First, baseball analysis clearly shows that inter-legue competition needs a uniform policy on the Designated Hitter. Currently, the American League may use the DH only in AL ballparks; in National League parks, pitchers for both teams bat. Baseball analysis holds that this puts AL teams, whose offense is built around the DH, at a disadvantage. When the two leagues play each other--especially in the World Series, where it really matters--both teams should be required to use the DH.



Sound baseball analysis also holds that inter-league play dilutes the drama of both the All Star Game and the World Series. Moreover, many of these teams have never established traditional rivalries with each other, making most of the match-ups seem like glorified spring training games. Furthermore, inter-league scheduling reduces the number of games between traditional league rivals. For example, I'm sure Indians fans would prefer another series against the Yankees or Red Sox, rather than one against the Padres or Astros.

Finally, the game's trading deadline should be moved back to June 15th, rather than July 31st. Baseball analysis has proven that, by the end of July, teams that are out of the race often dump star players in trades that bring less than equal value. But with a June 15th deadline, more teams might still be willing to keep their higher-priced stars the rest of the season, which would only to be fair to their fans.

Although there are other problems confronting MLB, baseball analysis argues that these changes would go a long way toward returning fairness and true competition to the Grand Old Game.