# Is it time to shorten The Baseball and Football Season?



## Msguy (May 23, 2003)

With the NFL now playing the Super Bowl into February and the World Series in Baseball lasting into Late October is it time for these 2 Major Sports to rethink their schedules? I think it's time to shorten the seasons. Especially with what is happening with this years World Series in Philadelphia not being able to play because of Cold and Rainy and possibly even Snowy weather. I think MLB needs to start forcing clubs anytime they build a new facility that the stadium should have a roof that could be closed. Is anyone else in agreement here? Either that or shorten the season so it's not so cold when the most important games of the year are being played the World Series. Playing in such cold weather with rain and snow is NOT Baseball.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

YES.


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## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

Baseball needs to shorten the season, but football only plays 16 regular games and 4 weeks of playoffs (counting the SB). Not much to trim there, just start a bit earlier, maybe.


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## Msguy (May 23, 2003)

Yeah I think The Football Regular Season should start the first week in September and end by January 1st and the Playoffs should start immediately the next week after so the Super Bowl is once again played in January and The Baseball season needs to be trimmed down as well. I'm a BIG Fan of both of these sports but Come On Guys The Season's the last few years in particular have lasted Later and Later. It's time for these Leagues to get someone running the show who has a little better sense about the timing of these events. Why does baseball in particular want to hang on to the old ways of doing things instead of having a little more common sense about scheduling?


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## bidger (Nov 19, 2005)

Baseball, yes. Football, no. Just start the NFL Season a month later, drop 2 exhibition games to make it an 18 game Season and have the SB in early or mid March. The NFL Season is never too long since they only play 1 game a week.


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## Canis Lupus (Oct 16, 2006)

Baseball should definitely be trimmed. For NFL, I think the pre-season should be shortened to accommodate a longer regular season.


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## DirectNJ (Jul 17, 2007)

No Chance... The NFL is already toying around with going to an 18-game regular season. They've been discussing trimming 2 pre-season games to make this happen... BUT, I expect what they REALLY want to do is move the Super Bowl even further into February... Maybe to Prez Day Weekend, so that the TV Networks can get the NFC & AFC Championship games ino their February Sweeps ratings period.....


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Baseball needs to do a couple of things. One, bring back the doubleheader. If every team played one additional doubleheader a month, that would cut 6 days off the schedule. Now remove the non-travel off days in the playoffs and we lose another 3-4 days.

Keep football as it is or add 2 more games and cut the pre-season.


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

Amen! What the heck are the "boys of summer" doing playing the World Series in the winter? Babe Ruth is rolling over in his grave. 

Football seems ok... but does the Basketball season ever end? I believe the Basketball playoffs last longer then the Football Season...


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## mjtville (Jul 31, 2008)

Football leave alone. Buffalo, Green Bay, Chicago in Jan., Feb., or March? No, no, no. The game should also be played outside on natural grass. No domes!

Baseball, shorten the season so the football players don't have to play on that damn infield dirt.


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## Canis Lupus (Oct 16, 2006)

And for that matter, why are the Stanley Cup Finals in June?!?

No arena in the league can keep the ice cold enough (read: fast enough) with outdoor and body temperatures in June. 

The most exciting part of the season is reserved for when the ice surface is the slowest.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Get rid of baseball altogether and run the football season from June to January. That works for me.


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## jahgreen (Dec 15, 2006)

Herdfan said:


> Baseball needs to do a couple of things. One, bring back the doubleheader. If every team played one additional doubleheader a month, that would cut 6 days off the schedule.


Not gonna happen unless it's two separate admissions.


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## jahgreen (Dec 15, 2006)

mjtville said:


> Baseball, shorten the season so the football players don't have to play on that damn infield dirt.


That's only an issue in Oakland, Florida and Minnesota (maybe not there--don't they just zip the fake grass into the infield for football?). The Twins have a new stadium under construction. Florida and Oakland have plans, but I'll believe it when I see it.


