippen:Yeah. It's interesting, you know, when you say it that way, they were playing overseas for a long time and now they have that spotlight in the U.S. But it's almost flipped in the NBA where it's such a global game, right? And so many stars come from from outside the U.S. What do you think about that and the globalization of the game overseas and with players coming into the NBA?

18:23Vanessa Perdomo:I love it. I mean, basketball is such an amazing game that, you know, everybody can play. You can play with people. You don't even have to know their names. You don't even have to know where they're from. And so basketball is such a wonderful thing to have in your life because of the relationships that you're able to build. and definitely very happy that our game is international. It's not just here in America. It's all over the world, and it's a way of speaking without saying anything.

18:59Scottie Pippen:That's beautiful.

19:01Vanessa Perdomo:NBA legend Scottie Pippen, what has changed today from when you played in the NBA until today? I think the value of the three-point shot has tremendously changed.

19:19Scottie Pippen:And in what way has that changed for the good, for the bad? How has it changed the game overall, do you think?

19:28Vanessa Perdomo:I mean, you've got to say it's for the good. But from a standpoint of where the game is, it's probably not good for the fans. It's an equal opportunity game. And when I played in the game, it was not equal opportunity. But that's where the game is today. Will that ever change? I don't know. everybody on the court is there are three point shooters now when I played in the game it was less than 10 three pointers taken per game and in today's game there's more threes than twos so to some degree it's a different game and the excitement is a little bit different people used to love to see the dunk now they're excited to see the three ball

20:27Scottie Pippen:Listen, I would like to see an exciting dunk contest come back to the All-Star game, okay? You have some of your All-Star memorabilia in the collection as well. What do you think about the current All-Star game and how they're trying to figure out how to make it great when you were playing?

20:45Vanessa Perdomo:It's been tough. you know I personally think that when you start to put people in all star game for 15 16 17 years then the value of the game does go down I think they have to get some fresh blood there I feel like this past all star game they have fresh blood but they played a different style I wish they could figure out how to get the all-star game back to where it's competitive again. Now, we got an email from Cy, and he wanted us to mention you almost didn't become a Chicago Bulls player. In fact, you got traded to the Bulls just before you started your career with the Bulls. Yes, I did. Right here in New York.

21:41Vanessa Perdomo:I was here for the draft. Actually, I knew that I was traded before I got drafted. Oh, wow. So I went to the draft knowing that I was going to be picked by Seattle. And whenever the Bulls made their pick, that there was going to be a swap. So it was great for me. I would have loved to have seen what life was like in Seattle. But the success that I was able to have in Chicago.

22:10Scottie Pippen:ago you've been in quite a different story i think yeah in today's game now you have a lot

22:18Vanessa Perdomo:of players who are i'm not gonna play tonight and that you played through a migraine during a game and i don't see how you did it because i suffered through migraines and i can't even remember my name let alone try to go on the court and start shooting shots yeah it was uh it was pretty devastating it was something that i had never experienced before so uh yeah i uh i tried to play through it i don't i don't want to consider that was uh a good game for me but uh i i tried to stay out and be a part of the the win or the loss but yeah in today's game it's a little bit different you know you got the load management and guys are guys are taking advantage of it i see now you i yes i think you were like one for ten that night now can you imagine me trying to do a newscast with a migraine a blubblah blubblah blubblah that's what you would get no i i take my hat off to you because when i found out about that during the when you were in your career, I'm like, hats off to them.

23:34Vanessa Perdomo:That's doing something. Yeah, it was. I'll take the hat off to myself. It was one of the most devastating things I've ever dealt with, and it definitely was a tough day in the office for me. That on top of the flu game that you had and all this, the people on the court. I don't see how you guys did it. It's like if I get a paper cut, I'm like, oh, my God, I got to take off today. But you guys played through tough times. Well, it was a different era then. You know, I think when you look back at those teams and how players were more dedicated to one another, dedicated to their team, dedicated to their city, it's a little bit different in today's game, at least for some teams.

24:26Vanessa Perdomo:NBA legend, Scotty Pippen. Thank you, sir, for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. We really do appreciate it. Thank you, Michael. Thank you, Vanessa, for having me as well.

24:36Scottie Pippen:Up next, we turn to baseball, and we'll speak with an MLB executive about the World Baseball Classic.

24:41Michael Barr:Sort of a watershed moment for the tournament in many ways. It's grown since its inception in 2006. It is really the Global World Cup of Baseball, to put it in some language that a lot of people know about across sport. and we're incredibly excited. The tournament's grown in so many ways, not only in the sense that I think its visibility in 20 years has become a calendar moment for sports fans that are looking at all the major sports, but I also think that it has helped grow our business across the world.

25:16Vanessa Perdomo:That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. For Vanessa Perdomo, I'm Michael Barr. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports, Bloomberg Radio around the world.

25:39Michael Barr:This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

25:44Vanessa Perdomo:Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.

25:51Scottie Pippen:And I'm Vanessa Perdomo.

25:52Vanessa Perdomo:This has been the year of international competition. We just wrapped up the Olympics. We have the World Cup coming, and the World Baseball Classic is just getting started.

