Wednesday, May 23, 2012

If I ran Major League Baseball

I realize that I have a lot to talk about, with the House series finale Monday, the beginning of summer, and lots of other stuff. But I first want to blog something that I've been meaning to for a while, but haven't had a lot of time for (see: what I have to talk about). Here are some changes I would make to Major League Baseball if I were in Commissioner Bug Selig's shoes:
  • Do not count the All-Star Game.
    • So many things are wrong with this, but I won't go into too much detail explaining them, since they all kind of connect anyway. One of the main reasons the All-Star Game counts is because of the tie in 2002 in Selig's hometown of Milwaukee. Having the game count means that there must be a winner, no matter how long the game would go. This became relevant in 2008, when the American League won in 15 innings.
  • Give home-field advantage in the World Series to the team with the better record.
    • As a result of the All-Star Game counting, the league that wins the game gets home-field advantage in the World Series. The problem with this is simple - the better team does not enjoy important games (maybe like GAME SEVEN) at home. Last year, the Texas Rangers (96-66) had to play Game 7 on the road against St. Louis (90-72), simply because the American League lost the All-Star Game.
  • Eliminate the second wild-card team.
    • I actually love the concept of a one-game playoff between the two wild card teams, but for my giant Reconstruction plan to work, we need to start making things simpler.
  • Play every team in at least one series.
    • You have to earn that World Series home-field advantage, right? The American League is stronger because of the designated hitter, meaning stronger lineups, and subsequently, stronger pitching. (Just disregard the previous two All-Star Games and World Series.) Under the assumption that each division will have five teams in it (15 teams in each league), play each team in the other league in one three-game series. Play each non-division team in your league in two such series, and play within your division for four series, for a total of 153 games. All three-game sets, and it would be a uniform number of times teams played each other inside and outside the division. And every team gets a look at everyone else.
  • With those nine extra games, make the LDS a best-of-seven series.
    • I'm not really sure why the League Division Series is only a best-of-five. Maybe it's because of October. I honestly have no idea. But make each series a best-of-seven. It's a better test of who the better team is, and Game 7 just sounds way better than Game 5 if it's the last game in a series.
  • Make every playoff series a 2-2-1-1-1 format.
    • I hate the 2-3-2 format, where the home team gets Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 at home. Game 5 is the most pivotal game of the series (except, obviously, if the series goes seven); either the series is tied at two and one team can clinch in Game 6, or one team is up 3-1 and can clinch in Game 5. The better team should play this game at home.
  • Have a salary cap.
    • Now that my perfectly molded scheduling/playoff system is set, I'll touch on a couple of other things. I'm not that caught up on baseball politics and what goes on in the corporation, but I'd like to see a salary cap. If the Rays can make it to the World Series in 2008 with the second-lowest payroll in baseball, everyone else should be able to. In 2012, the average salary on the team with the lowest payroll (San Diego) is $1.97 million. Baseball players are overpaid, prices for fans are too high (alright, maybe just in Boston), and there needs to be a more level playing field. How the MLB would go about this change is beyond me. I just think it should happen.
  • Shorten games.
    • There are probably dozens of ways to do this, but the one that I had in mind was limiting manager/pitching coach/catcher/infielder/anybody visits to the mound to one per inning. Cumulatively. The catcher can go out as often as he wants; the infielders can visit the mound as frequently, too. This would force the pitcher to (God forbid I say this) pitch. Which I am obviously a proponent of.
There you have it. Commissioner Matt Tardiff. Actually no, if Bud Selig gets to go by not his real name (Allan), then I don't have to either. Now all I need to do is figure out what generic nickname to go by if I ever run Major League Baseball...

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