The fictitious Chico Escuela said "Baseball has been berry berry good to me". And it is sad that the season is almost at an end. By the time you read this, the Wild Card playoff games will be over, as will be the first (and maybe second) round of playoffs.
Given how long the baseball season is now, MLB has to make some hard long term decisions regarding the sport. For example, if we're going to keep the 162 game season, future stadiums may all need domes in order to deal with November baseball. Of course, they could cut the season back to 154 games. But this reduces revenue, and I doubt this will happen. The owners could go back to a two division, two league format - but they are addicted to the money of having multiple levels of playoffs. In short, the owners have to consider reducing short term profits for the long term survival of the national pastime.
The current playoff structure insures that luck, more than skill, determines who wins the World Series. Over a 162 game season, the best teams generally have the best records. But when short playoff rounds are introduced with teams of nearly equal skill level, luck plays a greater factor in who advances to the World Series. Having more teams in the playoffs keeps more people interested in the sport late in the season. But does it make sense, when baseball needs more fans who love the sport throughout the full season - especially with teams who have usually posted mediocre records, like the Chicago Cubs.
I love the history of baseball as a sport. Yet, I am not a fan of the game, as I don't want to get my heart broken when a team I support loses. (With 30 teams in Major League Baseball, there has to be 29 losers. There is no way around that hard fact.) What would be even worse, would be for me to love a team, and then have it move away - as the Giants, Dodgers, Braves, and others have done. MLB has no loyalty to any city or community. The only thing it cares about is money.
When I was a child, Baseball was THE national pastime. Now, the NFL has a more enthusiastic fan base for American Football than MLB has for Baseball. Even Soccer is gaining a foothold now. Baseball may be a dying sport. Why might you ask? Soccer is the game most immigrants are familiar with. They stay loyal to the sports they may have played in childhood. Now look at football. This game is vicarious violence with rules. It oozes testosterone. In Texas, there is a $50 Million Football stadium being built. Males love this kind of competition. How does Baseball stack up against these two sports? Not that well. I don't see Little League games attract the youth of the nation as they once did. Baseball is no longer accessible to our youth, and the sport is now associated with late middle aged males with money. Football and Soccer have better outreach programs to America's children.
Hopefully, this will change, and we'll see a Renaissance in Baseball. If this doesn't happen, it will be the people who own the major leagues to be to blame....
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