Ten Questions to Ponder
The 1998 season will open with the Milwaukee Brewers in the
National League -- the first time in more than a century that a
major league team has switched leagues. 1997 marked the debut of
interleague play. Even more radical proposals are under
discussion, including additional realignment and playing the
World Series at a neutral, warm-weather site. I surveyed the
Boston Baseball brain trust for its opinion of these issues,
receiving ten responses. Participants included Mike Gimbel, Ron
Marshall, Bill Nowlin, Doug Pappas, Maura Porter, Michael
Rutstein, Luke Salisbury, Mike SanClemente, Zach Soolman, and
John Tomase.
1. Interleague Play: Yes or No? Respondents split down the
middle on this one, with five in favor and five opposed. In a
sport where the DH remains controversial after 25 seasons,
don’t look for this debate to end soon.
2. Interleague Games: Scattered throughout the season, or
grouped? Four of us want interleague games played all season
long. Five prefer the current grouping, while John Tomase, a foe
of interleague play, grumbled, “I could care
less.”
3. Interleague Games: How Many? Six of us think the
current schedule of 15 interleague games per season is about
right. Mike Gimbel wants twice as many, while two foes of
interleague play want it limited to a series or two against
natural rivals. Michael Rutstein submitted the most radical
proposal: a 154-game schedule in which a club would play six
games against each of the other 29 teams, then nine more against
division rivals.
4. Interleague play: Against whom? Six voters want to
rotate the schedule of interleague games each year, except for
annual games against natural rivals. Troy Soolman would also add
an annual regular-season rematch of the previous season’s
World Series teams at the winner’s home park. Two
respondents favor a fixed schedule in which the Sox would always
play the NL East clubs, while two prefer a pure rotation system
which would bring every NL club to town once every six years.
5. Delay Opening Day by a week? With the regular season
now encroaching into March, some owners have suggested that the
risk of snow or extreme could be reduced by pushing back the
season one week. Four of us like the idea, with six opposed. Luke
Salisbury moaned, “I’d go crazy waiting,” while
Mike SanClemente had a hidden agenda for favoring the early
start: “I want as many rain- and cold-outs as possible to
get more doubleheaders.”
6. What to do about the schedule if Opening Day is
delayed? Five respondents would shorten the season by
returning to the 154-game schedule, while four would rather see
more doubleheaders. Mike Gimbel thinks the best solution is to
move the World Series to a warm-weather site. Nobody wants to
extend the regular season further into October or to reduce the
number of off days.
7. Balanced vs. unbalanced schedule? We came closest to
unanimity on this issue, with nine of 10 respondents favoring an
unbalanced schedule which would give the Sox more games against
the AL East, fewer against the Central and West. Editor/publisher
Mike Rutstein was the lone dissenter, prompting speculation of a
Boston Baseball purge of “the unbalanced
element” on the staff.
8. What about realignment? Last summer’s hottest
debate continued to divide the respondents. Three of us thought
that the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays should’ve been split
to create two 15-team leagues. Two wanted them assigned to the
same league, while two favored the compromise which switched
Milwaukee to the NL. Zach Soolman supported a slightly broader
five-team realignment, while Mike Gimbel and Michael Rutstein
urged a total geographic realignment which would leave all
Eastern Time Zone teams in one league, everyone else in the
other.
9. How should the divisions and playoffs be structured? We
split four ways on this issue. A narrow plurality of four thought
the current, three-division-plus-wildcard, was best. Three of us
wanted to turn the clock back to 1993 by eliminating the wild
card and the first-round playoffs, while one favored four
divisions with no wild-card. No one favored expanding the
playoffs.
10. Move the World Series to a warm-weather site? Jerry
Colangelo of the Arizona Diamondbacks proposed this switch. Eight
of us oppose the move, while the Gimbel/Rutstein radical element
favor it.
If you have strong opinions about these or other issues, be sure
to speak up. Too often, MLB hears only what it wants to hear...
Copyright © 1998 Doug Pappas. All rights
reserved.
Originally published in the March 1998 issue of Boston
Baseball.
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