Come To Think of It...Why a Neutral Site for the World Series is a Bad Idea

One idea that is currently floating around radio talk shows and gaining momentum is whether or not Major League Baseball should play its World Series games at a neutral site.

Like flatulence on an airplane, some things just stink more than others.

Proponents for this plan argue that we must avoid what happened on Monday in Game Five of the Phillies-Rays series. Inclement weather made the fifth and sixth innings a joke, and the game was eventually suspended and resumed two days later in mid-20s windchill.

So-called experts and talk-show hosts argue that this isn't the way the game was meant to be played. It's a summer game, they argue, and weather shouldn't factor into the outcome of a game.

Undoubtedly these are all good reasons, but I don't think it will work.  And thank goodness for that.

The current commissioner, Bud Selig, is opposed to the idea. Selig does not believe in playing the World Series in Florida, for example, or in a dome every year, rather than the participants' home ballpark. "It's bad for the fans," he says, and I agree.

Next, there is the logistical and cost element of it. 

The idea works in the NFL, because in football, the Super Bowl is just one game. You know when it's going to start, about what time it's going to end, and nobody even has to pay a hotel for a night's stay if they don't want to. Just pay big bucks for tickets, fly, or drive, sit your butt on a seat, cheer wildly, and go home. That's it and it's done.

In baseball, it's an entire series, and you don't know how long the series will last. Hell, it's expensive enough to get tickets to a World Series game, without adding in the cost of a hotel stay, and multiple game tickets.

But to me, the number one reason why this is a stupid idea is that it cheats the fans out of seeing their team play at home. If a team has played well on their home field all season, that advantage shouldn't be taken away. A World Series is about celebrating a city as much as it is about a team.

The idea is appealing to some people, because from a fan comfort standpoint, sitting in a temperature-controlled dome or outside in the warm air of Florida or California does have its appeal. There would never be a rain-out, suspended game, or weather affecting the play of either team.

But look, there have been enough changes to the game already without another knee-jerk reaction to a problem that had never existed before this year. This was the first time baseball ever had to suspend a game in the World Series. Let's not overreact.

It would be nice if cold-weather cities would install a roof over their ballparks when they build new ones, but many cannot afford the significant added cost.

Come to think of it, there is nothing "neutral" about rooting for your favorite team. Let's keep it that way.