I’m sure there are names for it in market or economic theory, but I don’t know what they are - but this fits a theory I have that there is a limited number of stocks or commodities that the whole of the market can trade in. If you look at stock trading, there a few that receive a huge proportion of the trade volume. Often(loosely speaking) one them has to drop out or get pushed put to make room for another. I think this is largely true of collective fan-ness, considering rating as market trading.One difference would be that, since performance is now static, there is no opportunity for change (short of the unlikely discovery of a truly repulsive scandal). In any era the casual fan, or fan with no regional star to gravitate toward, will generally gravitate to the celebrity star, tipping the balance in their direction over regionally beloved stars. There is a certain point, if that star doesn’t burn out, or isn’t overcome by someone else, that this balance becomes permanent. I think of Clemente and McGwire as players who had semi-late movement that altered their collective rates-ness. In any case, at this point, it would be rare (and hard to predict) for a pre-1970 player to move upwards in ratedness, ,even if they deserve it as players and men. The spots are full.
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