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| Image via the Sacramento Bee |
In England's preeminent league, the system ensures that every game matters. So why not bring that type of urgency to America's Pastime?
Baseball has long held the distinction as America’s Pastime, and for much of its existence, the moniker fit. Children grew up watching the games and checking the morning box scores, and spent their afternoons on the diamond as soon as they could fit a glove on their hand. The sport is said to have been founded in 1875, which puts it 45 years older than any other the other major American sports.
However, the landscape has changed in recent years. Even with that four-and-a-half decade head start, the MLB was challenged, and eventually overtaken by the National Football League
I would like to see baseball regain its lead position. But to do that, the MLB must overcome its lack of parity and stagnant system. To reclaim its title as America's Pastime will take radical change, and so in that spirit, here's my proposal: Major League Baseball should take a page from Europe's English Premier League and become a relegation-based league.
For those who don’t follow English “football,” a relegation league employs a tiered system of divisions, where the bottom three teams in each division move down a level and the top three teams from each division move up at the end of the year. The annual shuffling increases the stakes for every team, forcing them to battle throughout the year to move up into the top three or stay out of the “relegation zone,” or the bottom three. It's one of the most creative league organizations in existence, and though it'd take some work, applying the system to U.S. baseball could revolutionize the MLB.
I would propose a three-tiered system: the Major Leagues, AAA, and AA. There would be 30 MLB teams, 28 AAA teams, and 30 AA teams, making for a grand total of 88 teams. Underneath those levels would be a traditional farm system, where teams would still able to develop prospects and bring them up and down. That farm system would be excluded from the relegation system.
In this scenario, baseball broadens its presence throughout the country. Right now, 30 MLB teams reside in 27 cities. Add in the AAA and AA teams, which all reside in different cities, and that means that of the 88 teams in the league, there would be 85 cities that claim teams. Only Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles would have multiple teams. Thirty-nine states would boast a baseball franchise under this alignment.
From a competitive standpoint, teams could no longer “play for next year.” Rebuilding years would risk moving down a league, something few owners would want to see. Those “throwaway” games at the end of the season for last place teams would suddenly mean something.
Teams could no longer be financially irresponsible, either. Whether it's building an expensive stadium or paying multimillions for an injury-prone player, management would have to weigh the risks of a down year that ends in relegation and a significant blow to their finances. On the flip side, teams that build steadily through shrewd moves and player development would face the prospect of greater riches as their play improves.
Perhaps the most significant impact would be among the fans and their rooting allegiances. You would see local talent scouted and developed in each region, with kids growing up dreaming of playing for true hometown teams like the Birmingham Barons or Toledo Mud Hens, rather than the closest big-city squad.
It goes without saying that a relegation system would take a lot of changes, and maybe too many in baseball's advanced age. Conferences and divisions would need to be realigned every year. Travel for small-market teams would be difficult (it works for football teams across tiny England, but a small East Coast team would have trouble paying its way to California every year). Major League teams would resist the possibility of moving down to a lower level, of course, and contracts, the draft and the decoupling of affiliated minor league teams from their parent franchises present fresh challenges. But the first step toward any radical change is sketching a broad outline, and in this case, that outline is certainly intriguing.
The last thing on the wish list is an MLB version of the EPL's FA Cup, which is a knockout tournament that involves every pro team. Matchups are randomly assigned each round, meaning AA and AAA teams would have a chance to host one of the big boys and potentially knock them out. America loves the “Cinderella story,” and nothing would make for a better story than the AA Binghamton Mets somehow beating the Boston Red Sox.
It's a long shot, sure, but relegation is worth a deeper look. I believe that with it, the MLB would be revitalized in the eyes of sports fans, and become a growth story once again. Baseball would be back. And nothing would make me happier than seeing baseball once again occupy the throne as America’s Pastime.
Parker Swenson is a contributor to Began in '96 and an expert at dreaming up ways to bring a championship home to Portland, Maine.
6 comments:
I think you would also have to completely recreate free agency as well.
Obviously current minor league teams cannot compete financially with the Philles, Yankees and Red Sox. They would have to adopt a similar system in football where kids can be signed at practically any age and put into academies. You would also have to treat them as assets like in European football. I suspect the only way minor league teams could survive would be to adopt a system like Ajax. Train young players to be top-flight starters. Sell them to the big dogs and use that money to put a respectable/cost-efficient team on the field.
But a really interesting idea none the less.
I don't think you would have to re-think free agency entirely. You just have a large pool of players that any of the ninety teams could buy. You would still have an uneven playing field, with the Red Sox and Yankees buying the best players. That is no different from Man U or Chelsea buying the best players.
It would give older players, those clinging to one more season of glory, the chance to play for a Pro team and compete. A AA team might take a flyer on an older guy like Jason Varitek or a struggling former star like Dontrelle Willis. And those pros would love the chance to fight for glory on those teams and re-make their name.
Agreed, you would have to have academies and lower level teams. A and A-Advanced would exist for prospects to get real game exposure. Additionally, you could adopt a structure like La Liga in Spain, where teams like Barcelona have a "B Squad" that competes in the second league but is not elegible to move up or down. They just play games to work their players, and other teams in the B League are happy to compete against Barcelona's squad as it helps sell seats and bring in more money.
It will never happen, but I think it would be pretty cool to see the game turned on its head
Under this proposed system, what kind of roles would you have divisions play? Would you want there to be scheduling by division? If so, I feel strength of schedule would need to be examined, as the lower teams in stronger divisions (AL East for example) would be in more danger of being relegated, while they may in fact be better than teams who play weaker schedules.
Obviously this wasn't a full suggestion, and I am in fact intrigued by the idea, regardless of plausibility. Just curious as to your opinion.
I actually think that divisions would be a casualty of this idea. Each of the 3 Leagues, (MLB, AAA, and AA) would be split into two conferences that were geographically designed. You can still have Inter-league play, but aside from that, travel would be limited to half of the US (plus Toronto...). Each team would play against the other teams in it's conference a set amount of times each year, with another set games in Inter-League.
With the relegation concept, you could send down the bottom team in each Conference, with the second worst teams in each conference playing each other in a 5 game playoff format to see who stays and who goes down.
The difficult part is the teams that switch leagues - how do you align them in the conferences. You would have two teams that would fit, as the Eastern Champion from AAA would move into the Eastern Conference in MLB that was vacated by the worst team. The same thing would happen with the Western Conference. The problem is you would have one team that would essentially be assigned to a conference, regardless of where it's located in the US. This would hurt a small team from the Northeast that had to play in the Western Conference.
You could mitigate this problem by relegating and promoting 4 teams. The EPL relegates 3 teams from a 20 team field. It might be logical to increase that to 4 teams relegated out of 32. That way the bottom two teams in each conference would be dropped. (Could still do the playoff to decide, with the second and third worst teams in each league playing each other to remain).
Great minds think alike my friend http://firstandden.blogspot.com/2010/03/fixing-mlb.html
Haha that's hilarious Manderson. I started following EPL closely about two years ago and keep thinking it would really help the MLB
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