26:04Scottie Pippen:It's the 20th anniversary of the start of the tournament, and this year feels bigger than ever, spanning across Japan, Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida. Here to discuss the growth of the tournament is Jeremiah Yolkut. He is Senior Vice President of Global Events at Major League Baseball. Jeremiah, thanks for joining the Bloomberg Business of Sports.

26:22Vanessa Perdomo:There's a lot of history behind this. Tell us about the story, about the participants involved, and the history about the Classic.

26:30Michael Barr:Yeah, it's our 20th anniversary heading into the tournament here in a couple of weeks. And it's really sort of a watershed moment for the tournament in many ways. It's grown since its inception in 2006. It is really the global World Cup of baseball, to put it in some language that a lot of people know about across sport. And we're incredibly excited. The tournament's grown in so many ways, not only in the sense that I think its visibility in 20 years has become a calendar moment for sports fans that are looking at, you know, all the major sports. But I also think that it has helped grow our business across the world and grow baseball's visibility across the world, which is a key part of what we tried to do when we set out with this tournament so many years ago.

27:20Scottie Pippen:You know, I think that's the interesting thing, too, is and how the tournament is laid out in the pool phases is across the globe, really, when you're talking about being in Tokyo and then Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico. Why have it that way instead of it being in like one host place?

27:41Michael Barr:I think the nature of baseball is it is worldwide and it is global. And one of the things that we set out to do when we consider where the pools will be in a given year is be mindful of the diversification of the sport and giving the flavor of each of these regions to the tournament. So when you think about baseball-rich markets, you really talk about two primary regions of the world. There are some that are even more developing. But for now, when you think about Latin America and a good chunk of our players across Major League Baseball come from there, but even just the richness of the development of baseball, keep in mind that in Latin America, we have baseball academies throughout those countries.

28:24Michael Barr:We have a deep relationship in some of the countries with the various leagues that play there. it made all the sense in the world to be able to have a Latin American pool centered around San Juan because fans there have a passion for the sport that this tournament feeds into in such a big way the energy at a WBC game is probably the thing that I would say most fans will take away from as the unique aspect of attending this tournament and so we said knowing that we want to diversify the offerings and diversify the pools. You got to be in Latin America, which is why you see us in Puerto Rico. Then the other region that I would highlight as being so baseball rich and obviously a burgeoning business market and a global hub worldwide is in Asia.

29:12Michael Barr:And we've been the last two years in Asia for Major League Games. As you may know, we started in Korea a few years ago with a regular season game. We brought the Padres and we brought the Dodgers. Last year, we started this season in Tokyo with the Cubs and the Dodgers. Last year, we were also in Taiwan with the WBC baseball qualifier tournament. And Tokyo is just the epicenter of baseball in Asia, and having a pool there was very critical to us. In addition to that, we are a global country now, the United States, and we knew that bringing baseball to Houston would be a great fit for the way in which that city has become internationalized over the last decade.

29:53Michael Barr:The Astros are always on there. We've been there for the World Series. And the diversified fan base that is in Houston, based on all the countries and places that people have landed, made it a great stop for us to bring a pool to a city that hasn't hosted WBC, which was important to us as well. We want to spread the wealth here in America for fans to be able to see WBC since it's such a unique offering every few years. And Miami has really ended up to be that final spot for us because Miami is so rich, both from transients that have come over from Latin America, but also in the ways in which the city has leaned into being an international hub for the United States.

30:31Michael Barr:And so to be able to play all of the rounds there, to bring the crescendo moment of the tournament there with it being such an international, has such an international flair that the energy of Lone Depot Park the last time we were there and even the time before that was so high. And that goes, by the way, for the U.S. team when they played Japan in the final, but it obviously goes to the Latin American teams. We cap it all off in that global city here in the U S and that's the way we arrange the pools.

30:56Vanessa Perdomo:We're talking with Jeremiah Yolcutt, who is the senior vice president of global events for major league baseball. Now two things I got to state one. I do have a concern to, I am a super duper duper Detroit Tigers fan. Now, Tariq Skubal is going to pitch a game in the Classic. I worry, please don't get hurt. That's a risk any time you're playing baseball, especially at this level of the game. Yes, it's a risk. It happens in hockey. It happened on the men's hockey team. People, great NHL players, they're going to be out for a month. But can you talk more about that, about the, yes, there's the risk of injury, but the players who definitely want to participate and what it means for the game?

31:52Michael Barr:Yeah, we want to see as many Major League Baseball players participate in the World Baseball Classic. And we're very mindful that this tournament is two weeks of a very long season. But we think about it through the lens of injury is a risk, 162 games a year for any players. And we believe that you have to be watchful for that, which is why the baseball side of our business, which I don't have oversight on, is always very considerate when it comes to what the player is capable to do at this time of the year. Working closely with their major league club and their coaches and their trainers to take that into account so that as decisions are made throughout the tournament, it's done through the bigger lens, to your point, of making sure that our players stay healthy for the rest of the season.

