ryno4ever
Jan 4th 2010, 10:10 pm
I came across this on Yahoo sports and thought it had some really good "predictions" about the game in the upcoming decade:
I know what you're thinking: Didn't the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2010 enact a ban on all decade-type lists for another nine years? (Or at least another 11 months when all those terribly stubborn "no year zero" people publish their best of 2001-10 digests?)
Well, yes. Yes it did. But as I sit here on the dawn of another era, I've started thinking about the big baseball stories we can expect over the next 10 years. What will be the storylines that fill the most column inches? What will produce the big moments and get everyone talking?
Surely there will be a number of big stories that we never see coming, but here are 10 stories I think we can reasonably expect we'll hear about over the next 10 seasons.
1. A-Rod chases No. 763 — Remember when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record and some writers wrote that they couldn't wait for A-Rod to break Bonds' record so it could belong to someone who didn't have a tainted reputation? That seems laughable now, but A-Rod will still attract plenty of attention as he creeps closer to No. 762. A-Rod is 180 homers away from No. 763, so we're looking at a mid-decade record-breaking if he can stay healthy.
2. Albert Pujols chases big numbers — Talking about the possibility of big contract extensions for Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter and Joe Mauer will dominate 2010, but once King Albert reups with the Cards we'll again start gazing at his giant stat totals. The three-time NL MVP has already set a pace that will place him among the greatest hitters of all time and if he keeps it up, he'll pass 3,000 hits and maybe even 700 home runs by the end of 2019.
3. Jeter rides off into the sunset — The Captain isn't anywhere close to retiring and it's possible he could fill up a good portion of another hand by adding to his five World Series title rings. Still, his chase to become the first Yankee with 3,000 hits will reach Ripken-like levels of celebration as will any milestone he passes in the late stages of his career.
4. New collective bargaining agreement — The league and the players' union will try to make it three-for-the-last three in terms of avoiding a work stoppage when the current deal expires after the 2011 season. All signs point to a relatively uneventful negotiation, but we'll still be taking a close look at ever-evolving issues like revenue sharing and drug testing.
5. Who will succeed Bud Selig as the new commissioner? — Bud has gone back on his retirement plans before, but if he's serious about leaving when his contract is up after the 2012 season, the owners will need a new leader for the first time in over 20 years. Before leaving, Selig will no doubt want to add to his legacy — which is made up of both good and bad — so it'll be interesting to see what kind of changes he makes in the next few years.
6. Barry Bonds & Co. become Hall eligible in 2013 — We've already had a taste of the steroids-fueled debate with Mark McGwire listing away on the ballot, but the arguments are only going to get louder once Bonds, Roger Clemens(notes), Mike Piazza(notes) and Sammy Sosa(notes) are eligible in '13 to have their names checked off for Cooperstown. Will voters' attitudes toward performance-enhancing drugs change by then or will that crop be sentenced to a few years in ballot purgatory with Big Mac?
7. Expansion of instant replay — Here's a big way that Selig could leave a lasting impact on the game before he shoves off toward retirement. If we endure another postseason of bad calls, I think expanding instant replay past home run rulings is a near lock.
8. MLB Advanced Media continues to rise? — One of the biggest baseball business stories in the 2000s was how baseball adapted to the Internet better than any other sports league and then launched its own network at the start of 2009. Both successes increased revenue streams for the league, but the pressure to innovate with new technology will continue well into the 'Teens. Here's hoping they start allowing their video to be embedded across the web.
9. Financial health of franchises — The Expos were moved to Washington during the '00s and the Twins were threatened with contraction, so is it possible that another franchise will be on the move in the '10s? Oakland and Tampa Bay seem like possible candidates if their efforts to extract new revenue-producing stadiums from their current locations aren't successful.
10. Rising cost of games — The cost of going to a baseball game will always be a story, but with the advent of variable pricing and the class system at new Yankee Stadium it'll be interesting to see if this is the decade that completely blocks middle class families from attending games. But with increasing technology and great ways to watch games on your big screen TV, your computer and even your smart phone, will it even matter? A titanic shift in the way we consume baseball could be coming.