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## pfueri (Jan 22, 2007)

Msguy said:


> With the NFL now playing the Super Bowl into February and the World Series in Baseball lasting into Late October is it time for these 2 Major Sports to rethink their schedules? I think it's time to shorten the seasons. Especially with what is happening with this years World Series in Philadelphia not being able to play because of Cold and Rainy and possibly even Snowy weather. I think MLB needs to start forcing clubs anytime they build a new facility that the stadium should have a roof that could be closed. Is anyone else in agreement here? Either that or shorten the season so it's not so cold when the most important games of the year are being played the World Series. Playing in such cold weather with rain and snow is NOT Baseball.


You are 100% sir


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

My 2cents. Baseball starts April 15 and ends Labor Day weekend. Playoffs start so the World Series could begin by Sept. 15th. NFL should eliminate 2 preseason games and convert them to regular games. Drop the bye week and start the playoffs Jan 2nd and eliminate the 2 week buildup for Super Bowl making it just 1 week. No one would miss the 30 or so games from baseball, owners would argue more dates-more tickets, but concentrating the dates might bring more people into half empty parks. It will never happen but I can wish.


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## cmasia (Sep 18, 2007)

jahgreen said:


> Not gonna happen unless it's two separate admissions.


Agreed.
What's wrong with 13 Saturday day / night doubleheaders per team out of a 6 month season? 162 games with the season ending 2 weeks sooner.
The playoffs would start in the 3rd week of September.


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## Sackchamp56 (Nov 10, 2006)

Msguy said:


> With the NFL now playing the Super Bowl into February and the World Series in Baseball lasting into Late October is it time for these 2 Major Sports to rethink their schedules? I think it's time to shorten the seasons. Especially with what is happening with this years World Series in Philadelphia not being able to play because of Cold and Rainy and possibly even Snowy weather. I think MLB needs to start forcing clubs anytime they build a new facility that the stadium should have a roof that could be closed. Is anyone else in agreement here? Either that or shorten the season so it's not so cold when the most important games of the year are being played the World Series. Playing in such cold weather with rain and snow is NOT Baseball.


They can go ahead and cancel baseball. Football..... lets add 2 more games.


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## ccsoftball7 (Apr 2, 2003)

Msguy said:


> With the NFL now playing the Super Bowl into February and the World Series in Baseball lasting into Late October is it time for these 2 Major Sports to rethink their schedules? I think it's time to shorten the seasons. Especially with what is happening with this years World Series in Philadelphia not being able to play because of Cold and Rainy and possibly even Snowy weather. I think MLB needs to start forcing clubs anytime they build a new facility that the stadium should have a roof that could be closed. Is anyone else in agreement here? Either that or shorten the season so it's not so cold when the most important games of the year are being played the World Series. Playing in such cold weather with rain and snow is NOT Baseball.


Start football 1 or 2 weeks earlier (never a bad thing to have NFL). Baseball should start at the same time, but find a way to trim the season back 7 days. Then in the playoffs, simply go with only one or 2 off-days per series (for travel only). Baseball would be ending by 10/15. That's usually going to avoid freezing weather. No need for a dome, just common sense on bringing the season back under control...Let's have some DAY baseball (including playoffs).


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## Pete K. (Apr 23, 2002)

Right it will never happen. There's too much $$$ at stake. What can be done in baseball is eliminate the extra off days in the playoffs. 
That was a bad idea and even Bud Selig is beginning to see the light. Double headers? That would be great if the players union
would only agree. Trying to play the WS after mid-October, late at night in the NE is just plain stupid.


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## Fontano (Feb 7, 2008)

Baseball -
A few things could be done, Herd's recomendation for more double headers is a good one. But I would say play two a month. There should be no 4-day, 4 game series. The should also have days in the month, that the NL plays and no AL. And a day when the AL plays and the NL doesn't. 

