Competitive Balance
It's a shame that franchise (KC Royals) can't be competitive. In the 70s and 80s, they had one of the best fan bases in baseball relative to population.
The economics of the game have made thriving in KC/Pittsburgh nearly impossible. It's things like that that make me back off of my Republican economic beliefs and start to think the Communists or at least the socialists had a decent idea.
KC and Pittsburgh are great small cities with great sports fans. They deserve better than the snot with bats that they are forced to root for. The Cubs bring most of their problems on themselves, as they have the resources to do better. But the Royals and Pirates in particular are truly handicapped. - "X" in TCR, Friday 12-23-05.
X is spot-on correct, folks. It will likely be a long, long time before we see the Pittsburgh Pirates or Kansas City Royals in the World Series again, and that is a shame. Which is why from time to time there have been discussions about improving "competietive balance" in MLB.
The MLBPA will never accept a NBA or NFL-style salary cap, and the mechanism of free-agency and free-agency "compensation" (draft choice) aren't going to change anytime soon, but there are other ways to equal the playing field a bit.
Everyone who's thought about it probably has their own ideas about how best to do it, and I have mine, and I invite all of you to offer your suggestions as well.
While you are thinking about it, here are some of the ideas I have for immediately improving MLB "competitive balance," especially as it relates to giving losing clubs and smal market teams a chance at acquiring some pretty decent talent for a reasonable price, and it's a a process which does not involve token compensation for losing free-agents by getting a pick in the "crap shoot" known as the June Draft. Rather, I'm talkng about genuine coin-of-the-realm major leagure players, and good ones, too.
Let's start at the end of the regular season, and take it from there...
TEN DAYS AFTER END OF MLB REGULAR SEASON:
NO CHANGE: Minor league players eligible to be Six-Year Minor League Free-agents who are not added to an MLB 40-man roster by the close of business ten days after the end the MLB regular season may declare themselves free-agents by notifying the MLB office by that date.
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TEN DAYS AFTER CONCLUSION OF WORLD SERIES:
NO CHANGE: MLB players eligible to file for free-agency under CBA Article XX would be free to do so anytime within the first 15 days after the end of the World Series.
CHANGE: All players on MLB disabled lists (not just players who are eligible to be Article XX free-agents) must be reactivated from a clubís DL within the "Free-Agency Election Period" (the first 15 days after the close of the World Series).
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DECEMBER 7th:
NO CHANGE: Would be the last date a club can offer arbitration to their own Article XX Free-Agents.
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DECEMBER 19th:
NO CHANGE: Article XX Free-Agents must decide by the end of business on December 19th whether to accept salary arbitration (if offered). Article XX FAs who accept the offer of salary arbitration would have to be returned to their clubís "Reserve List" (40-man roster) by the close of business on December 20th.
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DECEMBER 20th:
NO CHANGE: Article XX Free-Agents who decline the offer of salary arbitration would be free to negotiate with their old club (along with all other MLB clubs) until January 7th.
NO CHANGE: By close of business on December 20th, club would have to tender a contract to any unsigned player on the club's "Reserve List" (40-man roster), including all players who are eligible for salary arbitration and all so-called ìauto-renewalî (pre-arbitration) players, or else said player is automatically "released."
CHANGE: Minor league rosters would be frozen on December 20th (a month later than they are now), such that players on minor league rosters at the close of business on December 20th cannot be added to a clubís 40-man roster or traded until the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings in January. Also, the MLB "Reserve List" limit (40-man roster limit) should be reduced to 36 players, or possibly even to 32.
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FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY:
NO CHANGE: Clubs would have until January 8th to negotiate with their own Article XX free-agents who declined the offer of salary arbitration on December 19th.
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SECOND WEEK OF JANUARY:
CHANGE: The Winter Meetings would be held the second week of January (Monday through Thursday), instead of the first wek of December. (NOTE: This is something that actually might really happen, as there has been talk in recent years about moving the Winter Meetings to after the first of the year).
