One extremely volatile Spring should not cause MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to make any rash decisions in regards to the schedule or reducing the total amount of games played (Yes, I’m referring to you Anthony Rizzo). That being said, there is one scheduling change that should be implemented immediately. Midwest teams need to start the year in warm weather.
The proposed schedule would be rather simple. Instead of the dreaded “West Coast Swing” road trip in the middle of the season, just start your season on that road trip. The Cardinals could open up with a three game series against the Padres, swing up to LA for three or four games, and then hit San Francisco for another three games. This would push the home opener back a few days, but if that means a greater chance for better weather then why not? After two series at home, the Cardinals could then go down to Miami and Atlanta to take advantage of their weather. This would get them almost all of the way through April playing baseball in better weather situations that the low 30’s with a wintry mix.
Obviously not every team can go and play LA early, but is it really necessary to have NL West teams playing each other during the first week of the year? Cubs vs Dodgers would generate ratings nationally if MLB is concerned about having marquee matchups early. I didn’t mention Arizona in the “West Coast Swing” road trip but they obviously would be another team that would provide guaranteed games. Early Brewers series for NL Central teams always are nice and MLB seems to be trying to take advantage of this. If you can push St. Louis and Cincinnati home games to the middle to late April, their climates are generally in Spring mode by that point as well.
If MLB is going to continue with an interleague series every week, that opens up opportunities in Toronto(unless the roof is cracked) , Oakland, Houston, Texas , Anaheim and Seattle for potential scheduling.
Obviously we can’t control the weather, but we can take steps to try to increase the likelihood of games being played early in the season. Simply scheduling games in warmer weather is a win for everyone involved and doesn’t reduce the amount of games played.
