Someone once told me if you’re a fan, stop thinking like a television executive. If you enjoy the product on the field, why do you care about the television ratings? For that matter, why do you care about the attendance. If only baseball was that simplistic. The truth is, fans should be more passionate about ratings and attendance than TV executives. They should live and die with their team’s success or failure. The popularity of baseball means nothing to those who don’t watch baseball, because they don’t know how great the game really is. The success means nothing to those who have not been sucked in. Baseball’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement pushes the sport into the future and will help gain back fans it lost and win over fans it never had. I’m under no delusions that baseball can compete with football, but they can coexist and baseball can return to its glory days.
Realignment and an added Wild Card in each league will do this. If things go forward as reports indicate they will, the Houston Astros will soon be playing in the American League West, every division will have five teams, and inter-league play will occur on almost every day of the week. In addition, two more play-off teams appear imminent. The details have yet to be worked out, but two Wild Cards from each league will be playing in October (or maybe September depending on scheduling).
Realignment
For the first time since the Brewers moved to the National League, baseball will see even divisions. The idea that two divisions in baseball were out of line with the other four was ridiculous. The fact that it went on so long is asinine. With realignment comes a natural balance. Five teams in each division. This clears the path to a more balanced schedule, more uniformity in the competition, a larger focus on division games, and inter-league games throughout the year (a personal favorite for me, but probably not for everyone).
Whether it comes to fruition or not, realignment should allow every team in each division to play the same schedule as their counterparts. As it stands, division races are won and lost with schedules that do not match the competition. This makes no sense. It never has. Sure, realignment may not eliminate this, but it is a big step towards fixing things.
A uniform level of competition means a lot. More than just for the balance of the schedule, a uniform level of competition is exciting for the fans. Fans who normally get stuck with the bottom rung of inter-league games, or have a team that plays in a terrible division, will be exposed to competition from teams they otherwise would never have seen. In theory, fans will flock to the ballpark to see teams they have never seen before or teams they rarely see. Unfortunately, this would be a short-lived phenomenon. Again, it’s a start though.
With a balanced schedule, division games mean more. The competition between those teams racing each other for first means more when every team plays the same schedule. It’s easy to compare and contrast. It’s easier to scout and prepare for the competition. It’s better all around. If the Yankees play the same schedule as the Red Sox, then play the Red Sox 18 times during the regular season, each of those 18 games gets magnified more than it already is. The same rings true for every team in every division.
Finally, inter-league play everyday may be enticing to many fans. The idea, one of Bud Selig’s few good ones, took off since it’s introduction. I don’t think there’s any denying the fact that inter-league play is a fan favorite. With realignment, inter-league play would be set for everyday of the season, except for off days. With an uneven number of teams (15 in each league) there is no choice but to have one inter-league series going while the other series are playing out. I love this concept. Why not? American League verse National League is the ultimate goal at the end of the season, so why not give fans a taste throughout the season rather than during one week carved out in the middle?
Extra Wild Cards
With all due respect to my colleague Lew Freedman and his thoughts on the adding two Wild Card teams, the idea is smart and right for baseball. Baseball had fallen behind other sports in their exclusivity of the postseason. While I understand the desire to reward division winners and make the postseason mean more, standing pat on old philosophies does not help the sport. The status quo is never something that helps businesses, people, or sports leagues move forward.
In addition, division winners will see more reward for winning the division. The Wild Card winners are the ones who suffer from the proposed new format. Rather than an auto-in to the play-offs, the Wild Card winners will be forced to play a do or die one-game-take-all thriller. And I do assume these games will be thrillers. Imagine two Game Sevens to start the postseason. Imagine a tie game in the bottom of the ninth during these one-game play-offs. The drama would be palpable and the fans would love it.
I was hesitant to accept a one-game play-off idea at first, but I don’t want baseball to turn into the NBA. I don’t want the season to be year-round. It seems that when the NBA season is actually being played, it never stops. Had the proposal for additional Wild Card teams included a three or five-game series, the MLB season would simply be too long.
Drama, excitement, change, and forward-thinking. All successful businesses thrive off these ingredients. Baseball, though, has missed the boat on many. However, with the new CBA expected to be announced today, Major League Baseball takes a major step forward in attracting new fans, increasing the number of casual fans, and creating a better product overall.