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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > October > 29 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMLB owners should listen to Selig
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Time and again, Bud Selig has urged baseball owners to shorten the regular season, and time again, they’ve essentially told the commissioner, who is better than you think, to shove a Louisville Slugger down his throat.
A shorter regular season would mean the World Series wouldn’t end near November. It also would mean fewer pennies in the owners’ pockets, and that’s the problem.
If you don’t know by now, it’s all about money in professional sports when it comes to your average owner.
So baseball is getting what it deserves, which means this World Series is nearly as brutal as the 1994 World Series.
That’s right. There was no World Series back then, because of the Mother of All Work Stoppages. This World Series involves Mother Nature, period, and this was so unnecessary.
All baseball had to do was listen to Selig and do something such as go from 162 games to 154 in the regular season. Then the division series would begin no later than the last week of September instead of early October. Then you wouldn’t have what you have now: A World Series featuring television ratings dropping as fast as the temperature in Philadelphia.
With game-time temperatures slated for the low 40s (with the wind-chill factor in the upper 20s) tonight, the Phillies are scheduled to hit in the bottom of the sixth inning during their suspended Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
And did I mention the possibility of rain and snow?
If not shorten the regular season, then get rid of the division series and all of those wild cards. Oh, that’s right. Then the owners would lose more revenue.
What a mess.
Permalink | Comments (30) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
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By Jon
October 29, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
Maybe a mess, but at least a game will end in prime-time. This could be the most exciting games ever on television, a four-inning sprint for a championship. Yes, a mess for baseball purist, but it wouldn’t shock me if ratings were better tonight than other games.
By Howard
October 29, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this
Terence…how about shortening the pre-season…how about playing more double headers?? These suggestions plus what you just alluded to as solutions would work great…but like you said, owners would lose some precious money. Enough said…also don’t those “brains” in MLB and the networks realize the deeper they intrude into college and pro football seasons, that most people…outside of the participating cities in a World Series…will not give a hoot about watching baseball??
By Chris
October 29, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this
Well if they would get rid of some of them off days between games that would help a lot. The first round is the worse with the off days.
By jordan
October 29, 2008 11:52 AM | Link to this
you are always wrong
By Robert Lewis
October 29, 2008 11:55 AM | Link to this
Major League Baseball: MLB New York State tax liens
webofdeception.com/MLB.html
By T-Bone
October 29, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
Good article, TMoore. I didn’t know that Selig had been pushing for this. Maybe he is one of the good guys.
By jim
October 29, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
As usual, you have hit it right on the head Mr. Moore. Baseball ownership is short sighted and that is not going to change. A pox on them and their sport. Ah Jordan, briliant comment. So lame.
By 82DAWG
October 29, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this
Just build a winner in Atlanta again. Its beautiful here in October!
By MrGrego
October 29, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this
Fire the comish! Changing the rules during a world series?
By One Man's View
October 29, 2008 12:30 PM | Link to this
Right on Terence.
Baseball is supposed to be a warm weather game. Even if the season went back to 154, WS would still be in mid-Oct. There used to not be two levels of playoffs before WS. I say create four divisions and have two teams compete for the pennant in each league before WS. BTW, it’s not the Fall Classic.
By Glenn
October 29, 2008 12:35 PM | Link to this
Bud Selig… who is better than you think
Really? I’d hate to know your opinion of Kenesaw Landis or Mr. Comiskey.
By Bob in SF
October 29, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this
Keep 162 games but have a double header every weekend on Saturdays or Sundays. Even make them twilight where you kick everyone out of the stadium after the first game and bring in a new crowd for the evening game. That way you could shorten the season to the beginning of September and the WS would fall in eraly October.
By Sicem
October 29, 2008 12:49 PM | Link to this
Maybe start the season a week or so earlier. The season needs to be 162 games due to the records that have already been set in 162 game seasons. I realize that they used to play fewer games a long time ago and that also had a bearing on the record books. If a player played for 15 years and lost those 8 games per season that would add up to 120 games lost. That could mean 30 to 40 home runs 150 hits 75-80 runs batted in etc. I say keep it at 162 games for the record books sake.
By CrimsonRedScarlett
October 29, 2008 12:49 PM | Link to this
MLB also needs to look at starting times. Are many of us going to stay up watching these late games when we have to get up at a reasonable time? For this reason I gave up on Monday and Sunday night football years ago. In the unlikely event that the series goes to seven games, I plan to watch game seven, unless additional postponements result in a conflict with the Texas-Texas Tech game.By Hal Todd
October 29, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this
All of the seasons overlap. We might try watching a hocky game on the off Monday during the baseball season, or basketball, or Thursday night college football. as high school football takes the Fridays. Alas, I have forgotten the pros…football, basketball, and no soccer at that. Oh, well think I will watch the cartoons tonight.
