Make Me Commissioner - Jane Leavy - Loving the Game & Making it Better

Breakfast with 2 friends from Brooklyn, Joe Torre & Sandy Koufax, they unlocked what was different in the game today – That’s the story

• Positive Vibe w/Rays new owners , Cosgrove, Zalupski & Babby 
• No rule for “Caring about what you buy”
• Too much inventory - 165 games
• Build love in the game w/ Little League
• Empty seats in playoff games
• The Pitch Clock the most significant change in the game
• Bananas have exposed a central problem  – Fans Feel Alienated
• A $4 million dollar solution for the Cubs to bring kids to the games
• The dying generation of fervent fans needs to be replenished
• Peko Hosoi  Co-founder of MIT Analytics
• “Beat the Bot” finding a new way to engage young fans 
• Cape Cod League w/ Bette the Dog and Analytics
• Baseball & Nickelodeon broadcast model
• Jane’s grandma supported her love of the game 
• Never question anyone’s fandom, it is not logical
• A Sammy Esposito baseball glove gift from Grandma from Saks Fifth Avenue
• Finding Sammy Esposito 
• Baseball Gloves & an Easter Egg Hunt
• Rob Manfred cannot be blamed for many of the challenges today
• Adding more franchises will dilute the talent pool
• Health of the pitchers & their arms, but also to the health of the game.”
• Clayton Kershaw, Dave Roberts and a perfect game
• CTE’s – Dave Duerson 
• Safety of playing Baseball v Football
• We need someone with vision & passion to lead MLB
• Damage to Pitching Arms may start in Little League
• MLB report on shoulder and elbow injuries
• $1 billion dollars spent last year on elbow and shoulder injuries
• MLB has set a limit on how many days & times &months that kids can be scouted in high school and in college.
• Young ballplayers should play multiple sports
• 16 year olds attempting to throw 95 miles
• Jeff Dugas and internal brace surgery
• Planning your pitchers for each of the week 
• Mat  enjoys “the crafty people that have six, seven pitches”
• Keith Meister advises “Go Play Catch” for pitchers' health
• Comparing the newest Yankee Stadium to PETCO & PNC Park
• Fundamentals of the game have evolved into an offensive game
• Bring back the Skills competition 
• Upcoming CBA & Rob Manfred’s announcement on a lockout
• Jane’s father an entertainment lawyer worked w/people who hated one another &was able to still negotiate an agreement between the 2 parties
• Economist, Michael Halpert, came up with a fairly traditional cap, kind of, agreement way to do it, to split the money
• Luxury Tax money – not being used as intended -  grievances pending from 2018 to 19 - Why players don't trust the owners 
• Penalties for not spending the luxury could include          
  • sing all your draft choices
  • reduce 40 man roster to 35
  • Team could be relegated to AAA
• Mat proposes EFL model from England soccer could be applied to MLB
• Which MLB players will be involved in the next CBA negotiations
• Why is MLB salary lower than NBA & NHL?
• “you can't believe what your eyes tell you. You know, your eyes are wrong.”
• 50 years of experience is worth something
• Ron Washington the “Minister of Particulars”
• Science is suspect everywhere except in Analytics
• Peko – baseball is the canary in the coal mine
• Domain knowledge is often not valued
• The funeral of an aunt autograph request
• Bette the Dog

Find Mat at @matgermain.bsky.social or reach Mark @  [e-mail] BaseballBiz on Deck, @ iHeart Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and at www.baseballbizOnDeck.com 
Special Thanks to XTaKe-R-U-X