Oh great, so now all 30 teams will have to wear long underwear at the start of the season rather than at the end.

Just kidding, the earlier the WS, the better.

Finally, some common sense. There's no reason the season has to start on a Monday when it can push the season back by almost a full week at times.

Lop off 8 games from the schedule and then you got something.

Lop off 8 games from the schedule and then you got something.

Never give up the gate/TV advertising.

The best you could hope for was some scheduled split-gate DH's.

4 sparsely attended home games have much value? WEll, if the supply is restricted that mean the rest of the tickets have more value.

Sparsely attended?

Not every team is the New York Yankees?

More scheduled DH, and fewer off days at the ASB.

I don't have a huge problem with this though. Why not just start the season on Monday, March 26 though?

The solution, of course, is to play most of these early April games in warm-weather cities (San Diego, Arlington, Atlanta, etc.) or indoor/retractable roof places (Toronto, Seattle, Milwaukee).

4 sparsely attended home games have much value? WEll, if the supply is restricted that mean the rest of the tickets have more value.

It's ~5% of your gate, concessions, TV and radio advertising.

It may not be 5% of revenue (if you eliminate mid-week games, etc.), but it's 3-4%.

Not every team is the New York Yankees?

Or the Red Sox, Cardinals, Twins, Phillies, Mets, Cubs, or Tigers, all of whom get outstanding TV ratings, and in most cases, excellent attendance?

No, the teams won't want to give up 4 home games and 4 road games, moneywise. 5% of the schedule is a lot.

Hell, let's add 8 more games to the schedule then.

Hell, let's add 8 more games to the schedule then.

Don't give them any ideas.

Hell, let's add 8 more games to the schedule then.

Well, that's kind of been done.

Due to the historical tie, I wouldn't object to 154 games, though I don't desire it, necessarily. It's a long schedule, whatever you do, with the extra round of playoffs.

Thumbs up for Bud for ending the season at a reasonable date. I can't remember the last time I agreed with him.

4 sparsely attended home games have much value? Well, if the supply is restricted that mean the rest of the tickets have more value.

If they want to lop off poorly attended games, they can try to lop off some Thursday noon games against bad teams. But that won't shorten the season.

More scheduled DH, and fewer off days at the ASB.

If they want to shorten the season, why not cancel the All Star game/break altogether? Play the All Star Game at the end of spring training instead if you want. They can get 3 or 4 days back that way. I'm sure players really deserve the break in the middle of the season, though. I'd actually hate to take that away from them. I'd at least use that as a bargaining chip to try to get more scheduled doubleheaders. Would the players pick 4 doubleheaders per year with an All Star Break, or no doubleheaders and no All Star Break? I bet they'd pick the double headers.

Elias is wrong--the majority of teams opened the 1973 season on Friday, April 6 (10 of 12 NL teams and 8 of 12 in the AL).

The regular season would end Wednesday, Sept. 28 with playoffs opening on Sept. 30 or Oct. 1.

Hey, if they schedule the first two games of all four division series for Friday and Saturday, they can duck the NFL completely!

If they want to lop off poorly attended games, they can try to lop off some Thursday noon games against bad teams. But that won't shorten the season.

Why have these games becomes so prevalent? When I was a kid, there was one weekday day game a year - and the Royals hyped it up as a "businessman's special" and it generally was close to a sell out. Now, it seems like every Wed/Thur travel day is a day game, and for bad teams, you're lucky to get 10k fans.

Did the union demand this?

Elias is wrong

Fear not. I'll pick Bill Madden up off the floor.

Why have these games becomes so prevalent? When I was a kid, there was one weekday day game a year - and the Royals hyped it up as a "businessman's special" and it generally was close to a sell out. Now, it seems like every Wed/Thur travel day is a day game, and for bad teams, you're lucky to get 10k fans.

I'd say this, "it generally was close to a sell out" was why it became more and more common if in fact it is more common. I know the Phillies before switching stadiums used to do a businessman's special once a month but I don't know about them doing it lately. If I had to guess I would say that as more and more seats are purchased by corporations and businesses the occasional day game becomes more and more popular.

Does this mean most teams will have Saturday, April 2nd off?

Why didn't they call it "unemployed bum's special"?

When I was a kid, there was one weekday day game a year - and the Royals hyped it up as a "businessman's special" and it generally was close to a sell out. Now, it seems like every Wed/Thur travel day is a day game, and for bad teams, you're lucky to get 10k fans.

Did the union demand this?

Good question. I first remember this in the early days of Camden Yards, when sellouts were common and when midweek day games seemed like a perfect way to play hooky from work. And the top-drawing teams who try this will still sell out most of their games. It may have something to do with so many new stadiums being located downtown instead of on the fringes of the city, but it also makes sense from a travel standpoint.

Does this mean most teams will have Saturday, April 2nd off?

That's a good question, and I'd have to guess no. I suspect that will be a casualty of the new schedule (and, selfishly speaking, good riddance. I hate that day).

That's a good question, and I'd have to guess no. I suspect that will be a casualty of the new schedule (and, selfishly speaking, good riddance. I hate that day).

If opening day on Friday is rained out, they could do a split doubleheader on Saturday. That's much more reasonable than doing it on a Tuesday.

Why have these games becomes so prevalent? When I was a kid, there was one weekday day game a year - and the Royals hyped it up as a "businessman's special" and it generally was close to a sell out. Now, it seems like every Wed/Thur travel day is a day game, and for bad teams, you're lucky to get 10k fans.

