How the MLB 2012 Season Should Look Like

With the NFL and NBA hitting lockout status in recent days this is the opportunity for baseball to make a leap of faith and change up its image a little, to try to attract new fans. Yes baseball is the most traditional professional sport out there, as no other sport contains so many small, faulty, and unwritten rules. MLB has never been a fan of changes, even if it means improving the overall sport. I am going to present to you my dream season, what I think the 2012 season should look like in terms of scheduling structure. As for changes to the game itself, I’ve already discussed in many previous articles.

My dream season consists of:

1) The Houston Astros moving to the AL West OR the Milwaukee Brewers move to AL Central, moving Kansas City Royals to AL West.

It is extremely unfair that the divisions are not evened out. The AL West becomes a cakewalk because of minimal competition when compared to the likes of the AL East and the NL Central. The sixth team from the NL Central should be removed and placed in the AL. If it’s the Astros, automatically throw them in the West so they can match up with their rival the Texas Rangers. If it’s the Brewers, the last team to switch leagues, then they should go back to the AL Central while at the same time move the westernmost AL Central team to the West—in which case it’s the Royals. It might be odd to see the Royals in the same division as the Athletics and the Mariners, but we need 6 divisions of 5 teams. It is the only fair way to do it.

2) 6 Games versus every non-divisional opponent in your league

One way to limit the amount of games is reduce the amount of times you play each team in your league. We can start with the teams not in your division. Usually the number varies from 6-9 games. We should flatten it, even it out, make it just 6 games against each opponent, no questions asked. As long as your opponent is in the league but not in your division, you will engage in two series against them—one home, one away. With my 15-team format, that means you’ll get 66 games in this category.

3) 12 Games versus your divisional rivals

Usually each team has to play each rival 18 times. If we can lower that down to 12, the value of the games will increase dramatically and can make the season far shorter. With the 15 team format with 5 teams in each division, you’ll see 4 teams a total of 12 times each. That makes it 48 games. If we do the math, we are now at a far more manageable 114 games against your division as opposed to 140+ in seasons we see nowadays.

4) 6 Games against “Rival” Franchise

Love or hate Interleague, its here to stay. The numbers have always been better, the ratings have always been good, and so have the attendance figures. Almost every team has their so-called rival, and these games must remain on schedule. The Mets should still play the Yankees, the Marlins should still play the Rays, the Royals should still play the Cardinals, the Orioles should play the Nationals, etc. One series at home, one series away. Still doing the math? We are now at 120 games.

5) 6 Games against Lottery Drawing Team

I have mentioned many times before that we should have a lottery drawing for interleague play, that way any team can have an equal shot at taking on higher-profile teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Cubs, etc. Let’s be honest, the schedulers will probably not make a Cubs vs. Royals or a Yankees vs. Nationals series unless it’s randomly chosen. I say out of pure fairness this lottery should occur. Gives us a better chance to see extremely odd matchups like Reds vs. White Sox, Rays vs. Giants, or Red Sox vs. Padres. Doing the math again, it pushes the schedule to 126 games. Just 126 games. Doesn’t that sound much better than 162 games?

In this day and age, 162 games is just far too much. But 126 games sounds much more suitable, and definitely enhances the value of each baseball game.

6) Top 5 Teams make the playoffs

Let me start by saying that I am thoroughly enjoying the current playoff format. I think it’s perfectly fine. And I will be the first to admit that I was hesitant in accepting the format that has been floating around for about a year. The format would be the 4th and 5th seed would fight for the final spot and take on the #1 seed. The only argument is whether or not it should be a one-game elimination match or a three-game series. I say with this format next year, it should be a one-game playoff. Some of the greatest games of all-time have come from one-game playoffs. That way it forces the Wild Card to avoid nabbing the Wild Card seed because they are still one game away from losing the entire season. It would add more insanity to the already-crazy playoff race that occurs every year in Major League Baseball.