MLB Is Fixing Non-Issues Instead of Making Revolutionary Changes

Every time a pitcher tries the old fake-to-third, fake-to-first move, the fans always boo and cry "Balk!" That move is one of the oldest tricks in the book, and it never works. All it does is delay the game and tick people off.

It seems Major League Baseball has seen just about enough of that move as well. As reported by the Associated Press, MLB is prepared to hit the old fake-to-third, fake-to-first move with the hammer.

The word is that the Playing Rules Committee has approved a proposal to make that move a balk, and MLB executives and umpires are in agreement. Only the MLB players' union is unsure about the rule change, which means it won't be implemented any time in the immediate future.

The move probably will be outlawed at some point, and I think I speak for all baseball fans when I say I'm cool with that. The only thing I'll miss is Don Orsillo's call: "He fakes to third and fakes to first, doesn't throw to either venue."

When the rule change becomes official, it will be yet another change for players around the majors to adjust to, and there have been a lot of those to go around recently. One of the big complaints about baseball is that it's a sport that has been stubborn to let go of its roots, but MLB has been intent on changing that perception by tinkering with its product. As it tinkers, the sport gets better.

Or so it thinks.

Major League Baseball has made quite a few significant changes in in the last two decades, most notably interleague play, a complex drug-testing program and, of course, playoff expansion. Some of the more recent changes that have been made, however, are changes that really didn't need to be made.

Take, for example, MLB's decision to add an extra wild card to each league, thus upping the postseason total from eight teams to 10, and adding a new wild card play-in round to accommodate the expansion. I for one find the change to be intriguing, but I fully realize that the change came at a very awkward time.

If this system had been in place in 2011, the narrative of the final day of the regular season would have been changed completely. Instead of being a day of thrills that dramatically shook up the postseason picture, it probably would have been just another day of baseball.

Major League Baseball had every excuse to keep things as they are in regards to the postseason system, but it went and revamped it anyway. It was a change that didn't need to be made.

The decision to outlaw the fake-to-third, fake-to-first pick-off move is very much in keeping with that tradition (for lack of a better word). It's an intriguing change, to be sure, but it's an insignificant change in the grand scheme of things, not to mention one that doesn't need to be made.

I'll stop short of saying that this is a disturbing trend, but I will say that MLB could be doing much better things with its time and energy.

The first thing that immediately springs to mind is expanded replay. It was revealed before the start of the season (see AP report) that, despite the fact the league had been trying its damnedest, MLB would not be expanding instant replay for the 2012 season. The best-case scenario now is that replay will be expanded in time for the 2013 season.

The league finally implemented instant replay for the purpose of reviewing home runs in 2008, but since then the expansion movement has plodded along as slowly as a race car without an engine.

Things have been slow to develop in large part because MLB has been hesitant to disregard the "human element," which Joe Torre insisted is a key part of the game of baseball last season (see CBSSports.com). Instead of eliminating the human element from the game — a la the NFL, NBA or NHL — MLB has tried to protect it.

Expanded use of instant replay is going to be a huge change when it finally becomes official (fingers crossed), and it's not the only huge change MLB needs to consider. 

The league has done a lot to improve the competitive balance within the league. The luxury tax was a big change, and the new CBA that was signed in November is going to implement a "Competitive Balance Lottery" in the draft designed to provide small-market and low-revenue teams with extra draft picks, according to MLB.com.

This is good stuff, but these are relatively small changes compared to the one big change MLB could make down the road at some point. What Major League Baseball needs is a salary cap, or at least some notion of a salary cap that will lead to increased parity on a yearly basis.

Things like the luxury tax and the Competitive Balance Lottery are quick fixes meant to patch up a leaky ship. A salary capped league would be a completely new ship, one much prettier and more modern.

Remember in The Social Network when Justin Timberlake was talking about going for a billion-dollar fish instead of a bunch of million-dollar fish? That's kinda what we're talking about here. Instead of striving for something drastic, MLB is, and has been, content making the game better one small change at a time.

The league can go ahead and think that it is progressing in the right direction. But in reality, the changes the league is making are rather petty when compared to the big changes the league should be striving for.

Instead of making its product better, MLB should be trying to make its product perfect.

If you want to talk baseball and/or favorite Legend of Zelda games, hit me up on Twitter.