What Phillies’ Nick Castellanos would change about MLB
A streaky Nick Castellanos is something Philadelphia Phillies fans have come to expect during his time with the ballclub, but they also know him to be a man of the people. The two-time All-Star is not shy about expressing himself and often does so while fully exuding the cool factor that so many youngsters appreciate.
Well, his popularity will only increase further following his latest comments about baseball’s current power imbalance. When asked what change he would enforce on the game if he were to be MLB commissioner for a day, Castellanos offered a thoughtful and sensible response that echoes a similar sentiment that fans have been demanding for years. It is also one that will not happen, however, and he knows it.
“I would change that ownership doesn’t have any severe consequences for losing for an extended period of time,” the veteran outfielder told Alex Tantum of MLBFits, via ClutchPoints, hours before he went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBIs in Thursday’s 5-4 comeback victory over the Braves.
“If we’re in the big leagues and we don’t perform well, we get demoted or cut. If their organization didn’t perform well, somebody else would have an opportunity to buy it from them. Just to keep it to where nobody can really own the game of baseball, cause the game is above true ownership. But that would never happen.”
“Ownership doesn’t have any consequences for losing… If we’re in the big leagues and we don’t perform, we get demoted or cut. If their organization doesn’t perform, someone else should have a chance to buy it.”
— Nick Castellanos
(via @_mlbfits) pic.twitter.com/pdETNHFuq5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 29, 2024
Too many MLB owners are taking a conservative approach
Legions of fans all across the country feel heard after hearing Nick Castellanos’ innovative idea. Although there is no way to eliminate classes in the MLB entirely, incentivizing owners to invest a bit more in the offseason or at the trade deadline could do wonders for the product.
October baseball is already among the most unpredictable playoff formats in sports, but the threat of stripping away a team from an ownership group could level the playing field during the regular season on a more consistent basis. Of course, though, no actual commissioner would ever be prohibited to make such an earth-shattering decision.
Individuals who obtain franchises have immense wealth, power and maybe even influence. They would fight relentlessly to retain their teams and would most likely prevail, despite what the public desires. Still, the disparity in spending is an issue that is becoming harder for baseball to ignore.
Will MLB be forced to make some sort of a change?
Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
The payrolls of the New York Mets and Yankees are more than three times as much than that of a handful of teams. Now, there is obviously a mammoth gap in net worth between those owners, but it is still inexcusable for some shot-callers to be so stingy with their bank accounts.
There might be a rule that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred could theoretically implement in order to address the problem. Setting a salary cap and floor would force the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins and other small-payroll franchises to be financially aggressive. Ideally, more parity would ensue.
The MLB could also try to adopt a variation of Castellanos’ philosophy. Taking an organization away from an owner as a performance-based punishment is not plausible, but perhaps restrictions can be put in place to increase the likelihood of a proactive individual gaining control of the club.
People with more extensive financial portfolios would presumably be more inclined to loosen the purse strings, a la Steve Cohen. Steering those candidates to baseball is not easy, given the NFL’s supremacy and the NBA’s continued growth, but it should be doable considering the strides the sport is making.
But for now, Nick Castellanos and everyone else will have to accept the system’s imperfections. When the time does come to tackle the problem, though, the MLB might want to give the Phillies slugger a call.
The post What Phillies’ Nick Castellanos would change about MLB appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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