The Mitchell Report apparently has had little effect on how Major League Baseball is viewed on Wall Street.
Fitch Ratings today affirmed the league's "A" rating for nearly $1.4 billion in debt, citing the league's long-term contracts with broadcasters.
The ratings agency gave the "A" rating to the Major League Baseball Trust, which consists of a $978 million variable funding note and a $389 million term note.
An "A" rating is generally seen as a positive indicator of financial stability. Fitch's ratings range from a high of "AAA" to a low of "BBB."
I'm not a financial expert, but I learned a bit about debt and credit ratings when writing about the city's financing of the new Nationals ballpark. And from what I've gleaned, Wall Street ratings agencies are really only concerned about one thing: how capable are you of paying back what you owe?
In the case of the Nationals ballpark, the city earned a "AAA" rating on the $535 million in ballpark bonds by ensuring that most of the debt would be paid back using a ballpark fee on businesses that would collect far more than what is required. Also, the city paid for an insurance policy on the bonds.
In baseball's case, Fitch was clearly unconcerned by the potential effects of the Mitchell Report, instead pointing to the billions of dollars it will receive from Fox, TBS and ESPN in guaranteed television contracts that run through 2013.
