{"id":1798,"date":"2009-12-17T17:16:11","date_gmt":"2009-12-18T00:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/17\/changing-baseball-on-the-field\/"},"modified":"2009-12-17T17:16:11","modified_gmt":"2009-12-18T00:16:11","slug":"changing-baseball-on-the-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/17\/changing-baseball-on-the-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Baseball on the Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being a Nationals fan is all about dealing with the stiff headwind of reality.\u00c2\u00a0 Bud Selig\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new commission to address changes in the game on the field faces such a headwind–one of cynicism and distrust by the average fan.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0We in Washington have as balm an eloquent columnist like Tom Boswell to <\/em>explain things<\/em><\/a>\u00c2\u00a0and coax us along.<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Boswell’s column opines\u00c2\u00a0that the\u00c2\u00a0scope of Selig\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s blue-ribbon commission will seriously address issues like speed of the game, post-season play that extends into November, World Series games that last until midnight and the use of replay.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Speeding up the game is an important issue and having the four best managers in the game to address it will provide\u00c2\u00a0credibility.<\/p>\n

LaRussa, Torre, Sciosia, Jim Leyland, and former manager Frank Robinson, have as deep a knowledge of the game on the field\u00c2\u00a0as anyone.\u00c2\u00a0 Boswell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposition that they will entertain ideas as broad as requiring relievers to face two batters or deleting time for the singing of “God Bless America,”\u00c2\u00a0means that\u00c2\u00a0every thing is on the table.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

That said, however, there is an egregious oversight in the structure of the fourteen person\u00c2\u00a0group.\u00c2\u00a0 Some have pointed out that it is thirteen old white guys and one old black guy–Frank Robinson.\u00c2\u00a0 Racial exclusivity is hardly the only problem.<\/p>\n

There needs to be a method for fan interface with the committee.\u00c2\u00a0 Presenting fans with a set of ideas to be implemented like Moses coming down from the mountain with stone tablets may appeal to Selig.\u00c2\u00a0 But the worst facet of Selig\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tenure as Commissioner has been advancing the game through corporate sponsorship at the cost of everyday fan support.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Providing fans with a chance to comment on or participate in the process could provide credibility and buy-in if it is handled in a way that is real and not the usual showbiz bull.\u00c2\u00a0 One way would be to hold de-centralized meetings where\u00c2\u00a0Selig\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s commission allows input by members of the media and fans.\u00c2\u00a0 Getting those meetings out of New York, Los Angeles and the other cities where corporate baseball is played would help as well.<\/p>\n

Calling them town-hall meetings suggests the kind of staged political fashion show that we see for the quadrennial election cycle.\u00c2\u00a0 They should be more genuine than that.\u00c2\u00a0 One can easily see MLB, Inc. having on-line voting\u00c2\u00a0for the recommendations just to drive up the hits on the MLB web site.\u00c2\u00a0 But giving fans a chance up front to weigh in and prioritize areas for consideration would be a nice change-up from baseball’s old country club boys.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

It would<\/em> be fascinating to see which of the recommendations fans rank highest.\u00c2\u00a0 Do fans care more about the slowness of the game or the inability of their kids to stay up for World Series games that end\u00c2\u00a0after midnight.\u00c2\u00a0 I can only speculate like Boswell, but finding a real mechanism for polling fans for ideas and finding out what is really important to them is worth the effort it would take Selig and his cohorts.<\/p>\n

Maybe they cannot change the over-arching corporate flavor the sport has taken on.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0But limiting fan participation to the ever-patrician George Will is hardly the answer. $1,200 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Legend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ticket prices have undermined the ability of everyday people to enjoy baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 Addressing that should also be on Boswell’s list.\u00c2\u00a0 Getting\u00c2\u00a0the commission to seek opinion from fans who spend more time\u00c2\u00a0watching\u00c2\u00a0the Beloit Snappers than\u00c2\u00a0the Yankees would help.<\/p>\n

Making decisions “for” fans about what they want has gone on too long.\u00c2\u00a0 Changing the game on the field should start by providing better access not just\u00c2\u00a0for Frank Robinson, but for every day fans spanning the palette of colors and hues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being a Nationals fan is all about dealing with the stiff headwind of reality.\u00c2\u00a0 Bud Selig\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new commission to address changes in the game on the field faces such a headwind–one of cynicism and distrust by the average fan.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0We in Washington have as balm an eloquent columnist like Tom Boswell to explain things\u00c2\u00a0and coax us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-view-from-the-capital","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}