I'm watching the Dodgers trying to stay in the National League West race with less than 1 1/2 games to go when I realize it's not going to be this way next year. The lords of the realm are going to have some sort of realignment plan in place before the next season starts. Baseball is a safe haven for nostalgia. After all, there's no harm done by remembering "the good old days" of a sport. That kind of nostalgia doesn't get in the way of living in the present. However, change has come mighty quick in recent years. Divisional realignment created the wild-card spot in the playoffs. This year, interleague play was added to the regular season. Next year, it'll be a whole new ball of wax with at least a few teams switching leagues. The divisions will be different, although some rivalries will be preserved and new ones created. The sad part about it is that -- duh! -- the changes will be made not to improve the game, but to improve business. The lords of the realm virtually forced realignment to happen when they assigned the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the American League West division. Come on! Everybody knows that couldn't stand -- having all the Rays' divisional opponents a day's flight away. I wouldn't want to have that team's jet-fuel bills. Good stories in baseball?This year, however, there's plenty else in the game to give fans the excitement that seasons long past brought.
What's most likely to be remembered next year is not the realignment, but the reason for the realignment. Two new teams coming aboard in Florida and Arizona. The fans in those markets will get big-league ball for the first time and cheer their good guys. They won't be cheering the owners. Of course, the owners in their counting houses won't be able to hear the cheers anyhow. Copyright © 1997, Salvatore Caputo |