This woudl give at least 1 day a month, to make up games so the crazy situations of playoff games, make up games that impact playoffs, doesn't occur again.

A trimming it by a month would also be a good thing, the Late October games in a LOT of cities in the league are a crap shot for weather. 

- Football
Definently don't shorten the season. 16 games is a solid number of games, and I would even like to see at least 2 more so you get some more NFC vs AFC games. Drop at least 2 of the pre-season games. Then start the pre-season in July.

Regular season should start the last week of August. The Super Bowl the first week of February is a side effect of the weekend layouts and the off-week between the last playoff and the game. Not a big deal to me if it goes into February.

Football, I wouldn't even mind if they add an extra 4 games.
There is plenty of TV time to cover all the sports...


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## jdh8668 (Nov 7, 2007)

Here's a novel idea for baseball.....how about playing games that don't start until after everyone has gone to bed. MLB has done everything they can to turn off the average baseball fan with late starts. Their huge contracts with TBS & Fox (in order to pay so-so players millions) have ruined the viewing for the average fan who has to be at work early the next morning, and kids who have school the next day. Baseball playoff games being played after midnight, World Series games finishing after 1 am. What the Ty Cobb are they thinking? This is by far the greediest sport on the planet! They deserve this year's low ratings!


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

shorten them all. missed most of last years shows due to strike and now have to wait for them due to sports.
10 games for every sport.
bet that gets a rise...


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## kandor (Dec 29, 2007)

Shorten baseball by a month, make football last till May and eliminate basketball completely.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Moved to the sports forum.


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## ARKDTVfan (May 19, 2003)

kandor said:


> Shorten baseball by a month, make football last till May and eliminate basketball completely.


if you mean getting rid of the NBA I'm all for it


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## Kavh (Feb 14, 2008)

A week could easily be cut off of the baseball playoffs by not having all the travel and off days. All season long teams usually play six or seven games a week. The championship should be determined the same way. Suddenly in the post season you only need three starters instead of five. 

Football is fine. The one thing that I would do different in the scheduling is to break it down that the bye week is split up over 2 weeks. The last two weeks that baseball season is played. I know that the NFL could care less about baseball but it sure would be much more fair for teams to have bye weeks at the same time of the season. We still would get to watch plenty of games those two Sundays.


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## EXTACAMO (Apr 7, 2007)

Blame it on the expansion of the playoffs with wild card games.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

NFL - No need to shorten although I think starting a week or so earlier would be good. Although it's tough to play a full regular season game in 110 heat in Arizona or Dallas. 

Baseball - For pete's sake they need to shorten. What is it now, 160+ games? They start end of March and games get stopped because of snow and now they practically play the World Series in November. So much for the "boys of October". They need to trim 3 weeks out of the schedule.

NHL and NBA also are long but probably fine. NHL goes October to June, NBA from November thru July. NHL should start a month earlier so they wrap up in May before it gets really hot. NBA is probably fine.


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## donkeylips (Jul 16, 2008)

I would never want to see the baseball season shortened. But I would like to see the World Series played at a neutral warm weather/domed venue.


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## dhhaines (Nov 18, 2005)

say-what said:


> Baseball needs to shorten the season, but football only plays 16 regular games and 4 weeks of playoffs (counting the SB). Not much to trim there, just start a bit earlier, maybe.


 Sure you could shorten the NFL season. How about they play 2 times per week?
It already starts too early. All the other sports can play more than once a week, why can't football?

Baseball needs to cut out the interleague nonsense and play less games.


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## phatmatt1215 (Nov 5, 2007)

Double the baseball season

Cut the football season in half

Eliminate hockey and arena football completely.


