Dear Mr. Selig,
I don’t really feel comfortable calling you Bud yet, but that might change. This letter is the first in a series of letters in an attempt to open a dialogue about how we can fix MLB. Let me be honest, I make a huge distinction between baseball and MLB.
Baseball as a game is just fine. It’s a beautiful game that moves like a wonderful sensual dance.
Sadly, America is not what she once was. Sure, she is still fantastic and does wonderful things but the truth is that football has ruined her to be baseball’s lover. Football and the four letter word known as ESPN. Now, I know that ESPN is probably a touchy subject for you to deal with.
On the one hand you have the benefits of ESPN, namely the cash they are putting into baseball. On the other hand, you have the negatives: the reduction of a beautiful game into two or three highlights, the worship of the home run, the constant moaning about how the game has to change. Can I be honest with you? I always laughed in year’s past when they would say those types of things.
I mean, the numbers don’t lie. You have done a good job making money for MLB. Attendance was up, money in was up. It was good times.
But this year is a little different. All of the moaning and groaning by FoxSports, ESPN and the malingering media have come to a head. The sad truth is that numbers are down this year.
Football and the aforementioned sports media have left fans with a taste of the overly dramatic. They want to see snot bubbles. Subtleties of the game are lost on the average fan. I’m not knocking the fan, I’m just stating facts. It’s time for MLB to evolve. It’s time for the game to change. I hate to admit it but the change must happen.
I love football, but I don’t watch the NFL. You ask why? Well, I don’t like Roger Goodell. I find him to be obnoxious and this whole shield thing ridiculous. The man threatened to sue Churches that had Super Bowl parties! In short, he’s an ass. But his sport is making money. His secretaries, also known as the media are always telling us how wonderful the game is, even though there is often no more than three or four scores a game.
This year, all the rage is griping about the length of time a game takes. And you’ve listened. You’ve ignored some of the most awful umpiring we’ve endured in decades so that we can speed up the game. But there’s the rub.
You
are
going
about
it
the
wrong
way.
We’ve already had five no hitters this years and more shut-outs than A-rod’s had girlfriends! Baseball is a game of timing. Do you really want to start rushing hitters? Do you honestly think our snot-bubble obsessed culture is going to tune in for a quicker game that ends up 2-1? Let me tell you something, they’re not going to watch. The media is going to bitch and moan about the low scores and we’ll be right back where we started.
It’s unintended consequences. You get one thing: that one thing that you are trying for such as quicker games but you’ll get the unintended consequence of boring games.
Despite your critics that think you are slightly less effective than a monkey inordinately affectionate with a football, I think that you really do care for the game and you want to see it succeed. Because of that I’m going to throw some really crazy ideas at you.
You need to consider them. I understand that some will be denied. But it is my hope that they will start some sort of conversation. We don’t want the story of MLB to be like that of Blockbuster, failing to evolve and change and slowly dying. No, we want baseball to be restored to former glory.
Change #1. Put the DH into both leagues.
So Bud, the first change you need to make is the Designated Hitter rule. It’s time to put the DH rule in both leagues. Doing it for the All-Star game was and is a good beginning but it’s not enough. The truth is that no one wants to see Josh Johnson or Roy Holliday pitch. They want to see Hanley, and Albert. People want to see Jeter and Cano. Not Andy or CC.
Today’s fan is looking to see home runs and hits. Putting the DH into both leagues will up scoring and it will lengthen career’s. Imagine if Jason Giambi was swinging all the time in Colorado.
Now, I know that the “purists” are going to have a heart attack when they read what I’ve written here but let’s be honest, you don’t care. Neither do I. At the end of the day we both only care about protecting our beautiful game and making some money for it.
We need to put butts in the seats. We have to accept truth as we find it, not as we wish to see it. Baseball purists are dying. They’re not coming to games and the sad truth is that we are not getting the younger generation. This will be a first and necessary step in changing that trend around.
Thanks for taking the time to read this Bud. I’ll be posting new ideas every few days.
Sincerely,
Yankeesblog.com Writer
Related posts:
- What if you were commissioner? I’ve been traveling a lot on a mini vacay with...
- Ken Rosenthal is One Crazy Man: Split the Yankees and the Red Sox? I admit that I Ken Rosenthal sits on my last...
- Racism and Baseball So last week Milton Bradley came out and said that...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.