Major League Baseball: A Dying Sport

MLB fans pay thousands of dollars per year attending baseball games throughout the country. The franchises spend millions on players. The teams and taxpayers build stadiums costing at least a half a billion dollars and teams earning millions and millions for the rights to show them on television.

All this money for watching a game that involves throwing, hitting and catching a 5 oz. 9" in circumference sphere called a baseball. Baseball was derived from a British game called "rounders" in the mid-1800's with essentially the same rules and dimentions as the game played today.

Like no other major sport, major league baseball has tried to keep the game the same as it was more than 150 years ago. Nostalgia, team history and unique venues are very important to MLB fans, but even true fans are finding other forms of entertainment to spend their hard earned money on.

Two issues that contribute to dwindling fan bases have got to be the lack of a salary cap and the pitiful performance of the umpires.

With regards to a salary cap, the NFL could teach MLB a thing or two about putting a product on the field that all fans would like to see. In any given year any NFL team could win it all. Even the woeful Cardinals football franchise made it to the Super Bowl last year. When you all play and pay by the same rules every team has the same chance to win.

As for the umpires, MLB needs to clean house. Players can't play forever, so why are umpires being used for 30 years or more? There are about 67 umpires in MLB and there are 10,000 people that could take their place if given the chance. The players are very gifted athletes, but it doesn't take a great athlete to be an umpire. Hell, Eric Greg, Bruce Froeming, Joe West and John McSherry umpired for eons with bodies like John Candy or Fat Albert. Joe West still umpires, but has lost some weight. He still has to come in over 300 lbs. 

Slimming down umpires is a place to start, but far more needs to be done. Umpires make between $87,000 and $250,000, plus food and lodging provisions. The umpires should have to "make" the team in order to umpire in MLB. Same as players trying to win spots during spring training.

In recent years, MLB is holding umpires more accountable for poor performance, but more needs to be done. Quit allowing broken down old farts to umpire. Get rid of umpires that have a "tight" or "liberal" strike zone. The strike zone is defined in the rules of the game, make them call pitches as defined or get rid of them. They can fine them all they want, but that's not the answer.

The rules are the same for every player in MLB. Enforcement of those rules shouldn't be left up to an umpires interpretation. Make these guys or gals earn their job and make them enforce the rules as they are written. It's 2009, it's time to act like it.