If I was MLB commissioner...

Bud Selig will be MLB commissioner through the 2012 season.  I should state at this time that I am not and never was a fan of Selig.  He's looking out for the best interests of the fan as much as President Obama is looking out for the best interests of the health care industry IMHO.  The good news is that the way things are going right now, both men will be out of their jobs after November 2012.  Be that as it may, I have no desire to seek the presidency of the United States.  However, if there is one dream job I could have I would like to be the commissioner of Major League Baseball.  Now, I'm no expert nor do I have a PhD.  But I'm sure that even I could do a better job of leadership on my worst day than Bud Selig can do on his best. 

Let's just say that Bud Selig resigned as commissioner today.  Oh, if only that were true.  And let's say that I am the new commissioner of MLB.  Bear with me for a moment, folks.  This is about as realistic as me dating Jennifer Love Hewitt, okay?  Here's a list of things I would like to do if I was the MLB commissioner:

1. No more overseas games being counted as regular season games.  I've got no problem with MLB promoting the game abroad.  However, I think that games being played in Japan and Mexico should be exhibition games, not count as regular season games.  I would go back to the traditional Opening Day game at Cincinnati as the first game of the MLB season on April 5, 2010 which is a Monday. 
2. Amend the rule which requires MLB coaches to wear helmets.  I don't think this should be a requirement.  It should be optional.  What happened to Mike Coolbaugh was a tragedy, but I think forcing coaches to wear helmets is ridiculous.  Why not require players on the field to wear helmets?  Or the fans?  Why should we limit it to just coaches?  Larry Bowa is right.  It should be optional.
3. Change the playoff system.  Instead of having a best of 5 Division Series, I propose a one-game playoff between the final four in each league to determine who plays in the LCS.  The team with the league's best record would play the wild card team regardless of the division.  For example, in the American League this year it would have been the Boston Red Sox vs the New York Yankees in a one-game playoff.  The Minnesota Twins would have played the Los Angeles Angels in a one-game playoff.  And in the National League, Colorado would have played the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis vs Philadelphia in a one-game playoff.  The teams with the better record would have home-field advantage and the winners would face each other in the best of 7 League Championship Series.  This would prevent games from being played in November and provide some drama.  Can you imagine how dramatic it would have been this year to see the Red Sox and Yankees in a one-game playoff?  Or the Dodgers and Rockies?  Who cares that the wild card is playing a team in the same division?  Make it harder for the wild card team and reward the best team with more than home-field advantage. 
4. Better start times for playoff games.  MLB has promised us for years that they are "working on this" yet nothing ever gets done about it and we're right back to games starting too late and not ending until after midnight.  Okay, Saturday nights are the worst nights for television ratings.  Consequently, Sunday nights are the best nights for television ratings.  In the fall, however, college football games are on Saturdays and NFL games are on Sundays.  That's been the case for a long time yet MLB and Bud Selig seem to think that scheduling a game before 7:00pm on the weekend is ridiculous.  Funny how MLB didn't seem to have a problem with it 20, 30 years ago.  I think part of the problem is the television contracts with FOX and TBS.  According to my research, their contracts with MLB runs through 2013.  So, we're basically stuck with these two networks until then.  Here's what I would propose as commissioner after 2013: if FOX keeps the NFL then I tell FOX that MLB is no longer doing business with you.  I negotiate with The MLB Network and work out a new contract.  They will get FOX Saturday Baseball which will be renamed MLB Game Of The Week and will air at 3:00PM EST every Saturday instead of the current 4:00PM EST.  We will also negotiate a contract with NBC and tell ESPN that we are no longer doing business with them.  So this means goodbye Sunday Night Baseball and hello again to Monday Night Baseball.  The new Monday Night Baseball will feature Al Michaels and Bob Costas doing the play-by-play.  For playoff games, NBC will air games on every day except for Saturday and Sunday which are reserved for college football and the NFL.  The MLB Network would air games on those days in addition to every day of the week.  This also means saying goodbye to TBS which won't cause me or many other people to shed any tears.
5. Enact a new anti-drug policy which is what I like to call "3 Strikes & You're Out".  First offense of testing positive for ANY illegal drug is a 30 game suspension without pay.  Second offense is a 1 year suspension without pay.  Third offense is lifetime banishment from MLB and disqualification from the Hall of Fame. 
6. I would allow Pete Rose to be voted on for Hall of Fame consideration, but I would not reinstate him back into MLB.  However, before I did this I would also allow "Shoeless Joe" Jackson to be voted on for Hall of Fame consideration. 
7. I would keep interleague play but rotate it every other year with interleague play in odd years and not in even years.  The reason is that it began in 1997 which is an odd year.  This would bring back some mystique to the All-Star Game and World Series and provide more variety with the scheduling. 
8. I would get rid of the stupid rule which states that the winner of the All-Star Game gets home-field advantage in the World Series.  The only time the All-Star Game winner would be used to determine who had home-field advantage in the World Series is if the AL and NL teams in the World Series had the same record.  If they hadn't faced each other in the regular season, if their respective league won the All-Star Game then that team would have home-field advantage in the World Series.  Otherwise, the team with the best record would have home-field advantage in the World Series. 
9. Keep the DH but rotate it every other year as with interleague play.  Every odd year there would be interleague play and a DH in both leagues.  Every even year there would be no interleague play and no DH.  This would literally level the playing field in both leagues.
10. Have the World Baseball Classic after the World Series.  No more World Baseball Classic before spring training.  I would have it scheduled after the season and The MLB Network would air it. 
11. Future expansion.  I would like to see 2 more teams added to MLB by the year 2013.  This would bring MLB a total of 32 teams which would allow MLB to have 4 divisions with 4 teams and it would eliminate the need for a wild-card.  I'd meet with representatives in Montreal and encourage the movement to build a new stadium in Montreal for a future franchise.  Hypothetically, I would like to see the return of the Montreal Expos and another baseball team in Portland, Oregon.  This would call for a new realignment of the two leagues and here is my proposal:
    
