Real Word Series Make Baseball Great Again
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My thoughts on the dismal state of Baseball and what can be done to bring it back. I sent this letter off to MLB, but they never responded. Their lost.
Letter to MLB
Commissioner
Baseball is in crisis. Its long-term viability as America’s pastime is in serious question as fewer people, especially younger viewers, are baseball fans. It is sad to say that more people watch soccer, and even cricket in the U.S. than watch baseball. The solution is for MLB to take bold steps to restore baseball as America’s pastime if not the world’s pastime.
Here’s my proposal to turn MLB around. It requires bold action, and considerable investment of time and resources to grow the sport.
There are four basic elements to my proposal.
Expand the Number of Teams
First, a dramatic expansion of baseball so that there are major league team teams in every state in the US, every province in Canada, and Mexico, and in Cuba, the DR, Nicaragua, USVI, and Venezuela. That would mean expanding the number of teams to 70 teams from the 35 teams that exist today.
I would add expansion teams to the following metro areas
Austin
Charlotte
Columbus
El Paso
Indianapolis
Louisville
Memphis
Nashville
Jacksonville
Sacramento
San Jose
San Antonio
as well as teams in Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
Followed by an Asian Baseball league and a European Baseball league, with 70 teams each.
This would not be as difficult to accomplish as you might first think. First, you would convert minor league teams into major league teams. You would make sure that there is a major league team in each state in the U.S., each Canadian province, each Mexican State, and in the baseball-playing countries of the Caribbean, Asia, and Europe as well, making it a real-world sport.
Each team would play mostly in its region which will be as follows:
Northwest League
Southwest League
Southeast League
Northeast League
Central League
Africa League
And Caribbean/Mexican League
Asia League
European League
This would make it more affordable for teams to travel as they would mostly be playing against teams in their region.
The leagues would be adjusted a bit to ensure that they are all about the same number of teams.
And there would be intense regional rivals for example in the Bay Area there would be regular games between SF and Oakland.
There would also be expansion to ensure that all major markets have a team. For example. in California, we would add a team in Sacramento and San Jose. And we would add a team in Las Vegas, and Portland.
At the end of the season, the North American champion would be crowned and that champion would advance to the real-World Series, which will be a world cup format with 64 national teams (the national champions) competing with the four final games played in the U.S. which will remain as the spiritual home of baseball.
Second, each team would adopt a local school district and local college.
To grow baseball’s future fan base, each team would adopt a local school district and local college, fully funding baseball programs in the local school and college, including scholarships for talented students to go to college.
This would also involve players and team officials serving as coaches and advisors in the local schools, helping them develop and expand their baseball programs.
Only Allow College Graduates to Play
MLB would also recruit for their teams from the local colleges that they sponsor. And MLB would also only accept players athletes who have finished their college programs with a degree setting an example to the other major sports franchises that MLB values education and wants to ensure that their athletes finish their education before beginning their professional sporting careers.
I think that the NFL and NBA should follow suit. It is disgusting that major league sports take student athletes before they graduate and then after a few years spit them out without them having had a chance to earn their degrees.
So MBA should step up to the plate and say,
If you want to play in the majors, you must finish your degree before your first game, or within one year or we will cut you from playing. That would help the student-athletes, and well be the right thing to do.
Third, each team would guarantee that a certain percentage of their tickets would be affordable.
Attending a major sports event costs too much money. To grow the fan base. Each team would sell half-price tickets on game day and one hour before the game sell the remaining tickets for five dollars, thus making baseball affordable to everyone. And they would treat the families of their school programs and college programs to free baseball games. And they would also each week sponsor free tickets for those in need – people living in shelters, people living with chronic illnesses, etc.
Broadcast the Games for free everywhere
greatly expands broadcasting so that the games are available worldwide for free.
Fourth the World Series would be replaced by a world cup format.
All countries that play baseball would be invited to participate in the World Cup of Baseball. At the end of the season in October the national teams from at least 64 countries would play in the world cup which will be held every fourth year. The US will host the first World Cup, and then sponsorship will rotate around all the participating countries so all 64 countries will eventually get to host a World Cup of baseball. the winner of each national championship would represent their country in the real-world series.
If the MLB were to take these steps they would dramatically turn the sport around.
Thank you for taking the time to read my proposal. I look forward to hearing back from your staff and I hope that you can implement some of my ideas I hope that MLB will continue to expand and prosper.