The 5.5 Hole

The popularity of baseball is constantly questioned, by myself included. I wrote a three part analysis about baseball's popularity earlier this year. I even jumped on a certain bandwagon during that analysis, but have since decided to think for myself and have backed off that opinion. What opinion, you ask? That baseball needs to shorten its season.

Gene Wojceichowski of ESPN wrote an article about how to "fix" the World Series. What he failed to realize, or acknowledge, is that he was writing about baseball as a whole, not just the World Series. Wojceichowski makes some genuinely good suggestions in his piece (i.e. Expanding instant replay and having larger pre-game ceremonies), but he also falls into the same trap that many writers do when discussing fixes for the game. He suggests shortening the regular season, perhaps back to the 154 games played for four decades early on, and he suggests shortening the LCS and World Series to five-game series'.

Let me first start by asking a simple question: Are fewer people watching the baseball, and the World Series, because it ends on October 27th instead of October 15th? Of course not. If we end the season and postseason by October 15th, will baseball gain back the 20-plus million television viewers it lost since its peak in the 1970's. Clearly, the length of the season is not the problem. People also do not just suddenly get bored because a play-off series is now seven games instead of five. Check the division series ratings (a five-game series) verse the World Series ratings (a seven-game series).


Wojceichowski goes on to suggest limiting postseason rosters to 10 pitchers in an effort to speed up the game, and to flip-flop the DH rules and have the National League use it at home and the American League use a pitcher when they're at home. While I agree baseball has gotten too long, reducing the play-off pitching roster does not change anything and won't increase the game's popularity. People like Tony LaRussa will just use every bullpen pitcher he has instead of saving some for the next game. And the DH idea is a gimmick you'd expect to see in Minor League Baseball, not the MLB. Neither of these two ideas will change television ratings with baseball.

Many, Bud Selig included, will argue that baseball is at the height of popularity now. But those of us with a realistic view of the sport's popularity (and I would include Wojceichowski in this group), understand that baseball peaked in the late 70's, was strong in the 80's, started to fall off in the 90's, and has now become the sport of choice only for die-hard baseball fans. The problem is not based in the format of the game, the play-off system, or the length of the season. The problem is with promotion.

Has football always been as insanely popular as it is now? Absolutely not. The game itself has remained essentially the same for the past 40 years, as has baseball. Yet, football has steadily increased in popularity, taking market share from baseball. Why? Because of promotion. The NFL promotes itself better than any sports league ever has. They jumped on the Internet well before baseball, they used celebrities to market the sport long before baseball, and they have shown fans why football is fun much better than baseball has done with their fans.

Sports are a business. They have mission statements, balance sheets, investors, revenue, and profits. They have employees, customers, and stakeholders. Yet, not every league is managed as such. The NFL has business men and women running the show while baseball has loyalists, purists, and lame ducks running their league. So don't blame the game itself for popularity problems. Blame how the sport is run. Blame the people who are charged with making it a popular sport. Blame Major League Baseball - the business.

From the Office of the Commissioner, Allan H. "Bud" Selig:

Dear Teams,

Let me first start by making a simple request; if I mandate something and it is unpopular, please do not tell the press about it. Take some responsibility yourself. However, if I mandate something and it is popular, please direct all media requests and praise to my office.

I'd like to take a moment to clarify some happenings from September 11, 2011. Now some may accuse us of simply looking for profit on this day. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of a monetary gain from our agreement with New Era, but I can tell you all, the league needs money. But for the sake of explanation, and this is to be the response from all teams, we were trying to present a uniform uniform -- The double word is my favorite part of the argument.

I'd like to take a moment to point out New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon. While he has allowed his players to hurt my feelings and throw me under the bus, he did not put up a fight when told first responder hats could not be worn. You should all take note. I can only wish the rest of the league's owners had the same, healthy fear of my wrath.

Finally, I am thoroughly disappointed with Joe Torre. Mr. Torre was supposed to be able to convey the league's ban on silly hats with a sense of authority. As one to have worn these hats in the past and robbed baseball of additional profits (neither confirmed or denied) from New Era, it seemed fitting to make him the face of our ban. Yet, Mr. Torre failed to exude the confidence that a message from myself, the commissioner, deserves.

So for future reference gentlemen, we are a business and we do enjoy profit. But when approached by media, we should convey a league approved response. This has been a tough time for me. I have feelings too, and the Mets players were allowed to trounce all over those feelings with the truth.

- Bud Selig, your commissioner and voice of reason

It is now September 12th. The mourning, tributes, and moments of silence will have to wait another year for most. Though for the victims, the families of the victims, and those in and around the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the remembrance is year round. A small token here and there can change a person's outlook. It can take feelings of sadness to pride and feelings of hatred to feelings of unity.

But Major League Baseball chose money over tribute. The cash registers were ringing in the heads of MLB executives when they once again (they tried this when the Mets returned to play in 2001) told players, the Mets players especially, they could not wear first responder hats. That while they could wear them during pre-game, they were obligated to wear the New Era hats that the entire league was wearing. That even though this was a team, much like the Yankees who were on the road, representative of New York's loss and recovery, they could not put down the New Era brand for one day ten years after the last time it was done.

Today the world can go back to capitalism personified. Baseball, New Era, and all other profiteering organizations can seize any opportunity they want to make a dollar today. But yesterday was not about money or contracts. Yesterday was not about exposure or marketing. It was about tribute.

Major League Baseball failed in that respect. Bud Selig failed in that respect. Joe Torre failed in that respect. And they should all be ashamed.

