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Watching batting practice may become more convenient for home fans
If you’re a fan that only attends a handful of MLB games each season, chances are catching batting practice is a high priority.
Unfortunately though for fans of the home team, that’s not exactly convenient under baseball’s current set up. Even the earliest arrivals usually only catch a glimpse of the home team’s session, but that could change sooner than later.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the commissioners office and the Major League Baseball Players Association are discussing a plan that would flip-flop the batting practice batting order before all games. The means the visitors would hit first and the home team would hit second, allowing more home fans to watch their team warm up.
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The main objective under this plan is to give fans incentive to enter the ballpark earlier. Because let’s face it, arriving 90 minutes early to see a full home team batting practice session is more appealing than coming two hours early for a partial session. But that’s only part of it. Earlier arriving fans would also likely ease the usual pregame jam associated with the league’s heightened security measures.
It would essentially kill two birds with one stone, though it’s argued it could be beneficial to other parties as well.
For the team, more fans in the stadium earlier would likely lead to an increase in concession stand sales.
As for the players, there would be a trade off. Visiting players would be required to arrive at the ballpark earlier, which wouldn’t be the most convenient thing given their already hectic travel schedule. However, it could give them an extra hour or two at home, with their families, before every home game.
That’s a trade that seems fair, especially when you consider fatigued road teams usually skip batting practice anyway, leaving a long and awkward gap in on-field activity for early arriving fans.
Of course, there are also fans that probably prefer watching the road team take batting practice. That’s understandable too considering players like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper visit some ballparks anywhere from once a year to once every five or six years. But the plan to highlight the home team seems like a wise one from a convenience and business perspective.
Now we’ll see if the players are willing to get on board.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
