Bob Bowman

Daniel G. Habib

April 03, 2006

Since its launch in 2000, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, MLB's interactive media and Internet arm, has evolved from a shoestring operation to one of the game's greatest assets. Its revenue increased from $5 million in the first year to $200 million last year, and the cash it provided to the 30 teams last winter fed some of the larger free-agent contracts. Under the leadership of CEO Bowman, the former president of ITT and during the '80s the state treasurer of Michigan, MLB.com has become a comprehensive media source for the sport, streaming live audio and video of games, maintaining digital archives, retailing team merchandise (still the site's largest source of revenue) and selling tickets. It's easy to envision MLB.com growing over the next generation into the dominant portal through which the world watches the game.