NEW YORK ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ Scott Boras loves the World Series so much, he wants to make it best-of-nine ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ and open with two games at a neutral site. Arguing that the shift would create a marketing bonanza that would rival the Super Bowl, Boras outlined his ideas in a two-page letter he sent to baseball commissioner Bud Selig on April 15…. Boras, the high-profile agent with high-profile clients who earn high-octane paychecks, said in an interview Thursday that he will meet with the commissioner after the All-Star break to discuss his proposal. He would open the weekend on a Friday night with a televised gala announcing the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards, and have the five top candidates for each in attendance.
As sports fans, it’s easy to get caught up in the “tradition” of how champions are determined. The Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup Finals, the NBA Finals- all of these have been determined in roughly the same manner for years. No changes have been proposed or made…because, hey, it’s been working so far, so why mess with a good thing, right? But what if Major League Baseball tried something different. What if they went to a best five-of-nine World Series?
For those who aren’t students of the history of the game, it’s easy to forget that way back when the World Series was a best five-of-nine affair. Sure, it didn’t last for long, but with the television audience (and advertising revenue) a World Series can generate, and extra game or two might be a good thing, no?
The World Series originally was a best-of-nine affair, with the Boston Americans (now the Red Sox) beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in 1903. The Series switched to best-of-seven for the second edition in 1905 and has remained that way with the exception of 1919, 1920 and 1920, when it against was best-of-nine.
That, of course, was before television. Extra postseason games these days translate to more broadcast revenue.
And it really IS all about the Benjamins….
Given baseball’s traditional conservatism and resistance to change, Boras’ idea likely won’t be adopted anytime soon. But it has gotten some people thinking.
“I’m not a guy that would just want to hold onto the past for the sake of combating change,” said Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten, who had one conversation with Boras about the proposal. “But in this case, I think we have such brand equity in the marketplace established with a seven-game Fall Classic, played in the two home cities. I really like that. For a lot of reasons, I think that neutral sites wouldn’t work the way they do in other sports.”
But if baseball ever does include neutral-site games, businesses would salivate to be involved.
“I think the opportunity to celebrate the ultimate of our national pastime in a neutral location opens up a whole host of opportunities for corporate sponsors,” said Eric Kraus, a sports marketing executive formerly with Gillette and now with Covidien. “Like an All-Star game or like the Super Bowl, you’re bringing in a whole host of fans and corporate partners that you wouldn’t be able to reach.”
I really think this idea has some merit. Obviously, from a business standpoint, there’s a huge potential for additional advertising revenue. From a competitive standpoint, I’m not certain there would be much of a difference, except perhaps as an homage to baseball’s early history.
I do think that it might be an interesting experiment, but what I’d be most curious about is what might happen if a team goes up four games to three and then loses games eight and nine. In previous years, they would have been world champions. This scenario means they would lose the World Series. I imagine that might take baseball purists some time to get used to, but why not change things up? Why not try to create some buzz by changing the format of the Series? “Tradition” should be more than an excuse for not changing things up every now and then.
Of course, most of Major League Baseballs’ senior management would sooner be sodomized with a Louisville Slugger than admit that Scott Boras has an idea worth serious consideration. Satan Bud Selig, though he’ll never publicly admit it, likely drifts off to sleep at night dreaming of driving a stake through Boras’ black heart. This is why Boras’ idea will never see the light of day- which is too bad, because it might just work exactly as Boras envisions and make Major League Baseball a ton of additional money. Then again, no reasonable person would ever accuse Satan Bud Selig of being a visionary. Actually, I’m thinking of a scene from Fiddler on the Roof, in which Tevye looks to the sky and shouts “TRADITION!!” Thankfully, Satan Bud Selig can’t sing….