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## dhhaines (Nov 18, 2005)

jdh8668 said:


> Here's a novel idea for baseball.....how about playing games that don't start until after everyone has gone to bed. MLB has done everything they can to turn off the average baseball fan with late starts. Their huge contracts with TBS & Fox (in order to pay so-so players millions) have ruined the viewing for the average fan who has to be at work early the next morning, and kids who have school the next day. Baseball playoff games being played after midnight, World Series games finishing after 1 am. What the Ty Cobb are they thinking? This is by far the greediest sport on the planet! They deserve this year's low ratings!


 I agree with you on the late games .. but until all the sports stop being run by TV networks, this won't happen.

If the Phillies weren't in the WS I wouldn't be watching and I'm a huge baseball fan.


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

bidger said:


> Baseball, yes. Football, no. Just start the NFL Season a month later, drop 2 exhibition games to make it an 18 game Season and have the SB in early or mid March. The NFL Season is never too long since they only play 1 game a week.


EVERYDAY IS LIKE SUNDAY


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Stuart Sweet said:


> YES.


Yes, Yes....a thousand time Yes.

End this futility (in baseball) now! :eek2:


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## jerry downing (Mar 7, 2004)

Baseball games are too long because of all the TV advertising between innings. That will never go away for the same reason that the season never will be shortened. GREED. If I had my way, football would be played year round.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

bonscott87 said:


> Baseball - For pete's sake they need to shorten. What is it now, 160+ games? They start end of March and games get stopped because of snow and now they practically play the World Series in November. So much for the "boys of October". They need to trim 3 weeks out of the schedule.


Now? They've been playing a 162-game season for about 50 years.

Personally, they could cancel the NFL altogether...keep the stadiums open and just charge people to get in, drink and bet...most of the NFL fans wouldn't notice.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Baseball is OK... Playoffs and WS should be played at a Neutral warm venue...But there is nothing like winning that last game at home.

Football is to short and to expensive to watch.

I wish they had a guide filter for basketball so I wouldn't even see that junk cluttering up my guide.


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## dddeeds (Sep 16, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> Get rid of baseball altogether and run the football season from June to January. That works for me.


+1

How about speed baseball. Eliminate all the goofy warm up junk and inning switches timeouts, cut out stepping out of the batters box to readjust your crotch after each pitch, etc. and PlayBall! If your sport requires a stretch break for the spectators when it's approx. 2/3rds the way through "regulation" something needs sped up during the game let alone the season!


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## dhhaines (Nov 18, 2005)

Ken S said:


> Personally, they could cancel the NFL altogether...keep the stadiums open and just charge people to get in, drink and bet...most of the NFL fans wouldn't notice.


:biggthump !rolling !rolling

I think you may be onto something there !


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## Greg Bimson (May 5, 2003)

Regarding length of season in baseball, Ken S writes:


> Now? They've been playing a 162-game season for about 50 years.


Correct. So the main problem with baseball is that the WS can now be played between late October and *gasp* the beginning of November, as it was in 2001. Twenty-five years ago, the LCS were five games and the WS was seven, for an at-max total of 12 games starting in early October. With the travel days and the addition of the LDS/Wild Card series and two more games added to the LCS has pushed the games into very late October.

bnwrx writes:


> NFL should eliminate 2 preseason games and convert them to regular games. Drop the bye week and start the playoffs Jan 2nd and eliminate the 2 week buildup for Super Bowl making it just 1 week.


The NFL dropped playing their first games during Labor Day weekend within the past decade. I think it had something to do with the networks not wanting to open up their schedule when many people are at cook-outs, away from the TV. That is why the NFL currently schedules its first game on the Thursday after Labor Day.

The bye week was simply to increase the network schedule from 16 to 17 weeks long. Eliminate the bye week and start on Labor Day, and all of a sudden you have an 18 game schedule. The networks are happy as the season is longer, the owners have nine (some might have 8) home games so more admission/concession revenue.

I am one that always has believed the NHL season is too long. An 82 game schedule is crazy. It really needs to be cut back. And I am a hockey fan, to a degree.

Which means the NBA can fall off the face of the earth!  Their ratings already have!


