Two recent "Mike & Mike" shows on ESPN Radio were largely devoted to what should be changed in baseball, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in a special to ESPN.com wrote he believes "there is a clear distinction between giving thoughtful consideration to an idea and deciding to move forward with it." Manfred, who called in to the show to discuss the issues, wrote it is "good to have a healthy conversation about baseball and the way it is played," but the conversation "should take place against the backdrop of three fundamental points." The first is that a "major part of baseball's appeal is its history and tradition." Second is that baseball "is a healthy sport." The third is that the game "has changed and is continuing to change." Manfred: "In my view, at an accelerating rate." But baseball is "going to change and evolve no matter what," so the "question is whether to let the change happen or, instead, to manage the change." Manfred: "The answer is easy: Those of us charged with the enormous responsibility of protecting the great game of baseball have an obligation to manage change so that the beauty of our game is preserved in a way that future generations continue to embrace the sport" (ESPN.com, 8/16). In S.F., Bruce Jenkins offers his own list of suggestions for improving MLB "with the game's collective bargaining agreement due to expire in December." These include altering the Wild Card playoff format, shortening the season, banning maple bats, expanding to 32 teams and making it mandatory that teams spend all revenue sharing funds on players' salaries (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/18).
TRANSPARENCY IS KEY? NBCSPORTS.com’s Craig Calcaterra noted the Wild Card game, interleague play and many of baseball’s media and technological innovations "have been excellent," but the implementation of instant replay "has been clunky and ill-conceived, even if the idea of replay is a good one." When MLB has “managed change” in the past, it "hasn’t always been easy." Mostly because MLB "hasn’t always been transparent or publicly accountable when changes are made." Calcaterra: "Baseball has a habit of acting as if there is 100% consensus on any given change and acting as if addressing criticisms of the new rules is an unnecessary bother" (NBCSPORTS.com, 8/17).
