by Adam Feuerberg
Soooooo….
Football season is over, the Winter Olympics gold medals have been handed out, college basketball is nearing its prized season-ending tournament, and the NBA and NHL regular seasons are shaping into their lopsided playoff pictures. All that said, all I can think about is the fact that baseball is back, baby.
I know people like to say that baseball is boring, and that nothing happens. But I say if you ever actually see that on the field, it means both pitchers are tossing perfect games, so sit back, drink a beer, enjoy a hot dog, chat with your neighbor, and enjoy being a part of history, you insatiable asshole.
Seriously though, nothing quite gets me quite as excited as MLB Opening Day, which will be rather un-American this year, taking place on March 22 in Sydney, Australia, during a contest featuring fierce NL West division rivals between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Remember how much the Diamondbacks didn’t appreciate how the Dodgers celebrated their division victory with a pool party in Chase Field’s hot tub last year? Imagine how great this game will go over on an international stage, showcasing two of the very best that know each other so well and want nothing more than to embarrass their opponents down under.
The rest of the season kicks off about a week later on March 28th and goes through September 28th. This will be the third year that we’ve had a Wild Card game, meaning ten teams will make the postseason. Whether you feel like a one-and-done series dilutes the game of baseball, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s one more game to charge ridiculous ticket and advertising prices, and let’s face it, if we owned an MLB team, all we’d care about is more money too, right?
Some major free agency signings have really changed the landscape of both leagues going into 2014, most notably former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano heading out west to take over as the Seattle Mariners’ best player. Well, at least he better with a 10-year, $240 million contract. I’m not really a fan of these sorts of contracts that last too long and essentially eat up a single team’s entire payroll. It seems like the Yankees made a good call letting him go as opposed to giving in to his demands for huge money, as they really won those titles in the 90′s with good trades and most importantly, a strong farm system.
The previously mentioned Dodgers rewarded their best player, pitcher Clayton Kershaw, for not leaving the team with a 7-year, $215 million extension, making him the richest player ever over the course of a single season. In spite of that fact, I still think it’s a good deal. Sure, he had a down NLCS, but throughout the 2013 campaign, Kershaw was damn near perfect. He won his second Cy Young Award and is only 25, so he should still be in his prime when the deal ends, and the only way he could increase his value is if he could pitch a perfect game everyday. I would joke about him being able to hit too, but he can. If you recall, he drove in the only run during his complete game shutout last opening day with a home run. So yeah, I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but $30 mil-a-year-until-he’s-32 deal is totally worth it.
In spite of the contract signings and personnel switches, the biggest change going into the 2014 season has to be the formal introduction of instant replay in Major League Baseball. For the first time ever, managers will be given two opportunities in a game to challenge plays, including foul balls, home runs, and even balls and strikes at the plate. Many friends of mine are against it, but have I mentioned many of my friends are World War II vets? Old-timers who still believe in dropkicking the second baseman to breakup a double play, “gotta hustle” kind of guys.
Speaking of which, a new rule change that is very much in debate is the outlawing of home plate collisions. This is baseball’s version of eliminating hits to the head from the NFL, and the argument against it is also exactly the same: “It ruins the game by changing it!” Now don’t get me wrong, I love watching footage of Pete Rose bulldoze Ray Fosse from the 1970 All-Star Game (when that game used to matter, more on that later), but let’s face it: Fosse’s career was never the same after that. It’s as if everyone’s favorite example of why home plate collisions are fun is the very same example for why they are dangerous.
When the San Francisco Giants lost their prized catcher Buster Posey in 2011, it put a serious damper on what could have been a three peat for the team by the bay. They still won it all again in 2012, but Posey won’t have to worry about having some dude break his ankle for the sake of another run. We’ll have to see how well this plays out, and what the penalties will be for guys breaking the new rule. I haven’t decided how I feel about this yet and I’ll let you know throughout the season.
To be continued. I have to go play bridge with my WWII buddies…