Baseball has problem with relevance
Free-agent superstar Bryce Harper wants a decade-long deal worth north of $300 million. He hasn’t gotten it.
And may not.
Sure, the Detroit Tigers could give it to him. They could sign away their future and pair the young slugging outfielder with Miguel Cabrera.
A nice bookend, don’t you think? If you dig bookends that frame bad deals.
Think about it this way: When Cabrera’s eight-year, $248 million extension is finally off the books in 2023 (or 2025, if Cabrera performs well enough to trigger vesting options and add $60 million), Harper, who is 26, should be hitting his decline.
Unfortunately for Harper, he has hit the open market as the market has collapsed. Teams no longer want to spend that kind of money for players they know will tail off during the middle of their contract.
Call it collusion. Call it a market correction. Or call it a lack of urgency to win, as at least half the teams in the league are in rebuild mode. Including, obviously, the Tigers. Watching this free-agent market unfold has been painful for the players — Justin Verlander recently blasted the market collapse — and unsettling for fans.
Revenue is up and owners are making more money than ever. Players are making less. Rarely is this a good trend for a sport.
That the game’s two biggest free agents — Harper and Manny Machado — haven’t found new homes despite spring training having started is not good for business.
The offseason matters. Look how much interest the NFL and NBA generate by player movement and speculation. Heck, in basketball, off-the-court business drives as much buzz as a Stephen Curry three-pointer or a LeBron James dunk. (He still dunks, doesn’t he?)
All of which means Major League Baseball better be careful. National relevance is down. Ratings are down. And its fans aren’t getting younger.
The game is too slow. So is the offseason.
Letting Harper — the game’s only crossover star; sorry, Mike Trout — twist in the wind isn’t the savviest way to show off vitality and urgency.
In fact, this sodden offseason is merely highlighting the point: baseball isn’t vital and urgent. It knows it, too.
MLB and the players union have proposed changes designed to modernize the game.
To wit: A 20-second pitching clock when the bases are empty. A three-batter minimum for relief pitchers. A height reduction of the pitching mound. Further reducing the number of mound visits — last year that number was reduced to six combined visits for players and coaches.
A universal designated hitter. Which means pitchers will no longer hit in the National League.
That last proposal isn’t designed to speed up the game as much as it’s designed to find more jobs for aging sluggers and improve offense.
The rest of the proposals are meant to either speed up the game or give it more juice — no pun intended, of course.
The games are too long and built around strikeouts and home runs. They don’t just lack action — sorry, romantics — they lack … spark. Sizzle. Tension.
The free-agent market reflects that, too.