Tuesday, 6/24/97 Interleague play should remain novel to lure
fans BASEBALL: Owners have to manage innovations correctly to hold
interest
By Rocky Salmon Daily Bruin Staff Do not call me a baseball
purist. I believe that sports should be continuously changed to
suit the fans’ needs. Who cares if the outfield walls have been
creeping in from 470 to 408 feet? Who cares if there is another
round of play-offs? Who cares if Los Angeles squares off against
Anaheim during the baseball season? The fans do. Because the fans
carry the money, they should have a say in what they want to see,
even if it might mean a bad decision. The fans wanted a baseball
field in Denver and they got one. But is that really a baseball
field or is it just NASA’s second launching site? Denver was a
mistake; baseball is not really baseball up in the thin air. Walt
Weiss should not be able to belt over five home runs in any season,
even though Joey Cora has hit six in the Kingdome this year. In the
case of interleague play, the fans wanted something new and they
got it. I sat glued to the TV last week to watch the Orioles battle
the Braves and even the Padres play the Athletics. Each game was
played with intense emotion, as if the World Series title was on
the line. Remember that image of the Chicago White Sox player
bowling over Scott Servais of the Chicago Cubs just to try to tie
the game? You rarely see such a play during conference games
because play against conference rivals occurs all the time
throughout the season. However, interleague play raises a lot of
questions which have not been asked or answered yet. The World
Series will not be affected by interleague play. In every other
sport, all teams play each other at least once. This does not take
away from the championship because the finals have a special aura:
The championship is for all the marbles. Yet, will the play-offs
before the World Series become less exciting? I doubt it – they’re
the play-offs! But regular non-interleague games could lose a lot
of attendance because fans want something new. Cincinatti versus
Pittsburgh is not as novel as Cincinatti playing Minnesota. This
past Friday in Anaheim, the Angels played Oakland but the stadium
was dead. The Angels are in first place and have tremendous
offensive power, but the magic was just not there. When San Diego
came to town to play the Angels, however, the stadium was packed.
The Padres are in last place, struggling to even find the baseball
diamond. (What did happen to those Padres?) What will happen once
interleague play becomes the norm? Will the fans become bored with
interleague play and want to instill something new? Sure, I want to
see Ken Griffey, Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, but do we have to see them
every year? Wouldn’t the league remain just as exciting if every
two years, interleague play were to occur? This would make the fans
yearn for every other year, keeping attendance up and interleague
play more novel. It is time for the players and owners to come
together and agree on how to keep interleague play novel. If it
continues year in and year out, it will become very old and the
fans will once again begin shying away from the gates. Originality
is what can bring baseball back to life. Interleague play is an
example of novelty, but it needs to be wielded correctly. In an era
of high salaries, constantly moving players, and continuous
walk-outs, Major League Baseball needs to hold on to interleague
play and cherish it like a newborn child.