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| 1980 Topps #540 |
With Bud Selig supposedly retiring in 2012 (and assuming the end of the world doesn't follow soon afterward), if YOU were asked to become the next Baseball Commissioner, what would you do? What changes would you like to make, what things would you leave as-is, what would you like to see as your legacy when your retirement time came?Without further adieu, written as an attempt to relax during tonight's Phillies-Braves game, here's what I would do as baseball's new commissioner:
- Pete Rose would be reinstated.
- Interleague play would be eliminated.
- I haven't done the math here, but the Phillies would go back to playing more games against teams like the Cubs, Cardinals, Pirates and Dodgers. You know, the National League teams would actually play other National League teams. Just like in the days of yore.
- The designated hitter would be phased out of regular season play, but used during the All-Star Game.
- Spring Training would be shorter.
- Chris Berman would be banned from the Home Run Derby.
- For all nationally broadcast baseball games, including the Postseason games, the home team's announcers would call the games.
- The ALDS and NLDS would be a best of 7 series.
- World Series games would start at 7:05 and one of the games would be a Saturday afternoon game.
- Jose Reyes would be suspended whenever the mood struck me.
- The Diamondbacks would be forced to change their name to something that would actually fit on the front of their jerseys.
- Topps would be strongly encouraged to hire several baseball card bloggers to help with design ideas and set composition.
- Fleer, Donruss and Upper Deck would have their licenses restored.
- Each of the four baseball card manufacturers would be limited to five sets a year.
- The Astros would be forced to wear their rainbow uniforms from the '70s at least once a month.
I haven't had a chance to properly flesh out these ideas, but I would finalize my plans during my tour of all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums during the first summer of my tenure. Play ball!
2 comments:
I agree with all of your points (especially about Pete Rose), but would suggest the following changes:
Chris Berman should be banned from the airwaves altogether (and take TIm McCarver with him).
As for baseball cards, Topps should stop this nonsensical habit of including players from the past in their current year sets, and make a card for all the players who (at card printing time) figure to be on a team's 25-man roster.
If they must print cards for Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, and such, make them in a separate set, and stop filling the base set with old-timers!
I'm with you on only including active players in the base sets. I have more new baseball cards of Mickey Mantle than I do of guys like Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Madson.
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