    AL East: Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays
    AL North: White Sox, Indians, Tigers, Twins
    AL Central: Diamondbacks, Rockies, Royals, Rangers
    AL West: Angels, Athletics, new Portland team, Mariners
    
    NL East: Montreal Expos, Mets, Phillies, Pirates
    NL North: Cubs, Reds, Brewers, Cardinals
    NL South: Braves, Marlins, Rays, Nationals
    NL West: Astros, Dodgers, Padres, Giants
12. Limit the number of All-Star votes online to 1 per e-mail address.  No more of this "vote up to 25 times" stuff.  You get 1 vote and that's it.  Unless you've got multiple e-mail addresses and a LOT of time on your hands to create them, you get 1 vote. 
13. Change instant replay rule to allow MLB managers to "challenge" calls similar to the way coaches can challenge calls in the NFL.  3 challenges would be allowed per game for each MLB manager and the manager would throw a yellow ball onto the field which signal a challenge from the manager.  The umpire crew chief  would have 60 seconds to review the play and if the original call was correct, the challenging team would be charged with a strikeout. 
14. This one is a longshot, but I'd like to see 2 rules enacted by the year 2013: 1) the allowance of women into MLB as baseball players.  Just as Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, I'd like to see a woman break the gender barrier someday.  2) establish a "Rooney Rule" for MLB which would require interviewing minority candidates for coaching, managerial, front office and ownership positions. 
15. Last but not least, I would encourage the Cleveland Indians to drop the offensive "Chief Wahoo" symbol and adopt a more respectful logo in tribute to Native Americans.  I would even encourage them to get a Native American artist to design the logo.  And I would also encourage the Atlanta Braves to do the same and ask them and the Indians to discourage fans from chanting the "tomahawk chop."

One final thing I would like to see is MLB work harder at bringing baseball into the inner cities and poor sections of the United States.  These sections are not limited by race or economic status.  I think it's great that MLB tries to hard to promote the game abroad, but let us not forget that charity begins at home and MLB should never forget where it came from or its roots here in the United States.  Let's try promoting the game at home for a change.