The 10 Things I Would Do If I Were MLB Commissioner
After rubbing the magic lamp, the genie granted him one wish and he became the commissioner of Major League Baseball. He doesn't want to change the basic concept of the game, but he does want some changes to make the experience better for fans.
The playoffs expanded to 12 teams this past season. MLB pulled in $900 million from Disney. Commissioner would create eight four-team divisions in each league. He would award franchises to two cities: Portland and Nashville. He wanted a South Division but there were not enough teams to make a good geographical argument. Colorado Rockies would have been better placed in the NL Central. Arizona Diamondbacks would be the fourth NL West team.
The 10 things I would do as Commissioner if I were in charge of MLB are: End MLB blackouts and give people access to all MLB telecasts. The first one is about the way MLB divides up the country for telecast rights.
When I take over as Commissioner, I will make it easier for fans to watch more games. I would also make sure that players are mic'd up during the game. MLB Network would be available on all TV-alternative streaming services, including Hulu. The 10 Things I Would Do If I Were MLB Commissioner.
The MLB is swimming in cash and needs to be competitive. The salary scale should be similar to the NFL or NBA. There should also be a salary floor of at least $100 million per team. Longer contracts should not be guaranteed. Players should get 50% of the final year of their contracts. If Commissioner, he would introduce a sliding scale for the length of contracts starting with Year 5. This would cut down the contracts and create more player movement.
The NBA and NFL have an advantage with the start of their free-agency period. In MLB, the big deals generally don't go down until the winter meetings. The general managers and owners meetings can still take place as they do.
The winter meetings start on a Monday. The negotiating window would open two weeks before the meetings. Then, beginning on that Monday, signings can be agreed upon. Some agents might have to be persuaded to make deals official before January 1.
There were 350 games that went into extras in 2022, but only one went past 15 innings. The Manfred Man rule has been good, eliminating the 17- and 18-inning games. Doubleheaders can no longer be split day-night twinbills, with the second game starting no more than 1 hour from the completion of the opener. Tickets for games are mostly sold in advance, so owner revenue isn't changing.
The 2022 playoffs will be played in a 2-2-1-0-3 format. The Division Series will also be expanded to seven games. There will still be a travel day between each change of city. Home-field advantage will not be an advantage anymore. The format would lengthen the postseason by a few days.
The MLB Players Association is negotiating with MLB ownership on a collective bargaining agreement. MLB should create an international draft. It should be a 20-round draft with no team passing. There should also be six groups of five teams and a guaranteed top-five selection and another in the top 10 in a six-year span. Each draft pick would be guaranteed $50,000 in education funding. If I were Commissioner, I would create a committee of Latin American players to act as advisors to the potential picks.
The commissioner would create a committee that would have a list of candidates deserving of interviews for on-field and front-office positions. For each opening, a club would interview two minority candidates. Women would be included in this definition of minorities. Rewards for hiring a minority for baseball ops, GM or manager would include a third-round pick after the competitive balance selections.
The 10 things I would do if I were Commissioner would be to create a week of celebrating the game. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is always held on a Sunday. All-Star week is intertwined with the MLB Draft.
The All-Star break is in the first week of July. There will be a new event on Monday with announcing the starting lineups, celebrity softball, and old-timers games. On Tuesday there will also be the draft, Futures Game, high school All Star Game and MLB All Stars batting practice.
The All-Star Game should be moved back from Tuesday to Thursday. Home Run Derby should take place on Wednesday. Thursday is the Home run derby. Friday is a travel day. Saturday is Hall of Fame ceremony. Sunday is no MLB games. The schedule resumes on Monday.
Kids 18 and under get into the game for free every month. They also get free food and drink. MLB Commissioner would offer a season pass for kids. If he were Commissioner, he would also reduce the ticket price to 10 games.
