New Commissioner, New Ideas

Rob Manfred Has Been Busy Talking About Change

With the time nearing for pitchers and catchers to report to their respected teams, Major League Baseball has welcomed in a new commissioner, Rob Manfred. Manfred will replace Bud Selig, who leaves large shoes to fill.

            Selig is credited for a lot of key changes that have helped baseball out. In the mid 90’s Selig introduced the wildcard, which has allowed us to watch some awesome September races. He introduced interleague play, where on mid summer days you can find your local team playing teams that you would have never seen if not for this. Selig also made the All-Star game watchable again by putting something on the line. Winner of the game will get home field advantage for the World Series. The All-Star game went from showing up to have fun to an actual competition again. With the introduction of Tampa Bay and 18 new stadiums, Selig helped move baseball into a new era while dealing with the increased popularity of steroids. All in all you have to give him a pat on the back for keeping our national pastime as it was.

            Manfred would be smart to stay on the same path but it looks like early into his new job he is trying to stamp his name on baseball already. His biggest goal right now is to speed up the game of baseball. His goal would be to take 10 or 15 minutes off of every game. Making this happen by having teams ready to go after commercial breaks in between innings and he is also talking about making shifts illegal to do. Wait a minute, realigning your defense might become illegal. Yes when Big Papi walks up to the plate the whole left side of the infield can now just take a water break because it might become illegal for them to jog 70 feet over to their left.

            What Manfred needs to do is leave the rules of the game alone. Hurry the hitters up by not allowing them to adjust their gloves after every pitch or readjust their cup. I would say maybe cut down on commercial time but that would cost money and there is no way that would happen. What really needs to be done is attack the blackout rules that effect local fans. Lets make sure that local fans can watch the game, without buying high dollar cable or satellite packages, before we worry about how long the game is. Even better, lets do something about the declining attendance. Maybe make the tickets cheaper and some of the food more affordable at the game just for starters.

            Americans really don’t like change that much, especially when it comes to rules of their favorite sport. I think I can talk for almost the entire MLB fan base when I say, LEAVE THE GAME ALONE. Why not worry about the fan base who helps pay for every single players salary. Lets make the game easier to watch Mr. Commissioner and not worry about where people line up. 

MAYDAY JAY JAY

Twitter @MayDayJJSports