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Ken S said:


> Now? They've been playing a 162-game season for about 50 years.


Yea, well, since I can't ever watch a baseball game without falling asleep I guess I never noticed.   Last full MLB game I watched was probably 30 years ago. :lol:


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## Galley (Apr 3, 2007)

dddeeds said:


> +1
> 
> How about speed baseball. Eliminate all the goofy warm up junk and inning switches timeouts, cut out stepping out of the batters box to readjusting your crotch after each pitch, etc. and PlayBall! If your sport requires a stretch break for the spectators when it's approx. 2/3rds the way through "regulation" something needs sped up during the game let alone the season!


The Red Sox are experts at that.


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## dhhaines (Nov 18, 2005)

Galley said:


> The Red Sox are experts at that.


 Yes... they have the longest games in history. Not one of them can just get in the batters box and hit.:nono2:


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## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Baseball should have a 100 game season, 162 games a year is too many. And they wonder why everybody is shooting roids and popping greenies. Football season is fine matter of fact I love the idea of 2 more games.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Enforce the 20-second rule in baseball. That would speed things up considerably.

I understand the owner's reticence about shortening the season back to 154 games but perhaps the first round of playoffs could expand the number of teams who get paid as a result in order to compensate for the 8 lost games. Come to think of it, it's 4 home games. But, then, baseball has a 60/40 split of the gate receipts.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Ken S said:


> Personally, they could cancel the NFL altogether...keep the stadiums open and just charge people to get in, drink and bet...most of the NFL fans wouldn't notice.


That's what they've been doing in Wrigley Field for years. Stupid Cubs fans have never gone there for the game. It's just one big drinking party.



Greg Bimson said:


> bnwrx writes:The NFL dropped playing their first games during Labor Day weekend within the past decade. I think it had something to do with the networks not wanting to open up their schedule when many people are at cook-outs, away from the TV. That is why the NFL currently schedules its first game on the Thursday after Labor Day.


That's not exactly true, because Labor Day is the first Monday in September, which as this year shows was the 1st. Its date changes each year and can be very early or very late. Next year it's September 7th, the latest it could possibly be, and the NFL season is scheduled to begin that weekend and not the following one, which would be the weekend of the 13th, much too late.



djlong said:


> Enforce the 20-second rule in baseball. That would speed things up considerably.


This rule has been changed to 12 seconds now, but it's enforceable only when there are no runners on base. We umpires also do not get much support from above when we begin to enforce it.


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## dcowboy7 (May 23, 2008)

Lord Vader said:


> That's not exactly true, because Labor Day is the first Monday in September, which as this year shows was the 1st. Its date changes each year and can be very early or very late. Next year it's September 7th, the latest it could possibly be, and the NFL season is scheduled to begin that weekend and not the following one, which would be the weekend of the 13th, much too late.


u r wrong....the nfl begins weekend of sept 13, 2009 with the 1st game thurs. nite sept 10.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Funny, because the schedule I had in front of me said Labor Day weekend. Of course, I'm looking at a print-out from earlier this year. One would think that they would have known it back then. Regardless, they have begun their season during Labor Day weekend not too long ago. Of course, this has nothing to do with the baseball season being too long, at least the back end of it; and baseball's my #1 love, too.


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## Dr_J (Apr 15, 2007)

Baseball, yes. Football, no. The Super Bowl is played indoors or in a warm-weather site, and it can easily be played in January by not having a two-week layoff after the conference championships.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Its time to make baseball 150 or less games and the NBA 60 games - if both sports intend to keep their neverending playoff formats.

Baseball around Halloween and the NBA finals around the 4th of July is just 
*OH SO WRONG.*

Enough already. :eek2:


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

MLB ought to either go back to 154 games, or cut its spring training by a week. Starting around the first of April isn't so bad--it's spring and baseball is a great sport to mark the beginning of spring--provided most of the first two weeks of the season can be played in warm weather and domed stadium locations.