By USAFCCF
October 29, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this
Mr Moore, Not just the owners but the players should listen too. Do you think the union would like a shorter season? Doubleheaders? I doubt it, They’re chasin the almighty dollar…..
By in the know
October 29, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this
Terrence - why don’t you ask the union if they’d take a 11% pay cut per player? You might recall that in 1994 labor fiasco such was discussed but the union soundly rejected for the same reasons as the owners….$
By Corey
October 29, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this
Change the length of the season? 1961 all over again. Any record or near miss will always be up for debate if you change the length of the season… again. And if your big on records, and most baseball fans are, thats a problem. The simple solution is to shorten spring training a week or two. Duh.
By Mikey
October 29, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this
Great comment from Howard. Why over a month for pre-season? And what ever happened to D-headers? These guys are way too spoiled $$$$$$!!! It’t become very agrivating.
By pat
October 29, 2008 1:32 PM | Link to this
There is to little baseball as is! We need more not less.
Baseball owners want to make money?! Whoa, what a shock…and I thought all along they were running a charity.
By jimfromtennessee
October 29, 2008 1:36 PM | Link to this
Thank you Mr. Moore. I have gleefully wished for a snowed out World Series for years. But instead of shortening the season, why not take out all those ridiculous off days. That is something that goes back ot the days of train travel when it did take a whole day to travel. These guys travel all season long and play the next day. That,and the 3-4 days between the end of the LCS and the WS would make up a week. I just hope it snows for about a week one time and shuts them down until Thanksgiving.
By Mike
October 29, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
they could also just force teams in locales where it snows for the first and last months of the season to build retractable roof stadiums
By GilGarrido
October 29, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this
(1) Start the games at least an hour earlier; (2) tell Fox or whoever broadcasts the games to stop those disconcerting and ridiculous “face” shots of people (a litttle wider angle perspective would be nice); (3) knock off a few commercials (just raise the ad rates to make up the difference); and (4) stop with the dreaded “pitch sequence” replays. Aye Carumba!.
By Train Wreck Bystander
October 29, 2008 1:58 PM | Link to this
And this is with the regular season starting in late March! Just imagine next year, when the season starts a week later.
They should just go back to 2 divisions in each league and thereby chop out a week of the playoffs. And a few more double-headers wouldn’t hurt.
By 1eyedJack
October 29, 2008 2:05 PM | Link to this
Ask any position player and they will tell you they don’t need a month to get ready to play. None of them have to work for a living in the offseason like players used to do, and just about all of them have a gym and a batting cage in their basement. So let’s cut spring training two weeks and as someone said earlier schedule a couple of double headers and we could be starting the playoffs in mid sept.
By Chris too
October 29, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this
I love baseball, but am constantly saddened by the greed and selfishness of the league. They don’t ever operate with the common good in mind (like the NFL does) and the integrity of the game There is no way they should be playing games this late and in weather this cold. I like what others have to say about adding back in doubleheaders. And go back to just the LCS (two divisions) and no wild cards and have this thing wrapped up by the end of the second week of Oct. But who am I kidding, there is no going back. MLB gets what it deserves.
PS-oh and no more inter-league play and DH. and while we’re at it go ahead and move the giants and dodgers back to NY! ;)
By LivininAL
October 29, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this
Why not eliminate the All-star game and break. A bunch of hoop-la.. I dont really think the players are crazy about it either.
By jmart1951
October 29, 2008 3:11 PM | Link to this
I agree with the idea others have had, to shorten Spring Training and begin the season the last week of March (next year’s start is April 6th I think). The players think that Spring Tarianing is too long anyway.
By batcork
October 29, 2008 3:21 PM | Link to this
14 teams in warm weather climates or domes: Sea, Oak, SF, LAA, LAD, SD, Arz, Tex, Hou, Atl, Fla, TB, Tor, Mil. (Not the Twins: they are moving outdoors again soon.) Have these 14 spend most or all of the first 3 weeks of the season at home, cut 4-7 days out of preseason, and start & end the regular season a week earlier than now. This is THE solution, because although I like the ideas of 154 games and scheduled doubleheaders, neither will EVER EVER happen because of the almighty dollar.
I don’t dismiss the idea of a neutral-site World Series as fast as most folks do, but it would be a shame if it came to that.
By kevin
November 8, 2008 8:05 PM | Link to this
why not this have world series start at 3pm instead of 8:30pm n have these low rateings rise up if did that…also if did this say west coast team vs east coast start times in east city be 4pm n in west 5pm start it be late but remember if u did that u see more people watch game on tv n get u 24 million viewers a game on fox.if be west vs west some how game times be at 6pm start est zone 3pm west..I know sounds silly if have afternoon world series u would see more fans watchin the games..