The Answer To The Baseball April Weather Problem

[swerb]

Very simple.

Each team plays one scheduled doubleheader each month, six in all. Make three of em traditional, and three of em twi-nights so owners don't complain about losing six games of ticket revenues.

This allows you to start the season one week later, April 8th. Does it take weather totally out of the equation? No. But it helps. Combine that with early home games for northern teams being divisional, so they're easier to make up.

You can't have southern teams play a disproportionate # of home games in April, only to have more road games later in the year ... when games are more crucial, and ticket sales are higher. They'll never agree to it.

The owners will never agree to a shortening of the season, which will take money out of their pockets.

I know you read these boards Selig ... so when you go with this plan, just be sure to give me proper credit.

[leadpipe]

Swerb, mention to them that ending the season before november might be a good idea as well.

[dpdad]

All good suggestions, Swerb, but I am not holding my breath for them to be implemented. Peter Gammons had it right recently, "The problem with baseball is the owners act like they run thirty separate businesses, instead of thirty parts of a single business." Until the owners are able to put aside their own interests in pursuit of the greater good of the game, these problems will continue. A strong commissioner might be able to provide leadership and keep the owners in line. Unfortunately the current commissioner is not that person.

[leadpipe]

To add to the above, solving this schedule problem would be in the fans best interest. Baseball, with it's ridiculously strong union and closed books has personal best interests ranked waaay ahead of the fans. All this, Indians getting screwed etc. The real guy getting screwed is the one who took his young son down there Friday and sat in freezing temperatures. The talking heads for Major League Baseball will lead you to believe this problem can't be solved. Nonsense. They just don't want to pay for an extra trip or two a year which they could easily afford thanks to record setting fan support thru work stoppages, illegal drug use, poor player conduct and the like.

So, dad is correct, however, even if he got the owners on board they would still have the players hurdle. And, even though I'm sure guys would rather be on the road for a few weeks playing in 75 degrees rather than home at 35, the union will still pitch a bitch to hold things up. So, even if this would move quickly, Major league baseball should implement it around 2020.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I like the idea Swerb, though I think baseball just officially axed the twi-night doubleheaders unless absolutely necessary. Going back to more doubleheaders really connects with baseball's past - and some can go on weekends where a day at the ballpark could be a fantastic family outing.

I'd prefer adding the return to a balanced schedule as part of the equation, but that would pretty much eliminate interleague play. I don't see that happening any time soon.

Starting a week later coupled with divisional games up front would go a long way to preventing a weather problem. It'd also be best that if MLB sticks with the unbalanced schedule that they start up the northern, non-domed cities with non-division teams that come to the city more than once during the season. Oakland, for instance, is a non-divisional foe that comes to Cleveland for two series this year.

[Dozen]

Going back to more doubleheaders really connects with baseball's past - and some can go on weekends where a day at the ballpark could be a fantastic family outing

I got alot of great memories of going to afternoon double-headers at the old Muni with my pops. I'd love to do that with my son.

[Jumbo]

This past weekend was unusual. However, one point that I think hasn't really been mentioned is the following: the fact that it was snowing, rather than some other kind of catastrophe (rain, hurricane, earthquake, stadium damage, whatever) meant absolutely nothing to the cancellation of the Mariners series. (It did mean something for the Angels series - the snow has been, apparently, sitting on the field with nowhere to go, and has also apparently soaked into the field.)

But: it is not unprecedented for entire series to be washed out by rain. I actually think it happens quite often, including in April. (In fact, it happened a few years ago in Boston for an Indians/Red Sox series on Easter weekend...but since it rained, instead of snowed, it's a mere statistically oddity rather than an apparent indictment of early season games in the North.)

So, worrying about keeping games out of Cleveland early in the season isn't that big of a deal (fan comfort aside, which is a separate - and still important - issue...but not one germane to whether or not games can be played.) Instead, what made this stupid was having both the Mariners and Angels travelling to Cleveland for their only trips this early in the season. So, the simplest solution is the best: Put divisional games early, or return to the balanced schedule.

[consigliere]

So, the simplest solution is the best: Put divisional games early, or return to the balanced schedule.

Yep.

That's my solution. Look, if doesn't matter when the Indians play at home in April, all the games are at risk for whacky April weather. It could snow the first week of April, it could snow the last week of April. So it doesn;t matter when you start at home.

The obvious fix here, is you avoid at all costs playing West Coast teams in cold weather stadiums to start the year. Also, since you play your own teams in youyr division 3 sets at home throughout the year, it only makes sense that you open at home (and away) against your entire division the first month.