We are two weeks into the 2021 major league baseball season and the game continuers to shoot itself in the foot. The blame for most all of it begins in the office of the commissioner Rob Manfred. I have said for a long time that this man, who works for the owners, is ruining the game with the various proposals and rules that have been put in place, most of  it pre COVID 19. So let’s go over some of what has taken place to this point.

The 2021 All Star Game – As a way of striking back at Georgia’s new voting rules and laws put in place, Rob Manfred and MLB with the blessings of the owners and most players said bye bye Atlanta and pulled this year’s game from the city. MLB had the perfect place to move the game to, especially in a year where they are celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, Kansas City. It is the home of the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame and Kauffman Stadium is a beautiful venue for an All Star game. But KC and the Negro League history was ignored and got a big slap in the face when Manfred and MLB moved it to Denver’s Coors Field. What makes this a head scratcher is that Colorado’s voting laws are almost identical to those now in Georgia. Kansas City deserved the game, not Denver. I am sure the great Hank Aaron, if he were still with us, would have had some strong words about that move. Sorry MLB, you struck out on that one.

The Minor Leagues – Manfred’s plan to shrink the minor league system put a lot of towns out of the baseball business. Towns that have been part of the baseball landscape for 100 years or more. Then there was the realignment of some of the leagues, shifting of franchises and again, cities and towns left out in the cold. Right here in Florida the long standing Florida State league is no longer as it used to be and has even been dropped in classification to Low A status. The Appalachian League, around for more than 100 years is gone and the small towns that counted on baseball as a way to bring in some extra revenue is gone. Now, thanks to COVID, plus this shrinkage of the minor leagues, the 2021 minor league seasons have yet to begin, when normally they would already be under way. But ev en when they do it will be far different and a lot of small towns will be without baseball and that is very sad to see.

TV Blasckouts – This is a sure way for MLB to continue to turn 0off fans at a time when they need all the help they can get to bring fans back to the game. But here again, it is not about the fan, it is about the big money MLB gets from the networks, the providers, the media giants and now the online betting and gambling. How can you continue to be a fan when you can’t get to the ballpark for any number of reasons, but you can’t see the game on your TV because it has been blacked out in your area? And it is not just the fans. Pitcher Noah Syndergaard of the Mets is rehabbing in Port St. Lucie and wanted to see his Mets play last week. Because Port St. Lucie is in Marlins territory the game from New York was blacked out and he couldn’t see it. This is happening to a lot of rehabbing, injured players everywhere throughout MLB cities across the country. Many cable providers have dropped regionals like Fox (Bally) and others because the carriage fees are way too high. So unless you use one of the streaming apps, you are out of luck watching MLB. Nice way to help increase your shrinking fan base.

Umpires – I have been in and around this game since the 1940’s and never thought I would see the day when I would say, “it’s time for electronic umpires.” While the umpiring has steadily gotten worse the past few years, these first two weeks of the new season have been absolutely brutal regarding the umpires. Missed plays, missed decisions on replays, games lost by an umpires wrong decision and on it goes, and this is only going into week three. Angel Hernandez who is the worst in the game (he missed 16 ball and strike calls in one Angels game) suddenly seems to have a lot of company. Yet with all this MLB sits by and does nothing about a worsening problem that is turning fans off to the game and frustrating managers and players alike. MLB needs to step up to the plate and hit a home run by getting rid of Hernandez and the rest of these under performing, totally bad umpires who are ruining the game for everyone, especially the fans who pay good money to see their favorite players play, not to watch the umpires ruin the game night after night.

I am a baseball fan since the 1940’s, a devoted Rays fan, I’ve been working on a book about baseball for the past few years and its historical times and rare instances. I played the game and I have coached the game. I have been part of a  big time fantasy league for the past 15 years, but I am also losing the interest little by little because of all this bullcrap that MLB turns a blind eye towards and allows to continue. This used to be “America’s Pastime”, but the NFL has taken that over, the NBA has a huge following and the NHL is growing by leaps and bounds with new fans, and soccer continues to grow. Baseball, instead of going by the old mantra “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”, is doing just the opposite and losing fans, not gaining them at the most critical time in the games history thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. This was the perfect time to be bold, be smart and do what needs to be done, but they haven’t stepped up to the plate.

So the question remains……When will MLB get it right??

Art Koch, National Features & DVD editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN