It is time for Major League Baseball to change their schedule

Today was the beginning of hope for next year for many Major League Baseball teams. Each team released it’s 2015 schedule, allowing fans of teams like the Colorado Rockies to start thinking about what might be.

However, there is one thing that is clear when it comes to the people running Major League Baseball. They are tone deaf.

Look around the corner at the NFL. The sport, despite huge health issues from veteran players, continues to grow hand over fist. The interest in football extends year-round. For proof, turn on sports radio in Denver in the middle of March. The Broncos are being discussed at length.

Major League Baseball is becoming more and more of a niche sport. The casual fan is finding something else to do. The hardcore fan is the only one paying attention anymore.

For evidence, look at how much water cooler talk there is about the pennant chases that are coming down to the wire in several divisions. Listen to people talk about the Baltimore Orioles finally breaking through and becoming the favorites to win the American League East. Try and get a word in edge-wise when people are talking about the Seattle Mariners making a run in the tough American League West.

Oh wait, no one is talking about those games. Instead, they are talking about the Miami Dolphins upset win over the Patriots. They are talking about their fantasy football team and which defense they are going to try to trade for. Baseball is no longer on people’s minds. Football has taken over.

Wonder why? Take a look at the Rockies schedule that came out on Monday. Their final game is October 4th. That isn’t the postseason, that is their final regular season game. Look at the postseason schedule. The World Series doesn’t even begin until October 28th. If there is to be a Game 7 of the World Series, it will come on November 6th.

Anyone who has lived in Colorado for any length of time knows that without a doubt, it will have snowed in Denver at least twice by November 6th.

Sure, laugh. The Rockies even thinking about going to the playoffs, let alone the World Series is a joke. But how about Detroit? How about the Cincinnati Reds? How about Boston or New York? Minnesota may have as small of chance at making a run at the World Series as the Rockies do, but imagine a November 6th World Series game that starts at 7 pm in either Minneapolis or Denver.

Baseball is a warm weather sport. It needs to be played before the snow flies. The weather is only the second biggest reason why that is true. The main reason is the NFL. By November 6th, several teams will have already had their bye in the NFL. The games will be in full swing and no one will care about baseball at all.

So what is the answer? There are several things that baseball can do. Of course, starting the season a week earlier presents issues with cold and wet weather in March. However, what games are more important, the first week of the season, or the World Series? Major League Baseball has enough warm weather cities, or teams that play in domes to accommodate starting the season in late March. There are 14 Major League cities that either play in warm weather cities, or have a retractable dome which allows for them to play despite the weather. Teams who play in cold weather cities like the Rockies and Twins can start the season on a six or seven game road trip.

Starting a week early only accomplishes one of the issues, however, and that issue is the least important. The biggest issue is having the most important part of the season coming when the NFL has captivated the attention of the nation.

Major League Baseball needs the World Series to be finished by the middle of October, at the absolute latest.

That task can be accomplished, and it can be done without sacrificing the hallowed records that define baseball, but even more importantly to owners, without eliminating games that reduce revenues. Major League Baseball can still play 162 games and finish the season before fall looks more like winter.

The answer is simple. It is time to bring back the doubleheaders. Every team plays every single Saturday throughout the season. Saturday needs to turn into a doubleheader day, for every team, every week. Each of the doubleheaders could be of the day-night variety, which would allow teams to continue to get full ticket prices for both games.

That might sound crazy, but it is doable. The way to make that happen is to expand the rosters to 26 men all season long. Currently, Major League rules allow for a team to add an additional player on days when the team plays two games. That alleviates the wear and tear on the pitchers in a double-dip.

However, with 26-men on the active roster at all times, on Saturday’s, the teams could have an additional man, making the roster sit at 27 on Saturdays. That player doesn’t have to be optioned back to the minors after the game, like the current rules suggest, but instead, that player can be made inactive, similar to the NFL rules. A team could have one starting pitcher who is deemed their Saturday starting pitcher, or they could mix-and-match who is active or inactive depending on the day or the series. It would allow the team to stay largely intact throughout the season without a ton of shuttling back-and-forth.

The MLB Players Union might disagree with having to play another game, but more roster spots equals more money, even if those roster spots are making the Major League minimum. That give-and-take might allow for the concession. Also, the players might not be too opposed to a longer offseason. They would be more tired during the season, but getting another month off to spend time with their families or traveling, or doing something else that they might take part in might be appealing to the union.

With 27 weeks in the current Major League season, one doubleheader every week would eliminate 27 days of the season, effectively ending the season near the beginning of September. The playoffs could start a day later with the Wild Card round, then the other rounds to follow. The World Series could be done by October 10th, at the latest.

If Major League Baseball’s races were heating up and coming down to the wire in August, would more people be paying attention to the sport than to football’s preseason? If the playoffs were in full swing this week, would people be willing to wait two or three weeks before diving into football? There is no way to know the answer to that question, but it seems more realistic than trying to divert attention from the NFL when things are in full swing in October.

Fixing the schedule would also eliminate the finger-crossing that goes on when the World Series goes into November, with the hope that at least one of the teams that makes it plays in a warm weather climate. Frankly, Major League Baseball has simply gotten lucky that they haven’t had a terrible situation in which their biggest event is forced to be played in a terrible weather situation. Eventually, that luck will run out.

The reality is, so many fans lose their focus on baseball because the NFL takes center stage. It is time for Major League Baseball to stop trying to compete and figure out where they can dominate on their own. Let football have the fall, win the summer and keep people paying attention before football season gets too far in.

Follow me on Twitter @RockiesReview. Like me on Facebook, search “Rockies Review”