Hopefully the honeymoon isn't over. Throughout the entire season, both the players and the owners have refrained from propaganda and vitriol in regards to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire this offseason. By all accounts, both sides seemed relatively in tune with what needs to be done and focused on getting a deal done quickly after the season ends. Unlike Football and Basketball, sports with new agreements revolving so much around money, Baseball doesn't have revenue issues to hammer out. Worst case scenario, they hit a dead-lock on an extra Wild Card team or re-alignment. If that were the case, both sides could easily shelf the discussion and still get a deal done.

Then, two bombs dropped like secret assassins in the night. The first was Baseball's first positive HGH test for a Minor League player, resulting in a 50-game ban. The second, and probably more troubling of the two, was Bud Selig's reaction to how much teams like the Pirates were paying their draft picks.

Former Major Leaguer Mike Jacobs, who was currently struggling through a Minor League stint with Colorado's Triple-A affiliate, became the first professional baseball player to test positive for HGH. Testing was implemented in Minor League Baseball in July 2010. Major League Baseball has yet to implement the testing, but will surely be faced with questions during CBA negotiations. The players and Union are worried about the perceived invasion of privacy that blood testing for HGH represents. This news was followed by Bud Selig's reaction to draft pick signings.

The Pirates paid a reported $17 million in guaranteed money to their 2011 draft picks, a strategy designed to provide long-term, home-grown talent. According to Sports Illustrated, Major League teams spent a combined $236 million. Bud Selig was not happy about this, and word from the ownership meetings was that he is looking to impose a hard cap on draft signings.

Let's address the first issue. HGH testing is being done in the NFL, and given Baseball's track record for PED use, will not be leaving Minor League Baseball anytime soon. Player concerns over blood testing are understandable. The privacy concerns are legitimate. Should the tests reveal any other diseases or ailments, the players have little trust that this information will remain private. Just look at the Mitchell Report for proof that anonymous doesn't really mean anonymous in Baseball. The importance of maintaining what's left of the game's integrity will likely outweigh player concerns. Testing in the Minors will remain, but it still may be awhile before we see such testing with Major League players. It will come though.

Unlike the player concerns addressed above, the contracts paid to draft picks is an ownership concern. At least that's what we are meant to believe considering Bud Selig essentially represents the owners. The problem with Selig's desire for a hard cap on draft signings in Baseball, and why the new NFL rookie pay-scale system couldn't work in Baseball, is because the closest thing Major League Baseball has to a salary cap is the luxury tax. To impose any sort of cap on baseball would be a large change to a system, that while often criticized, has faired pretty well over the years. The slippery slope concern of a draft pick hard cap leading to an overall salary cap is very real.

While it would be easy to say players and owners should just compromise, that's not as easy a solution as it sounds. You have one player issue and one owner issue right? So the players make a concession and the owners make a concession. All solved. Wrong. The players feel strongly about their opposition to blood testing, and Bud Selig feels strongly about the need for a draft pick hard cap.

Things have been tame on the CBA front up to this point, but come the offseason, I'm concerned the honeymoon might be over.

With another season of interleague play in the books and the All-Star Game just around the corner (both of which have the commissioner's handiwork ingrained), I began thinking about Bud Selig's career and legacy.

I've always been a major critic of Selig's performance as commissioner, but decided to take a closer look at his resume. Was this villain and devious master-mind behind baseball's destruction really as bad as I had built him up to be? Has his post lead to the disintegration of the game I love?

The short answer to those questions is no. Bud Selig is far from perfect, but he has navigated the game through a strike and a steroids scandal without losing too many fans forever. More on the steroids issue in a bit.

Selig's biggest claim to fame is the introduction of interleague play. No matter what the skeptics say, no matter how many people cry foul due to the unbalanced schedule, fans love interleague games. Every year most ballparks see a spike in attendance during interleague series. Selig's brainchild has brought more fans to the game, led to increased revenue, and led to an overall increase in interest.

Selig is also responsible for the introduction of the Wild Card. This move was heavily criticized by baseball purists when it happened, but the result speaks for itself. Since its introduction in 1995, there have been nine Wild Card winners that have made the World Series, and four of them won the World Series.

Selig is also responsible for making the All-Star Game count for home-field advantage in the World Series. It was an interesting concept, but has led to a reduction in the spirit of the ASG. It used to be that fans would be virtually guaranteed to see their favorite player get some playing time in the game. Now, managers manage the lineups to win (rightly so). Players who would have seen some action previously, no longer do as each league jockeys for a chance at home field advantage.

A quick glance at Selig's resume would lead you to believe he's been a fantastic commissioner. The positives far outweigh the negatives, right? They do until you remember Selig essentially turned a blind eye to steroid use in baseball.

Lack of testing and repercussions until 2005 is a travesty. There had been plenty of players who were busted for steroids prior to that. There were plenty of suspicions. Players trying to play the game clean were faced with an un-level playing field. Many turned to steroids just to keep up. The famous home run race of 1998 was nothing more than a showcase of performance enhancement.

This all happened under Selig's watch. And for that, he cannot be forgiven. The good he has done for the game gets lost beneath the endless pile of steroids, HGH, and other performance enhancing drugs that Selig ignored. His legacy is now written in stone. Unfortunately, potential accolades for a career well-done have forever been replaced with criticism of his complacency and disregard.

Only after Selig steps down (supposedly after the 2012 season, we'll see) will baseball be able to fully heal. One day, we can sit back and enjoy the benefits of Selig's time as commissioner, but that day will not come with him still at his post.