MINOR CHANGE The Rule 5 Draft would be re-designated the ìMinor League Draftî and would be held on the last day of the Winter Meetings (Thursday).
MINOR CHANGE: The ìMinor League Draftî (formerly Rule 5 Draft) would be divided into three sections: the ìClass AAA Phase,î the ìClass AA Phase,î and the ìClass A Phase") .
The former ìMajor League Phaseî of the Rule 5 Draft (where clubs can select players off AAA rosters for $50,000, and where the player must be kept on the drafting clubís 25-man roster the entire following season or be offered back to the original club for $25,000) would be re-designated the ìClass AAA Phaseî of the "Minor League Draft."
MAJOR CHANGE: In the newly re-designated ìAAA Phaseî of the "Minor League Draft,î each club would be allowed to select no more than three players off AAA rosters. Players selected in this phase of the ìMinor League Draftî would be placed on the drafting club's "Reserve List" (40-man roster), would NOT have to be kept on the drafting club's 25-man regular season roster the following season. As long as the player has minor league options left, he can be sent to the minor leagues by the drafting club, just like any other player. EXAMPLE: Juan Mateo could be optioned to the minors by the Cardinals in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
MINOR CHANGE: The former ìAAA Phaseî of the Rule 5 Draft (where players can be selected off AA rosters for $12,000) would be re-designated the ìClass AA Phaseî of the "Minor League Draft," and the former ìAA Phaseî of the Rule 5 Draft (where players can be selected off Class A rosters for $4,000) would be re-designated the ìClass A Phase" of the "Minor League Draft."
MAJOR CHANGE: A new draft called the ìMajor League Draftî would be established, and would be held immediately after the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft (ìMinor League Draftî). In this new ìMajor League Draft,î all clubs would be permitted to ìprotectî 15 players on their 40-man roster.
NOTE: ALL players who have ìno trade rights,î including ì10/5î players, players with ìno tradeî rights in their contracts, and players signed as Artixcle XX free-agents after the close of the "Free-Agency Election Period' (which ends 15 days after the conclusion of the World Series) after the close of the previous season (who have automatic "no trade" rights until June 15th of the following season) MUST be among the 15 players protected.
Selecting in inverse order of their won-loss record the previous season, each club would be permitted to select no more than one player, at a cost of $100,000. No club could lose more than one player. Players selected in the Major League Draft MUST be kept on the drafting clubís 25-man roster for the entire following season or be offered back to the original club (only) for $50,000. If the original club declines the opportunity to reacquire the player, then the drafting club can trade the player to another club, release the player, or place the player on "outright waivers."
Try figuring out who the Cubs would protect, keeping in mind Wood, Maddux, Howry, Eyre, and Mabry would HAVE to be protected because they have "no trade" rights (Wood and Maddux in their contracts, and Howry, Eyre, Mabry, and Jones, by virtue of being signed as Article XX FAs). So that's six right there.
Only nine slots left:
1. Lee
2. Zambrano
3. Prior
4. Ramirez
5. Pierre
6. Barrett
7. Cedeno
8. Murton
9. Pie
Obviously if such a draft were in place, a lot of FAs wouldn't be signed as early as they are now, especially guys like Mabry, but probably Eyre, Howry, and Jones as well.
A GM wouldn't want to sign a John Mabry to a FA contract prior to the Major League Draft if it would mean taking a chance on losing a Jerome Williams, a Rich Hill, or a Michael Wuertz, for $100,000, but that's EXACTLY the point of the draft. The clubs that aggressively pursue the best FAs each year and sign them early so other teams can't, will probably not be able to avoid losing one very good player every year as well.
And the beneficiaries of this new annual Major League Draft (in many cases) will be clubs that are actually losing the better free-agents, although there would be no direct link between losing a FA and acquiring a top prospect or quality MLB player in the Major League Draft (because the MLBPA would not accept that type of linkage). Rather, the key to acquiring the best available player in the draft would be losing games the previous season, not losing a player or players to free-agency.
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