Money's tight, and I generally work evenings and weekends, so I was hoping for one of these afternoon games against a lousy team. I searched the whole schedule and I couldn't find a single Met home game on a weekday that wasn't in the evening.

removed. RMPL. Sorry.

I don't like this. I'm not wedded to Opening Day being on a Monday, but this is the wrong solution to ending the World Series in October.

There should be fewer off days during the playoffs. The increase in those off days is what bumped the WS into November in the first place, and getting rid of those off days is the right way to fix this problem (which was Bud's creation, anyway).

There should be fewer off days during the playoffs. The increase in those off days is what bumped the WS into November in the first place, and getting rid of those off days is the right way to fix this problem (which was Bud's creation, anyway).
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Well, this plan is doing some of that as well - last year the playoffs started on the 7th and the WS started on the 28th (21 days later). This plan would have the WS start 18 or 19 days after the start of the playoffs.

Bud has found yet another baseball tradition to throw in the dumpster.

The tradition of ending the World Series in November? Or the tradition of starting the season in China or Japan or somewhere while no one is paying attention?

I've always wondered why Opening Day was always on a Monday (recent Sunday ESPNfests and games in Asia aside.) Don't sports always get the most exposure on weekends? And games #2 and #3 are notably terribly attended on weekdays but would attract a lot more on Saturday-Sunday. This change actually makes sense and is about 20 years overdue IMO.

The back end in October makes sense too. Bud didn't insert the postseason off days just for their own sake or on a whim. They were inserted to expand out the postseason schedule where Fox wants it. Fox/TBS wants the LCS to cover two weekends, then games 3-5 of the World Series on a weekend. That maximizes exposure for both the LCSes (at least one will go to games 6-7 on the second weekend) and the middle part of the World Series (when it is usually won in recent years.) They figure that WS games 6-7 will pull enough interest in their own right on a weekday, without being a great programming loss if they don't happen.

But to get the LCSes on that schedule after the season ends on a Sunday, you have to inflate the LDSes to cover a huge period from one Tuesday to the next Thursday. So it makes more sense to end the season midweek, then start the LDSes on the weekend with greater exposure both for them and for the start of the LCSes the next weekend.

This change really does make sense all around. The one loss is putting the last regular-season series midweek instead of weekend, bumping the traditional Fan Appreciation Days out of their pleasant weekend afternoon spots. But a compelling playoff race will still be compelling midweek, and even gets out from under football a little bit.

TFA says that the Giants and D-Backs would open in Taiwan the weekend before. Would there be any games on Thursday night e.g.so ESPN could have its own Yanks - Red Sox Opening Night?

TFA says that the Giants and D-Backs would open in Taiwan the weekend before. Would there be any games on Thursday night e.g.so ESPN could have its own Yanks - Red Sox Opening Night?

Only if it's not Yankees-Red Sox (or Red Sox-Yankees).

It shows how serious we are in doing this.

yep, a real profile in courage!

Three things to like about this (other than avoiding November baseball):

1) Opening Day no longer falls on the same day as the NCAA Championsip, which it did about 80% of the time.
2) (Presumably) all teams will start on the same day, with the Reds going back to being the traditional first pitch of the season.
3) (Again, presumably), no off-day after opening day.

2) (Presumably) all teams will start on the same day, with the Reds going back to being the traditional first pitch of the season.

Except there's an overseas trip (which is the only exception I'd ever make to the rule.) Otherwise the first pitch in anger should be delivered in Cincinnati, a city that treats Opening Day with the reverence it deserves.

The Reds are not the "traditional first pitch." Hell, they usually start at 1:10 instead of 1:05. The Reds have traditionally played a home afternoon game on opening day. There is a difference.

The Reds are not the "traditional first pitch." Hell, they usually start at 1:10 instead of 1:05. The Reds have traditionally played a home afternoon game on opening day. There is a difference.

Didn't use to be Fly. For several years the first pitch was thrown in Cincy (though other teams opened the same day), then other teams started beating them by a few minutes, and then the Sunday Night game blew it all to hell.

But I think it should be a rule, because the Queen City does Opening Day right.

Guys, why not just play more doubleheaders? Real doubleheaders, pay one price for two games, like they used to do back in the...hey! Stop laughing!

I thought that there is a rule now that mid-week games where the visiting team is going home the next day the game has to be an afternoon game. For instance tomorrow the Mets have an afternoon game against St. Louis because the Cardinals are going home for a game against the Pirates on Friday. On the other hand, the Yankees are playing at Tampa on Friday, so it is OK for the Indians to schedule their game for tomorrow against the Yankees as a night game.

Obviously that doesn't account for all of the mid-week afternoon games, but it does account for many of them.

I thought that there is a rule now that mid-week games where the visiting team is going home the next day the game has to be an afternoon game.

IIRC, it depends on the length of the travel, and it's for either team. If either team has a flight of 2.5 or more hours to a game the next day, it must be a day game. Hence the Mets-Cards case today since St Louis is far enough away to trigger that. The union can agree to exceptions, so a single counterexample doesn't disprove. I believe one such case was the last game of the Mets-Marlins series in Puerto Rico where the Mets flew to Washington for a game the next night. Rainout rescheduling can also cause exceptions.

If either team has a flight of 2.5 or more hours to a game the next day, it must be a day game. Hence the Mets-Cards case today since St Louis is far enough away to trigger that.

I think it has also has to do with direction of travel. You can play an afternoon game on the east coast on Sunday and a night game on the west coast on Monday. Going in the other direction, you need an off day in between.