On the 8th Day, God created baseball, and it was good. Baseball, a game made popular in the farmlands of rural America in the years after the Civil War. Eventually giving rise in the to the National League in the late 1800’s and then to the American League in 1901. Culminating in World Series matchups and the creation of the Major League Baseball (MLB) governing body over both leagues. MLB has done many good things through the years, but they also have done many dumb things. It’s almost as if MLB has been trying to snuff out the good game of baseball through their dumbness.
I’m not here to say all baseball games should be played in the daytime (although maybe all Wrigley Field games should be played in the daytime). When the World Series starts at 8:30pm however, then by the end of the game, the majority of the nation is sleeping when the biggest and most important moments are happening. This is not the best course of action for a sport that wants to remain vital. MLB still is vital, for now. It possesses attendance figures (in non-pandemic years) that inspire jealousy from all other sports leagues. It also possesses a television audience that sparks jealousy from any non-football league.
Seriously, MLB, work with me here. You do realize that not everyone starts work at 9am while working from home. Lots of people are working on an assembly line at 7am. Just make certain the first pitch of the World Series happens by 7pm Eastern Time, this is a pretty reasonable request. That means that the last pitch will likely take place in prime time throughout the entirety of the contiguous 48 states. If MLB is not willing to have the first pitch at 7pm, then I guess I am here to say that all baseball games should take place in the daytime. I’m going to personally take down all of the light towers at every stadium and make you play games at noon so people can see the end of games live once again, and so that your sport will live on for another generation.
Lots of people love autumn. Fall, sweater weather, pumpkin-spice lattes from Starbuck’s, all that jazz. I don’t buy it. I totally understand people may like early autumn. December 18th is still autumn though, and I rarely hear people discussing how great the weather is at that time of year. At least not in the Midwest or in any northern part of the country. Frankly, the weather in November is pretty rough too. People like the “fall” of September and early October. Of course, two-thirds of September is technically still the summer, but who’s counting? Baseball should hit its playoff stride in this early autumn of September and October. The playoffs should not be taking place in a November ice storm! The time has come to eliminate the wild card teams. Of course, MLB will never give up the money of all of the extra playoff rounds. If they want to present a crappy product, that is their prerogative, who am I to stop them. Just imagine though, a regular season in which the games actually mean something, because winning is at a premium in order to even make the playoffs. The League Championship Series taking place in September, with the first few wisps of crisp fall weather blowing in the breeze. The World Series, taking place in early October, as the universe intended it to be.
MLB has instituted some really stupid ideas for this pandemic year. The first being allowing the use of the designated hitter in the National League. The second travesty is automatically putting a runner on 2nd base to start any extra inning ball game. The runner on 2nd base is so beyond stupid, the only thing that comes to mind is the similar foolishness of the NHL allowing shoot-outs to decide games. The commissioners of both MLB and the NHL really should do some sort of public groveling to apologize for this insanity. There should also be public flogging of these commissioners as well.
As for the DH, while I can’t prove it, it seems self-apparent to me that the DH is evil in its purest form. Does the NBA have a designated free throw shooter that gets to come into games after a foul? Does the PGA allow golfers to substitute another person to be a designated putter? The American League long ago sold its soul to have the DH, leading to a vastly more boring game with far less strategy. At least the National League still allowed pitchers to bat, holding on to the key of redemption for the whole of MLB. (I wonder how often AL pitchers would throw at a batter’s head if they themselves faced the possibility of standing in the batter’s box an inning or two later.) I’m willing to allow the NL to get away with the DH this year, due to some sort of pandemic reason. But the NL had better eliminate the DH next year and return to normalcy, or I will be declaring MLB the enemy of the fans.
In fact, I think it is time for the AL to eliminate the DH as well. I know the player’s union hates giving up on the DH so that aging veterans can keep making the big bucks. Therefore, compromise with the union. Expand the roster by a player or two, or expand to another city or two. I’m sure Charlotte, San Antonio, Nashville, Vancouver, somebody would love to have an MLB team.
There you go, MLB. I just saved your game’s soul. You’re welcome.
But joking and exaggerations aside, as a baseball nostalgia junkie, it is by far my favorite sport. Having the DH in the National League is like the Pope not being Catholic. It just is not right. You cannot implement this change longer than this pandemic season. If this is a long term change, I genuinely think you will have destroyed my fandom. This will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back after so many foolish things MLB has done through the years. I implore, you’re teetering right on the edge of oblivion, don’t destroy the good game.
-MTR