What kinds of changes would I make to improve the game right now?
Introduction
“What would you do if you were emperor of the world for one day?” is one of my favorite hypotheticals to ask a new friend. I find it to be very reflective of the person’s values and how they see society. It’s also a bit more grounded than the classic, “what is your one wish from a genie/magical being?” For the record, I would say teleportation is hard to beat. Between the savings (both monetary and time) and convenience, it’s easily at the top of my list for supernatural wishes, but I digress. This is a baseball blog so the more appropriate form of the question is clearly, “What would you do if you were MLB commissioner for a day?” And given that today is one of the most hallowed holidays in the baseball canon, Opening Day, when the prognostication and hypotheticals hit the proverbial road, now seems like a perfect time to pose this question.
First, there are some qualifiers to this exercise: it is not a comprehensive list as there are simply too many topics to touch on in a single article; I’m also not taking into account the buy-in from other parties necessary to actually make these changes; and I’m not really worrying about the realism of these proposals – this is a hypothetical thought experiment.
Immediately end blackouts and support teams to develop direct to consumer (DTC) lines
This one feels like such a no-brainer that it’s honestly difficult to understand why the problem still exists. I have yet to see another sport that seems allergic to allowing its fans to watch the on-field product. Even during Spring Training, finding a televised broadcast was more difficult than trying to find Anthony Rendon actually on a baseball field. In my opinion, one of the reasons baseball’s popularity has slipped relative to the NFL is its confoundingly complex patchwork of viewing platforms. We were again reminded of this inanity today when I and thousands of other baseball fans were seemingly locked out of watching any games on one of the most exciting baseball day of the season. While this latest fiasco obviously wasn’t the result of a blackout decision by the league, it does belie the fact that MLB continues to underinvest in the infrastructure necessary to watch their product. This issue clearly bedevils the other major sports too as the NFL seemingly broadcasts their games on every app imaginable and the NBA League Pass has had its share of issues as well. But those issues are pale excuses for a multibillion-dollar league with the resources and wherewithal to ensure that their product is accessible for the millions of us who pay to watch the sport.
Implement automated ball-strike system (ABS)
Outside of the yearly tradition of seeing players on new teams and the parade of Spring Training cliches, the ABS dominated early storylines when players reported this year. Remarkably however, it quickly faded from view and off the headlines as other topics took up the space instead. While we don’t have comprehensive reviews on the system from the players or umpires just yet, it seemed imminently unobtrusive to the flow of the game. In case you, like me, were unable to watch much of Spring Training (see above), the process was relatively smooth: if a player wanted to challenge a pitch, they simply tapped their helmet or cap, the umpire would pause the game and announce the challenge, and then the result would be displayed on the central stadium display. You can see the entire process in the video below that the procedure only takes a matter of seconds. There are certainly tweaks that could be made to improve the process including changing the number of challenges available to teams, but it seems clear that it is extremely close to being ready for primetime. I’m sympathetic to some of the arguments about the art of framing for catchers, but this current iteration seems to allow for that while also increasing the overall accuracy of the literal heartbeat of the game. Moreover, one of the data points we do have so far indicates that challenges were pretty successful, which reiterates a thought I’ve had for awhile: the umpires are generally good at their jobs and the players know the strike zone as well as we thought they did. It’s silly in my opinion to hold onto a flawed system simply because of the tradition of those flaws. And if you’ve even convinced my parents, two of the most die-hard traditionalists I know that still rail against the designated hitter, then you’ve convinced everyone you need to that it’s a worthwhile change.
Establish an international draft
I know this one might be a bit of a wildcard given the sheer number of issues facing the game right now, but this change could affect a number of long-term challenges the game contains today. First, as evidenced by the second edition of the Tokyo Series this year, the league is committed to growing the audience base beyond North America. What better way to do that than either include international players in the usual amateur draft or have a separate draft that only looks at non-American players? It could also have the ancillary effect of levelling the playing field from the current system that still advantages larger-budget teams that already have an edge in so many other areas of player-acquisition. Similarly, combining this new international draft with a more standardized international minor league system could more effectively integrate some of these players that may never see game action stateside. The players’ union have some legitimate reasons to oppose the league’s counter proposal from the last round of CBA negotiations, but those reasons do little to convince me against some of the outright corruption that is occuring in parts of Latin America around preteen and teenage players who likely will never make it to the upper minors let alone the major leagues.