I can't wait for the Twins in 2010 when they open up in their new *OUTDOOR, OPEN AIR* stadium in April! What a joke that's going to be!


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## Greg Bimson (May 5, 2003)

Lord Vader said:


> That's not exactly true, because Labor Day is the first Monday in September, which as this year shows was the 1st. Its date changes each year and can be very early or very late. Next year it's September 7th, the latest it could possibly be, and the NFL season is scheduled to begin that weekend and not the following one, which would be the weekend of the 13th, much too late.


Sure, but the Thurdsay Night NFL Kickoff Classic has been the first game played over the past seven seasons. In 2004, the game was played on 9 September, which means Labor Day was on 6 September, just one day prior to what is expected to happen in 2009.

And in another post, it appears that NFL Commish Goodell is asking the NFLPA to have an 18 week schedule starting in 2010.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

They used to plan and play double headers on some Sundays, but due to a loss of money from pop and hot dogs, the owners want separate days. If they scheduled more double headers, the players could get some more days off and shrink the schedule to have the end of the season in Sept or start later in April.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I'd really be interested in knowing what percentage the gate receipts are of the entire revenue pie for various teams. That would tell you whether or not taking away 4 out of 81 home dates or compressing the schedule with a few doubleheaders would be feasable


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## ziggy29 (Nov 18, 2004)

I'd prefer to see baseball just return to day games on Saturdays. A few Saturday night games may be okay, but for the most part, weekend baseball needs to be played during the day. 

The problem is that most of the usual suggestions to shorten the baseball season (doubleheaders, going back to a 154-game season, et cetera) cost MLB some revenue, so it's effectively off the table.


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## alevine1986 (Jul 10, 2007)

ziggy29 said:


> I'd prefer to see baseball just return to day games on Saturdays. A few Saturday night games may be okay, but for the most part, weekend baseball needs to be played during the day.
> 
> The problem is that most of the usual suggestions to shorten the baseball season (doubleheaders, going back to a 154-game season, et cetera) cost MLB some revenue, so it's effectively off the table.


The only problem with all Saturday day games is there would be nothing aired on MLB EI on Saturday. The only games you'd get are your local team and what game Fox is showing.


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## dhhaines (Nov 18, 2005)

alevine1986 said:


> The only problem with all Saturday day games is there would be nothing aired on MLB EI on Saturday. The only games you'd get are your local team and what game Fox is showing.


 The FOX exclusive is why most teams play on Saturday night and not during the day. To get around that time window, as even local teams can't broadcast during that time period.


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## Msguy (May 23, 2003)

dhhaines said:


> The FOX exclusive is why most teams play on Saturday night and not during the day. To get around that time window, as even local teams can't broadcast during that time period.


You Sir are exactly correct. Ding Ding Ding Ding We Have a Winner. You Can Blame FOX for having their exclusive Saturday Afternoon Coverage for very little Saturday Daytime Baseball games. The FOX Exclusive broadcast window on Saturdays is killing baseball on the weekends. FOX Needs to lose this exclusivity or just stop broadcasting baseball after their contract ends. FOX Ruins everything it touches.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

I can only imagine most of the Twin's April games being postponed due to snow starting in 2010. I'm all for grass stadiums, but I don't think its feasible in MN.

Something else kind of funny about this thread is that yesterday I saw another thread..http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=144268 ... that the NFL wants to move 2 pre-season games into the regular season and make the NFL season even longer.... At this rate, the SuperBowl will soon happen on a Sunday in late March and baseball season will start the next day..


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## Pete K. (Apr 23, 2002)

A long time ago, in the latter half of the 20th century, I lived near a ball park in a college town not far from the Minnesota border. The team would start play in late February, early March with snow on the ground. Cold as he-- but they were very rarely snowed or rained out. I'm sure the Twins will have some weather problems in April but I'm betting it will be no worse than a day at Wrigley in the first few weeks of the season.


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