A Letter to the Commissioner of Baseball

Dear Commissioner Manfred,

Congratulations on your new job as commissioner. If I may, I would like to give you some of my thoughts on ways to improve major league baseball.

1. Speed up baseball - I was amazed a while ago to watch a replay of a game played in the 1960's. There was a pitch, the catcher threw it back to the pitcher, then there was another pitch. There wasn't the interminable waste of time between pitches. However, pitchers won't pick up the pace unless they're forced to. Some kind of time limit will have to be put in place. If they go past time, a ball is called. This would rarely need to be done as pitchers will quickly get used to the new pace. At the same time, umpires need to not grant time to a batter just because he asks for it.

2. No more fighting - Benches empty because players have a misplaced macho thought that they have to support their teammate. In basketball, a much more physical game, we don't see that. That is because they know they would be ejected if they left the bench. Umpires then need to be instructed to be quicker to eject pitchers they feel are intentionally throwing at a batter. There is a lot of fighting in hockey. The NHL could end that if they wanted. I'm assuming they know it creates interest, so their players get slapped on the wrist for fighting. Baseball is a classier game than that.

3. Adjust statistics of those that  cheat - We know who cheated and when. Thus far, their cheating has paid off in huge salaries, inflated statistics, and MVP awards. Ryan Braun is an interesting case. He took steroids and was suspended. Assuming he was then clean last year, at the prime of his career, his statistics were at 85% of what they were before. At the very least, only allow cheaters to have 85% of their stolen statistics. For example, the all-time home run list then looks more like it should - Bonds would be behind Aaron, Ruth, and Mays. Sosa and McGwire would no longer be in the top 10. While we're at it, take away Bonds' MVP awards and give  them to the non-cheating player with the next highest number of votes. That would be if using my 85% number. I would be just fine with disallowing their statistics entirely.

4. Reinstate Pete Rose - I know he bet on baseball and he was a bit of a jerk in other ways, but he never cheated. The Black Sox scandal is an unfair comparison. They consorted with gamblers and threw the World Series. That's why its important not to bet on baseball. Rose never played any game to lose. A twenty-five year suspension is enough of a deterrent.

Thank you for hearing me out. Good luck with your tenure as commissioner. I'm sure you'll do a great job.