Bud Selig would like to see some changes in his game in 2013, one of which I imagine will be well-received while the other will result in him being called a Scrooge. For starters, Selig wants expanded instant replay. He made that clear during a recent Q & A with Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
“I think we’ll have it for sure,” he said when asked about instant replay. “They’re working on cameras in all the ballparks. We need the right cameras. Should we have them by next year? We’d better.”
If the man in charge says we are probably going to see instant replay next season, it’s probably safe to assume it’s coming. What makes Selig’s comments particularly interesting is that it was only a few months ago that he said baseball didn’t need expanded replay because attendance numbers were fine. Perhaps he now realizes that was a dumb thing to say, or maybe he knows horrible calls like this one shouldn’t be affecting the outcome of playoff games.
The second change the commissioner would like to see involves champagne celebrations. Simply put, Selig doesn’t like them.
“This is something I am not happy about: spraying champagne all over,” he said according to the L.A. Times. “I’m not a fan of that.”
But will the MLB do something about it?
“We could,” he said. “I understand that. It is something I have talked to the clubs about and will continue to talk to the clubs about. You want to have great celebrations, fine. But spraying each other with champagne is not that.”
As fun as it is to disagree with Selig, I do think the champagne celebrations have gone too far. It’s not so much the concept of spraying each other with beer and champagne as it is the frequency with which teams celebrate. You clinch a playoff spot, out comes the champagne. You clinch your division, out comes the champagne. You win a series in the playoffs, out comes the champagne. While players deserve to let off some steam after working hard for a full season, baseball is the only sport where a team that wins a championship has had five champagne celebrations along the way. That to me is a bit much.
Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
