Change, Change, Change

The Game Is Not What It Was

I was inspired by a question on Twitter this morning: "What are three ways baseball changed since you were a kid?"

1. The biggest change is that so few players spend their whole career with one team like they used to. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration and I don't have any statistics to back this up, but it sure seems that guys used to stick with one team for their whole career. Of course, that was probably from the generation when the owners/teams controlled the players so greatly. So, with the free agent nation that we exist in today, it might be appropriate that players have the opportunity to play for whomever they want to play for. Like, I'm sure that Bryce Harper really wanted to play for the Phillies, right.
2. We used to watch the Tigers on TV a couple of times a week. Whenever George Kell and Al Kaline were on, it was a highlight. The national game of the week, usually on NBC, would be on at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. It would be on right after This Week in Baseball. That was about the only time we would see players from other teams, or if we lived in an American League town, the only time we would see National League players. It was a different time. 
3. I suppose inter–league play is probably a major change, as well. I think inter–league play has jumped the shark, and maybe we should back off on it. At first it was a novelty, but now it is over the top. I don't think it has any advantage at this point. Imagine the improved records for the teams who had the opportunity to play the American League Central teams in 2019 …
4. Bonus—The cost of going to a game has changed greatly. The price of tickets, concessions, and souvenirs is so high that it's hard to take a family to a game for a reasonable price. 
5. Bonus #2—The stadiums have changed.