First pitch: MLB needs more XFL, AEW, and Savannah Bananas in it soon

Get ready to clutch your pearls, MLB purists. After an offseason of seeing bases enlarged and pitch clocks on the horizon, you’re probably not going to like what I’m about to offer for another idea to help the game — the Savannah Bananas.

No, I’m not going to say that the game we all know and love should morph into something completely unrecognizable (that seems like that is being done plenty in recent months and years). However, it’s time that MLB looked at itself in the mirror and tried to figure out how to inject some more fun into our national pastime.

That’s where an idea popped into my head this weekend while I watched the XFL make its 2023 debut. It’s not the NFL by any stretch. After all, there are different rules (including the option for tiered extra points that are not kicked) and the players taking the field are certainly a step or two below Patrick Mahomes and Derrick Henry. However, there’s an audience for the sport that is taking the game of football and trying something new with it.

The same goes for AEW when it decided it could play in the same world as WWE and grab the attention of professional wrestling fans. It’s not trying to be WWE, but rather trying to be something different.

Simply put, MLB needs a “fun league” to help regain interest in a game where the commissioner is trying to shorten game times and figure out how to reach younger fans. Remember what Rob Manfred said back in September?

"“Our guiding star in thinking about changes to the game has always been our fans. ‘What do our fans want to see on the field?’ We’ve conducted thorough and ongoing research with our fans, and certain things are really clear. Number 1, fans want games with better pace. Two, fans want more action, more balls in play. And three, fans want to see more of the athleticism of our great players.”"

MLB is changing enough with 2023’s rule changes, so create a separate baseball league where players who have recently retired or stepped away from the game can bring some fun back to it, embracing the three points Manfred makes above. Get creative. It’s already happening in Savannah, Ga., with the Savannah Bananas, who have captured plenty of attention by simply rethinking how to play the game and showing the fans more of the personalities of the players.

There’s a reason why the Bananas have been on a “world tour,” taking their talents outside of Savannah for plenty of baseball fans to see. People have embraced the fun that goes along with these rules. And those rules aren’t changing the core of the game. They’re just changing how it is being played in one circumstance.

MLB should take notes from XFL, Savannah Bananas

Remember last year’s All-Star Game? Let fans hear what the pitcher and catcher are saying as they call pitches. Give more runs for home runs hit deeper in counts. Relax the balk rules and let Framber Valdez rock the baby. Let the players be more aggressive on the base paths. Remember all of the fun there is in a Venezuelan game when a home run is hit? Remember the crowd noises in other parts of the world during a baseball game that can often feel like a church here in the United States? Do it all, and do all of this during MLB’s offseason, finding places in the country warm enough to have an XMLB and grow an audience locally and on TV. After all, how many times can we watch “Field of Dreams” on MLB Network during the offseason?

I will date myself here, but I grew up in the age of MTV’s Rock N’ Jock softball games. Heck, if those mixed-up games where sometimes anything went (or so it felt) were good enough for Derek Jeter back in the day, why can’t they be revived in some ways with celebrity appearances as part of the allure of a new league? You never know who is going to show up one night, and what they’re going to do when they’re on the mound or at the plate.

There’s a reason why Jazz Chisholm Jr. was selected as the cover athlete for this year’s edition of MLB The Show. He’s not the most recognizable face within MLB, but the Euro Step and the personality he brings to the game (along with his baseball abilities, of course) was enough to push him onto the cover.

Perhaps that should be a sign for MLB to look for ways to find the fun again somewhere in the game we all love. You don’t have to massively tweak the game played inside Citi Field in June, but you can find ways to create a new product that can not only fill a gap in the winter when we are all pining for spring training to start, but also see what really resonates with fans on the diamond.

This season, for better or worse, we will see plenty of changes within MLB’s playing structure. It’s time to stop tinkering with that side of the equation and start seeing how to grow the game in other ways. Loosen up the tie, Commissioner, and see what can be done to grow the game outside the MLB realm. Baseball will be better for it in the long run.