Who Needs Balance?

The new schedule is out. Let's discuss.

So earlier today the Cardinals released the 2023 schedule. As was foretold in the CBA negotiations, balance (well, somewhat) has been brought to the Force and it didn’t require killing a lot of younglings. Next year the Cardinals will play every team in the wide world of MLB.

A lot of people like this. They are excited about players like Mike Trout or Julio Rodriguez coming to town. They are tired of the old “play Team X 19 times”. They think this is a positive thing for baseball.

I’m not one of those people.

Again, I’m not one that’s really ever warmed to interleague play or even one wild card (much less the current three) so take that for what it’s worth. However, I see this as just another step toward an homogenized lump of indistinguishable mass we will call baseball.

For one thing, the novelty of this is going to wear off pretty quickly. The Yankees are coming back to Busch Stadium in 2023. Do you think the attendance will be nearly what it was this year? What about when they come back in 2025? And in 2027? Suddenly the excitement and specialness of a rare appearance by the Yanks is now humdrum and everyday.

Secondly, it makes for weird scheduling. The last half of April next year sees the Cardinals going to Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The West Coast road trips were bad enough without adding the Pacific Northwest into the equation. What happens when there’s a season like this year, when the Cards go to LA and SD in the last week or two, and you add Seattle to that while trying to fight for a divisional title?

Plus you have a Sunday off in August after two games with the Royals. I will say there aren’t as many two game series as I was expecting there to be, with only the Royals (both home and away) and the London series notable on the first pass. Still, Sunday off? What the heck?

And what happens when there is expansion? Right now you are playing every team in the other league three times, everyone in your division 15 times, and the league teams not in your division roughly six times. How does that work with two more teams?

Third, I’ve always felt that playing more games against your divisional rivals means that you are more worthy of the title if you actually win the division. Granted, with everyone playing everyone it’s a little less of an issue, though I’m sure the American League teams that host the Rockies have an edge over the ones that have to go to Colorado. Still, it’s more feasible than it was you could have the best record among division foes and not win the title.

It’s funny to see people complaining that 19 times is too much when those teams in the ‘40s and ‘50s played each team 22-24 times. And yes, it can be a bit of “these guys again” when you play the Pirates for the 15th time, but I also think that means you know a lot more about those teams than you do when they drop in and move on. You’ve got a feel for who is good, who is bad, and that’s how things like Aramis Ramirez being a Sith Lord take root in a fanbase.

Honestly, I’m expecting that at some point divisions are either done away with or significantly reshuffled. What’s to stop MLB from moving Atlanta to the American League, for instance, or Seattle to the National? With all league functions now under the commissioner, with the DH in play for everyone, the only thing that stops that is history and tradition. Put that on the scale with more money and see how far that gets you.

Baseball used to mark the time. Now it just wants to change with it.