I know what you're thinking: Didn't the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2010 enact a ban on all decade-type lists for another nine years? (Or at least another 11 months when all those terribly stubborn "no year zero" people publish their best of 2001-10 digests?)
Well, yes. Yes it did. But as I sit here on the dawn of another era, I've started thinking about the big baseball stories we can expect over the next 10 years. What will be the storylines that fill the most column inches? What will produce the big moments and get everyone talking?
Surely there will be a number of big stories that we never see coming, but here are 10 stories I think we can reasonably expect we'll hear about over the next 10 seasons.
1. A-Rod chases No. 763 — Remember when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record and some writers wrote that they couldn't wait for A-Rod to break Bonds' record so it could belong to someone who didn't have a tainted reputation? That seems laughable now, but A-Rod will still attract plenty of attention as he creeps closer to No. 762. A-Rod is 180 homers away from No. 763, so we're looking at a mid-decade record-breaking if he can stay healthy.
2. Albert Pujols chases big numbers — Talking about the possibility of big contract extensions for Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter and Joe Mauer will dominate 2010, but once King Albert reups with the Cards we'll again start gazing at his giant stat totals. The three-time NL MVP has already set a pace that will place him among the greatest hitters of all time and if he keeps it up, he'll pass 3,000 hits and maybe even 700 home runs by the end of 2019.
3. Jeter rides off into the sunset — The Captain isn't anywhere close to retiring and it's possible he could fill up a good portion of another hand by adding to his five World Series title rings. Still, his chase to become the first Yankee with 3,000 hits will reach Ripken-like levels of celebration as will any milestone he passes in the late stages of his career.
4. New collective bargaining agreement — The league and the players' union will try to make it three-for-the-last three in terms of avoiding a work stoppage when the current deal expires after the 2011 season. All signs point to a relatively uneventful negotiation, but we'll still be taking a close look at ever-evolving issues like revenue sharing and drug testing.
5. Who will succeed Bud Selig as the new commissioner? — Bud has gone back on his retirement plans before, but if he's serious about leaving when his contract is up after the 2012 season, the owners will need a new leader for the first time in over 20 years. Before leaving, Selig will no doubt want to add to his legacy — which is made up of both good and bad — so it'll be interesting to see what kind of changes he makes in the next few years.
6. Barry Bonds & Co. become Hall eligible in 2013 — We've already had a taste of the steroids-fueled debate with Mark McGwire listing away on the ballot, but the arguments are only going to get louder once Bonds, Roger Clemens(notes), Mike Piazza(notes) and Sammy Sosa(notes) are eligible in '13 to have their names checked off for Cooperstown. Will voters' attitudes toward performance-enhancing drugs change by then or will that crop be sentenced to a few years in ballot purgatory with Big Mac?
7. Expansion of instant replay — Here's a big way that Selig could leave a lasting impact on the game before he shoves off toward retirement. If we endure another postseason of bad calls, I think expanding instant replay past home run rulings is a near lock.
8. MLB Advanced Media continues to rise? — One of the biggest baseball business stories in the 2000s was how baseball adapted to the Internet better than any other sports league and then launched its own network at the start of 2009. Both successes increased revenue streams for the league, but the pressure to innovate with new technology will continue well into the 'Teens. Here's hoping they start allowing their video to be embedded across the web.
9. Financial health of franchises — The Expos were moved to Washington during the '00s and the Twins were threatened with contraction, so is it possible that another franchise will be on the move in the '10s? Oakland and Tampa Bay seem like possible candidates if their efforts to extract new revenue-producing stadiums from their current locations aren't successful.
10. Rising cost of games — The cost of going to a baseball game will always be a story, but with the advent of variable pricing and the class system at new Yankee Stadium it'll be interesting to see if this is the decade that completely blocks middle class families from attending games. But with increasing technology and great ways to watch games on your big screen TV, your computer and even your smart phone, will it even matter? A titanic shift in the way we consume baseball could be coming.