Every year the two teams with the worst records should be banned from playing baseball for one year. That means the Pittsburgh Pirates (2007 record: 68-94 .420) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2007 record: 66-96 .407) would be be banned from playing in 2008. Not only is the team not allowed to play, but contract players can’t join other teams. You play bad, you don’t get to play next year.
Good results:
1) Players on bad teams will play more competitively. Players want their salary next year, they’ll have to dog out singles and try more.
2) Owners will improve their teams, so they don’t suck.
3) When a bad team comes back, people will be excited that their team is playing again, and the team will sell more tickets due to the hype.
Bad results:
1) It might happen where players will refuse to sign with lower tier teams. Players will flock to teams that are guaranteed of playing next year, leaving a larger and larger talent hole with the lower tier teams. A significant split will develop where the good teams get better and the bad teams will get worse.
2) When a bad team comes back, their fans will have given up on them. The team will sell less tickets. Fans say, “why bother.”
Hmmm, maybe this isn’t so good of an idea.
thanks to abhay for inspiring this post in an IM conversation. Me: 7-0! cubs bottom of 3rd. Abhay: are they playing that peoria team? Me: when teams are that bad, they should be banned for a year. NO TEAM FOR YOU! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PLAY NEXT YERA. imagine that. every year two teams banned Abhay: wow
Now imagine if the players of the banned team are allowed to play on another team. Then you’d get players on bad teams REALLY dogging it out, so they won’t have to play on Tampa anymore. Oh that would be a huge mess.
Some players would be drawn to a bad team if they can dig them out of the mess. Also, some players would not mind playing for the bad team even if it means losing their job next year … think about it. If a pitcher will make the league minimum (I don’t know what it is) that salary is probably better than the next best job they could have. Plus they have “experience” on a major league team.
The league minimum for MLB player is $390k. http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/pa/info/faq.jsp#minimum If somebody offers me a job as an MLB player, I’ll quit my job even if it means I lose it next year.
Bah! Do it I say!
The Premier leagues in the UK already do this in Soccer. The three last place teams get relegated to the lower-tier league and the three first place teams from that league get promoted. I actually think that would be pretty neat in baseball but it would result in some pretty odd situations such as (in the case of the Rays) the Yankees playing 19 times against a team that was AAA a year before.
You have a good idea, Matt. the Premier leagues is what you’re getting at. Tiers would develop better competition.