If big-time sports aren’t careful, the pandemic may inadvertently steer them into giving the people what they want.
Hockey’s expanded playoff worked. Baseball’s expanded playoff is working. Baseball is slated to use the same format in 2021. Don’t be shocked if hockey sticks with a 24-team tournament.
The postseason is easy to sell, so expanded versions are a boon to the networks. Same goes for tickets, if that time ever comes again.
Purists carp about dilution, but so what? Give the higher seeds every advantage, like MLB did by letting them host all of the wild-card games.
The NFL moved to the forefront of American sports by constantly updating the game for the sake of entertainment: The more scoring, the better. Isn’t that right, fantasy football owners?
Baseball likes to think it’s clinging to tradition, but the game has slowed to a crawl. During the wild-card round, 39% of plate appearances ended in one of the Three True Outcomes — walk, strikeout or home run. That happened 36% of the time during the regular season.
Fans want to see players running the bases, and running after the ball. Perhaps that’s why several wild-card games averaged under a million TV viewers.
The best things about MLB in 2020 are the rule changes: The runner on second to start extra innings, the DH in the National League and seven-inning games in doubleheaders.
Keep those, and do more. Start by outlawing the infield shift. Keep two infielders on each side of second base. Nobody turns on the television hoping to see defensive strategy play out.
A more radical change: Move the outfield fences back at least 20 feet. Turn home runs into doubles and triples. Turn jogging into running. (You’re not eliminating front-row seats. You’re eliminating back-row seats.)
Hardcore fans are already hooked on their game of choice. Action and brevity attract casual fans. The first priority of a spectator sport should be pleasing the spectators.