32:37Michael Barr:and you're never going to protect against every scenario that can come up, but there's a lot of work behind the scenes that are done. And I think what you're finding are that players have seen the diligence that's done in that area, and they have chosen to be a part of it because they know that they can still protect, again, against any unforeseen injury that could come up, but they can still represent their country and be part of the team. And whether that means they play one game or they play multiple games, it's something that's done on a case-by-case basis, And it's not lost on us that we need to be mindful of the full length of our season and keeping our players healthy for WBC, but also obviously for the regular season.

33:14Scottie Pippen:You know, Jeremiah, you talked a lot about how baseball has become this global sport and, you know, the concert efforts to play in different markets. And I think the great thing that about the World Baseball Classic is it shows right those those different places and you get these chances to root for your team in a different way. Obviously, you know, I'm Puerto Rican, so I'm super pumped for Team Puerto Rico. But the other thing here is we also see teams from regions that don't really have baseball as a as a big sport there. You know, Great Britain and Italy, the Netherlands. But those teams are also composed of players who are really primarily born in the U.S.

33:52Scottie Pippen:or born in the Caribbean. Can you tell me a little bit about that and about the the efforts to try and grow the fan base in Europe? Yeah.

34:01Michael Barr:These World Cup style tournaments are really driven towards developing baseball and they come down to it. Right. There's all these great moments with the professional players. But the opportunities that are afforded to the countries that participate in the World Baseball Classic is for the qualification into the tournament to spur funding for development in their host countries. And so it's really important for us to be as inclusive as possible in that approach, which is why we have that qualifier system I talked about that we had in Taiwan last year, because there are countries that are getting their Olympic and international funding based on the opportunities that baseball has to be in these larger events and larger tournaments as the progression of development happens.

34:37Michael Barr:And so one of the great parts of this is the millions of dollars that are unlocked for these countries and their NGOs to be able to bring baseball to more and more people in their countries and to do that. It's also always striking to me when you see some of the stories that come out of teams, as you mentioned, from Great Britain, that, yes, there are definitely players that are UK based on the team or from the UK. and then there's one that have connections via family and residencies and maybe from another country, is that that is sort of the rich tradition of baseball, right? It's not about only the connection you have today, but it's where you're from or where your family is from.

35:14Michael Barr:And what's great about the WBC is that that is highlighted because, yes, you may be born in the United States, but your grandparents may have been from Great Britain. And to be able to wear the roots of your family on your jersey and represent that is just part of that storyline that baseball has that goes across generations, which is why I think WBC is one of our best canvases to sort of highlight that.

35:37Scottie Pippen:And, you know, there has been the London series that has been played a few times. It wasn't able to happen this year because of scheduling constraints. But can you tell us a little bit more, is Europe trying to become an emerging market for the MLB? I mean, other U.S. major leagues have really had success over there, Or is it more of a priority to grow the fan base in Asia because of their rich baseball culture already?

36:04Michael Barr:Oh, no, I think we can do all of that. The richness of the Latin American and Asian markets will be always on. And I think they will continue to grow and develop. But we still need to support them and we still need to be engaged with them because of our close ties to the Japanese League, the NPV or the Korean League, KBO. But when we look at places like the UK and Europe, there is a long runway of opportunity for us there. both from a baseball perspective, but also from a commercial perspective as a look to grow the game and develop the game more. It's not only the UK you have to consider. Think about the Netherlands where there's huge growth and they're in the tournament as well.

36:37Michael Barr:Think about Italy. They're in the tournament as well. Spain's another developing market and Germany is another strong market for us. So by showing up in those markets in different ways, sometimes it's a major league game, but sometimes it's about us putting on a fan fest in a country or sometimes it's about developing youth event in a country there's so many ways for us to target the needs of the market on a case-by-case basis in order to grow baseball and we want to be mindful of that the entertainment value and the media value in those markets is very high they love big sports and the more we can eventize those things and develop the game and bring more youth to the sport that is really the way that baseball grows because there's limited opportunity domestically at some points but internationally, sky's the limit.

37:19Michael Barr:There are a lot of countries out there that play baseball and can use our health. There's some countries that don't play baseball, but would have a natural affinity for it. Think about India, another country we're developing where cricket is the primary sport, but it's a nice quick jump from cricket to baseball, given the similarities of the sport. Another place we're looking at for longer term growth down the road.

37:37Vanessa Perdomo:Jereb Hayyoka, Senior Vice President of Global Events for Major League Baseball. Thank you so much for talking with us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. We really do appreciate it.

37:46Michael Barr:Yeah, I really appreciate you guys covering it and we're looking forward to a great tournament.

37:49Vanessa Perdomo:What happened to the time? That's it for today. Thank you for joining us. Tune in again next week for the latest on the stories moving big old money in the world of sports.

37:59Scottie Pippen:And don't forget to catch our podcast on all your podcast platforms and go to Bloomberg.com to subscribe to the Bloomberg Business of Sports newsletter to stay up to date on all our juicy insights.

38:09Vanessa Perdomo:You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports and Bloomberg Radio around the world.

38:14Scottie Pippen:Stay with us. Today's top stories and global business headlines are coming up right now.

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