Baseball is already in trouble and another strike could be fatal for some entities.

It is difficult to grasp the reasoning of people in professional baseball who are talking about a strike later this year. A 1994 walkout did terrible damage to the game. Another caper of similar proportions could wipe out some teams and leave even the healthy ones shaky.

Consider the plight of the Kansas City Royals. Following the strike in 1994 and the death of owner Ewing Kauffman, the team has been on the decline both in terms of performance and fan support. At a time when there is talk of costly expansion of the team’s home stadium, attendance is dropping, monetary losses are growing and public sentiment is more negative than ever.

The ’94 strike may have done irreparable damage to the Royals. A number of people in this region swore they would not return to the stadium after the strike, which also knocked out the World Series. Attendance figures indicate they are making good on that promise.

A strike of millionaire players against millionaire owners may wipe out any chance of the public’s continuing to back the club. After all, the average citizen who barely can scrape up enough for tickets, parking and concessions is tired of hearing about the alleged need for a stadium re-do, at public expense, of course.

Kansas City is not alone. A number of other major league teams are losing money, big money. Consider the Texas Rangers. The team is struggling through a third losing season and attendance is off by nearly 320,000 spectators. That is by far the largest decline in baseball. Time was when the Rangers could think in terms of three million home fans a season in a location where there are plenty of people to provide such a blessing. There is a danger of the team’s losing $30 million this year.

Then too, Texas was the team that gave celebrated shortstop Alex Rodriquez a 10-year, $25.2 million contract ($25 million per season) and it still is living with that bit of foolishness. Rodriquez is a premier player but for all his individual heroics, the fans are staying away and the losses are mounting.

Texas’ player payroll this year is $105 million against $80 million last year but there hasn’t been any competitive upsurge while crowds have dropped.

The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees for the World Series title last fall and lost money for the season. Since then, the baseball spotlight has been on squabbling, owners’ alleged financial problems and a general unwillingness to consider ways to help faltering teams through revenue-sharing. Now there is increasing speculation about drug abuse and steroid manipulation among players.

Throw in a strike that might knock out another World Series in October and the death knell could begin to sound for some teams, including the Kansas City Royals.