Growing up I always remember sneaking home from school for lunch just so I could watch a couple of innings of the baseball playoffs. Even though my mother packed me a lunch, I would find some excuse to come home just to see how the game was going. Afternoon playoff baseball was just a way of life. It just would not be right if someone suggested that the games should be played at night. There were always two games a day; one from the National League and one from the American League. It seemed so simple yet somehow that has become lost. Now we have to account for three divisions per league and of course everyone’s favorite the wild card. There are still some afternoon games but with all of the teams involved, it requires an advanced degree in quantum physics to determine who plays when and which game we are on. Fortunately I used to be a rocket scientist so I feel qualified to complain about how this is playing out.
Television and the advertisers now seem to have the greatest influence on when a team plays. Take for example the New York Yankees. We all know about their 26 previous world championships and their storied tradition. We are also very versed in their complete disregard for fiscal responsibility and their ability to fill a 25 man roster with current and former all-star players. We recognize that their payroll which is currently over $200 million for the season as compared to their opponents the Detroit Tigers whose payroll is significantly less than half that amount. We totally understand how the Yankees feel somehow slighted and are under the delusion that baseball has conspired against them. These among with many others (such as the belief that their team captain is actually the son of Satan) are what make the Yankees so fun to root against. What I don’t understand is why we have to watch the Yankees in prime time every night. Not everyone in the country cares about the Yankees (either positively or negatively). It makes no sense that an east coast based team has an 8:00 PM start time while a west coast series featuring the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres begins 4 hours earlier. I guess the one consolation in this scenario is at least the Boston Red Sox are not playing too otherwise the Oakland and Minnesota series would be scheduled to start in the morning. Nothing quite says baseball like the A’s, the Twins, and an Eggo waffle.
If Red Sox were playing A's vs. Twins game wouldnt exist.