Call to the pen
Fansided

4 ideas to improve Major League Baseball in 2022

By Jonas Thoms

HOUSTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 02: The Atlanta Braves celebrate their 7-0 victory against the Houston Astros in Game Six to win the 2021 World Series at Minute Maid Park on November 02, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 02: The Atlanta Braves celebrate their 7-0 victory against the Houston Astros in Game Six to win the 2021 World Series at Minute Maid Park on November 02, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 01: The scoreboard displays a message for Kris Bryant #23 of the San Francisco Giants before the game against the Houston Astros at Oracle Park on August 01, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Bryant was acquired by the Giants in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on July 30. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 01: The scoreboard displays a message for Kris Bryant #23 of the San Francisco Giants before the game against the Houston Astros at Oracle Park on August 01, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Bryant was acquired by the Giants in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on July 30. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Move the trade deadline back

Since 2019, Major League Baseball has had one trade deadline (in full season), July 31. Prior to this there was also a waiver trade deadline that allowed trades to be made through August 31, albeit in a more complicated way. As it is now, there is little a team can do after July 31 to improve the team other than claiming someone on the waiver wire or a minor league call-up.

An August 20 trade deadline, coupled with a Wild Card Tournament, would keep more teams playing meaningful games for longer through the season. Using last year’s standings as a model, 21 of the 30 teams would have been in playoff contention (within four games of their leagues final spot) on July 31. By August 20, 17 of those teams were still in contention but that number could have been higher had a few teams not traded away key contributors (i.e. Chicago Cubs).

There would still be 35-40 games after the trade deadline, enough for a player to make a difference. The season (of games that matter) would be extended for more fan bases which certainly couldn’t hurt TV ratings or ticket sales.

Shorten replay window

The fact that teams can review a play in the dugout before deciding to challenge has never made sense to me. How about we give teams 30 seconds to decide if they will challenge or not, no replays allowed during that time? If they decide to challenge, put a clock on the replay officials. With half a dozen camera angles, if the replay officials cannot decipher the result in 60 seconds, then whatever was called on the field stands.

Too many calls have been reduced to individual pixelated frames to make calls or, even worse, runners sliding into a base are called out when they pop up and are off the base by a half inch for a millisecond. I’m pro-replay but the spirit of the rule (to correct incorrect calls) isn’t all that’s happening anymore and replay has become a bit of a caricature of itself over the years.

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