Okay, look, we gotta talk about what happened in Oakland. Our Mariners just went down 5-6 to the Athletics. Yeah, you read that right. A one-run loss that just sits in your gut, especially when you think about the bigger picture for the league and what’s coming.
MLB Is Going Big, But Where?
While we’re out here battling in the AL West, Major League Baseball is gearing up for a massive change. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire on December 1, and a huge part of the upcoming labor battle is MLB’s desire to expand from 30 to 32 teams. Can you believe it’s been since 1998 since the last expansion? That’s almost three decades! Commissioner Rob Manfred is serious, wanting to decide on one West Coast and one East Coast team by January 2029.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan has been outlining potential cities, and get this: in a subsequent video, he says Salt Lake City actually has the most compelling case for adding an expansion team. Salt Lake City! That’s a new one to chew on. This would be the longest stretch without adding teams since the American League’s first 60 years. Think about that: 1901-1960. It’s wild to look back at how the league grew, adding teams like the Angels and Mets, and yeah, even our own Mariners back in 1977, after the Seattle Pilots moved on. The business side of this is huge, with Matt Brown from Extra Points even analyzing how new cities could impact college programs.
Seriously, What’s Up With Position Players Pitching And The Olympics?
And speaking of things that make you scratch your head, let’s talk about position players pitching. Sam Miller over at Pebble Hunting newsletter is not a fan, and honestly, who is? He calls it “a bizarre, asymmetrical surrender” when a game is out of hand. You know the drill: the “pitcher” throws the single worst pitch he can, and the batter then takes a massive overswing. It’s like, come on, baseball, you have all these unwritten rules, but this is what we’ve settled on? It feels like a real gut punch when you’re already frustrated by a close loss.
Then there’s the whole 2028 Summer Olympics situation in Los Angeles. Bill Shaikin at the LA Times is pushing for MLB, the Players Association, and LA28 to figure out a way for big league players to participate. But it’s a classic standoff, right? The league is like, “Play ball!” but they want the power to punish players who do not wish to play. And the Players Association? They’re saying “Play ball!” too, but only if the league eases up on mandatory participation. Plus, they want LA28, the international baseball federation, and the International Olympic Committee to provide some flexibility on accommodations, tickets, and marketing rights for the players. It’s a lot of back and forth, and you just want them to work it out for the good of the game.
Our M’s need to bounce back from that Oakland stumble, period. But zooming out, this offseason is going to be wild for MLB, with expansion, player rules, and the Olympics all on the table. We’ll be watching every single pitch, every single negotiation, because this is our game, Emerald City, and we deserve the best!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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