Instant replay. Night games. The designated hitter.
Sounds like a baseball purist’s list of grievances. Over the past century, America’s pastime has proven that it’s willing to change (sometimes at a faster pace than the country itself), but why? Well, an obvious answer is to make the game better. A more specific answer is to make it more watchable.
The real answer? Television.
Almost every decision the game makes concerns its impact – positive or negative – on TV ratings. So, no matter how loudly the dude in the St. Louis Browns short-billed cap complains about the game today, turns out, the most important change has nothing to do with the rules, and everything to do with television.
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