Playing the World Series at a neutral site hurts St. Louis Cardinals fans — and baseball
Major League Baseball owners and players have reportedly mapped out plans to divide the revenue pie from a 2020 baseball season. But is what’s good for the billionaire owners and the millionaire players going to be good for St. Louis Cardinals fans.
It seems that, no latter how the season starts due to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, owners are determined to see as many games played as possible. They’ve reportedly agreed that MLB players will be paid, no matter how many games are actually fielded, and that already established major leaguers will get a full year of service time credited, shortened season or not. So, owners are obviously going to motivated to play the games one way or another.
How is it possible to play six months of games in three months worth of time? I suggested last week that it would be great for fans if teams revived the long-forgotten tradition of playing double headers. Days off could also be eliminated, expanding rosters to allow teams the extra pitchers and position players they need to help spread out the more rigorous schedule. But, while that might work if they lost a month or six weeks, something more drastic is going to have to be done to make up twice that many missed days.
Mega agent and super villain Scott Boras has a different idea — and one that is far less fan friendly: Why not just play past September into October and November with the World Series happening around Christmas time. How can that happen? Will they play games in the snow in St. Louis or Detroit or Cleveland? In a word, no. Once we get through September, the games would be played in a neutral site with a warmer climate.
What’s wrong with that? Um ... WHAT ABOUT THE FANS?!?!? If they play half the schedule in Arizona, Florida or Hawaii, what happens to all of the fans who bought tickets to see the St. Louis Cardinals play at Busch Stadium in St. Louis? Are they going to give refunds to fans who live in Belleville who were willing to make the 15-mile downtown but who can’t afford to slip away from the office in time to make the 1,200-mile drive to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. on a Wednesday night? What about the season ticket holders who scraped up several thousand dollars three months ago to support the team? Will they get refunds? And if so, will they lose their season ticket location?
If the Boras plan — or something like it — is approved, the playoffs and World Series would be played at neutral sites as well. That’s bad news for St. Louis Cardinals season ticket holders and fans, too, because going to the post-season is really what it’s all about. Everything else is prelude. A major motivation for investing in season tickets is the fact that season ticket holders have the rights to their seats throughout the playoffs and World Series. I have been to every Cards World Series in my lifetime and I would be heartbroken if they made it in 2020 and I couldn’t be there.
I’m certainly not whining about baseball games being played when the COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping the country. If the season isn’t played because of circumstances beyond anyone’s control, that’s just something we’ll all have to live with. It’s how the pieces are picked up and put back together that concerns me. Major League Baseball needs to think not just about how to get the teams on the fields. It also needs to find a way to stage the games so the fans can be in the stands. Baseball isn’t what it is without fans. If we can’t see the game, smell the grass and taste the peanuts, did the game really happen?
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Scott Wuerz is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. The Cheap Seats blog is written from his perspective as a fan and is designed to spark discussion among fans of the Cardinals and other MLB teams. Sources supporting his views and opinions are linked. If you’re looking for Cardinals news and features, check out the BND’s Cardinals section.
