Merriam Webster’s online dictionary defines cockamamie as “ridiculous or incredible” and says that something that is cockamamie is “so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter.”
The latest cockamamie idea to come out of the Major League Baseball Commissioners’ office would require that a relief pitcher face at least three batters after being brought into a game before he could be removed. The purpose of this proposed rule change, according to the Commissioner, was to reduce the frequency of pitching changes and speed up the game. If the inning ended before the pitcher had faced three batters, the pitcher would not be required to start the next inning.
I have been critical of Commissioner Manfred and his cockamamie ideas in the past but he has outdone himself with this one. A whole generation of pitchers who have made their careers as relief specialists would be put out of work by this change. And does the Commissioner think the Players’ Union, pehaps the strongest labor union in the country, is going to go along with this?
The Associated Press reported that Manfred said that this proposal and others, such as starting extra innings with a runner on second base to reduce the length of extra inning games, are intended to “make our entertainment product the best it could possibly be.”
It is statements like that that make me think I may have been too charitable in the past when I have referred to Manfred as the “Idiot in the Commissioners’ office.”
If they are truly interested in their “entertainment product” why have they done everything they can to eliminate the screaming arguments that resulted from a perceived bad call by an umpire or to eliminate collisions at home plate or second base. The average fan, with his kids, loved to see Lou Pinella throw his hat, Billy Martin kick dirt on the plate when arguing a call or Dustin Pedroia avoid a hard slide when turning a double play at second base.
Many football fans will tell you how much the new safety rules have taken a lot of the enjoyment out of that game. Both baseball and football are, by their nature, very physical sports and they are, perhaps, both becoming too “civilized.”
Of course, there are a number of ideas floating around out there that may or may not speed up play and reduce the length of games. It appears that we will have a 20-second clock on pitchers in the near future. They are talking about reducing the mound visits from six per game to five. Ideas like that may speed up the game without drastically changing the nature of the game.
There are other ideas that make a lot of sense, like instituting the designated hitter rule in the National League to level the playing field, especially now that we have expanded interleague play where having a designated hitter or not having one puts the home team at a definite advantage to start the game.
The players want an earlier trade deadline to reduce the opportunity for teams to sell off their high paid players in mid season, when a team is out of the pennant race. This won’t have any effect on the speed of the game but may keep marginal teams from holding fire sales and make the leagues more competitive.
The real question, however, is “is the key to ending the falling attendance speeding the game up?” How many among us, even the ones that went to bed before it ended, would have wanted that game on October 26 last year, when the Red Sox and Dodgers, played 18 innings, in 7 hours and 20 minutes, perhaps the most exciting game in World Series history, shortened by having a runner, arbitrarily placed on second base to start the tenth inning, score the winning run and end the game there?
The fact is, according to STATISTA, the nationally recognized statistical service, from 2012 through 2018, average attendance per game at Major League Baseball games decreased every year — from a high of 30,883 in 2012 to a low of 28,794 in 2018, a reduction of 6.8 percent. However, in that same period, the average cost of a baseball ticket rose every year, from $26.98 in 2012 to $32.44 in 2018, a 20.2 percent increase.
In 2009, ticket sales accounted for 38 percent of all Major League Baseball revenues. Since then, with increasing revenue from television contracts, apparel sales, concessions and all other sources, last year’s ticket sales accounted for less than 30 percent of all revenues.
In 1992, James Carville, according to many, coined the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid.” Perhaps Major League Baseball is looking in the wrong location to stop its declining attendance. Maybe it is the economy that is driving the decrease. The average cost of a trip to the ball park for a family of four, according to STATISTA, was $230.98.
The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox had the highest overall cost per game at $368.28 for the Cubs and $345.88 for the Red Sox. The lowest cost was for a game at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, at $145.58. The total cost includes four non-premium seats, two draft beers, four soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking, two programs and two of the cheapest baseball hats.
The baseball owners will cry that they need the increased money that would be generated by increased ticket sales to fund the ever increasing costs of premium players. The fact is, as any business leader can tell them, increased revenue comes more from increased sales volume than from higher prices on indiviual items.
Chances are that if prices were more reasonable more people would go to the ball park and revenue from ticket sales would increase. In addition, people who stay home to watch the game don’t pay $7 or $8 for a beer and $5 or $6 for a hot dog and concession revenues are decreased.
As I have said before, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The game is fine, the prices are what’s causing the problem.

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