When Steve and Alex Cohen purchased the Mets for a record-setting $2.4 billion in 2020, the owners made two things abundantly clear. First, Steve Cohen said that he would be disappointed if the Mets did not win a championship within his first three to five years of ownership. And second, Cohen has stated that he wants to develop the area around Citi Field into an entertainment area anchored by a...
The 2023 baseball season saw several new wrinkles. For the first time, there was a pitch clock and a limit on infield shifts. The bases were bigger, and pitchers were limited to two disengagements from the pitching rubber per at-bat when runners were on base. The results are in, and while it’s not possible to link all the positives from the 2023 season to the rule changes, it’s...
The Baltimore Orioles made news earlier in the week when they suspended broadcaster Kevin Brown for saying on-air that the Birds had not fared well recently against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Many play-by-play announcers from other teams verbally flogged Orioles management for this decision, including the Mets’ Gary Cohen. To make this story even more bizarre, Brown was asked...
It seemed like a done deal that the Athletics were on their way to Las Vegas for the 2028 season (it is yet undetermined where they will play from 2024-2027). The Nevada governor signed the bill that would allow partial public funding of a new 30,000 seat stadium, and team owner John Fisher appeared committed to moving the ball club to the desert. While the move may ultimately happen, the city...
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to the media during the All-Star break, and a key topic was one that people may expect, the new rules implemented for the 2023 season. It is important to note that prior to the 2022 season (before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed), MLB formed a competition committee to oversee the on-field product. This committee was tasked...
It’s time for baseball’s mid-season hiatus. Though we are past the statistical halfway point, the All Star break is typically regarded as the end of the season’s first half. While the Mets have had their struggles, sitting at 42-48 and seven games out of the last wildcard spot, Major League Baseball is doing well in 2023. Attendance is up, television ratings are up, and there...
The Oakland Athletics move to Las Vegas cleared its biggest hurdle on June 14, paving the way for the team to relocate to a new 30,000-seat stadium on Las Vegas Boulevard. The Nevada Legislature voted 25-15 to approve partial public funding ($380 million) of the $1.5 billion facility. The debate in the state assembly focused on whether or not the publicly-funded sports venues offer a...
Major League Baseball owners, recognizing the road to implementing a hard cap on players’ salaries may be long and difficult (if not impossible), are discussing ways to restrain spending in other areas. Technology, player development, and scouting seem to be the areas targeted for reduced expenditures. In an article in The Athletic by Ken Rosenthal and Even Drellich, the authors note that...
The Oakland Athletics have made their desire to move to Las Vegas well-known. Major League Baseball’s owners have to vote on the move for it to be approved, and that vote may take place at an owners’ meeting set for mid-June in New York. Before that vote can occur, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal by Lindsay Adler, the state of Nevada has to approve a...
As of May 31, Major League Baseball is producing and marketing television coverage of San Diego Padres’ games. This is not an unexpected development, as Diamond Sports Network, the parent company of Bally’s Sports Network (a series of Regional Sports Networks, RSNs), including the one that had produced Padres’ games on television, recently filed for bankruptcy and was in...
The 2023 season began with several rule changes in place, all of which were designed to quicken the pace of play and add certain elements of offense back into the game. According to an article in The Athletic by Jayson Stark, the rule changes are hitting their respective marks to a degree that even commissioner Rob Manfred may not have been able to imagine. Base Runners Per Game The 2022...
Baseball fans are still getting used to larger bases, pitch clocks, pitching rubber disengagement limitations, and shift restrictions. Some of us are still adjusting to the designated hitter in the National League. However, there may be more Major League Baseball rule changes on the horizon. The Atlantic League, the laboratory where these ideas are tested, is getting ready to try out three more...
