Game 1 of the 2006 World Series saw a 25 percent drop in television viewing from Game 1 of the 2005 World Series; a staggering number in a continuing trend. Want some more numbers? According to numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research, the ratings (percentage of households with televisions watching the program) of 11.1 for the 2005 World Series was the lowest TV viewing percentage of all time, and considerably down from the 15.8 in 2004. Only three times since the strike in 1994 has the World Series rating increased from one year to the next. You could come up with a number of factors as to why postseason viewing is down. You could say 2004 had decent ratings because of the Cinderella-story Boston Red Sox winning their first championship in 86 years. But what about the 2005 Chicago White Sox and their first World Series since 1917? Sure, they don?t have the fan base that the Red Sox have but it was still a significant moment. You could maybe argue it is because of the increase in fan attendance, which has seen increases each of the past 3 seasons. In 2005, MLB set a record for fan attendance with over 74 million seats sold throughout the season, only to be surpassed in 2006 with over 75.9 million viewers in the stadiums around the league. So it seems that baseball?s popularity is finally coming back, gaining back the casual viewer that abandoned the game after the strike. But why the absence during the playoffs? Instead of trying to figure out why, I want to talk about ways to fix it. So Mr. Selig, if you?re reading, this one?s for you. First on the agenda would be to shorten the regular season. 162 games in six months is a heck of a ride, and as the playoffs approach, players start to wear down. You see a lot more injuries in the last month of the season due to fatigue. I believe it would really help the quality of late-season games and the quality of the playoffs (well rested players means higher energy levels which leads to higher levels of excitement for the fans) if the schedule was trimmed down to about 135 games and ended around the first week of September; which brings me to my second point: Start the playoffs a few weeks earlier. Last season the first NFL game was played on September 7, and the first MLB World Series game was played October 21. It?s no secret how much money and effort is put into television viewing for the NFL every weekend and it?s nearly impossible to top their ratings, despite being ?America?s game.? But starting the MLB Playoffs a lot closer to the start of the NFL season should increase viewing because you wouldn?t be competing with the middle of the season when divisional play in the NFL starts to heat up. The casual fan can then follow the complete MLB Playoffs and then catch the NFL one-third or mid-season for the stretch runs and feel like they have not missed anything significantly important. Another thing that comes to mind is adding more teams to the playoffs. I really like the idea of 6 teams from each league; 4 just does not seem like enough. To me, it is really weird having the playoffs start and you are in the League Semi-finals all ready. I believe this idea would help viewing on a number of levels: 1. The elite teams are usually the teams with the largest fan base and viewers. If the elite teams get a ?bye? in the first round for finishing with a top-two record in their conference, they are not being eliminated right away and thus keep viewers for at least another round (and yes, I am looking at you Yankees). 2. There are a lot of quality teams with high profile stars and large fan bases that do not make the playoffs in the current format. By having three Wild Card spots per conference instead of one, you guarantee drawing in four more fan bases each year for at least the first round. 3. This would also increase the level of play for the last month of the season. Commentators and experts are quick to point out that the excitement of the last month has greatly increased with the Wild Card spot because more teams are still in the hunt for the last month of the season. How many more teams would be in the hunt if there were three playoff spots to fight for? 4. Parity between conferences is also side-stepped. It is an annual argument that it is unfair for teams from the American League (particularly the AL East and AL Central) to be at home during the playoffs when teams from the National League West division get to go to the playoffs with a lesser record. With a three Wild Card format you could have all three top teams in the AL East, the two top teams in the AL Central and the division winner from the AL West all in the playoffs together. This is sure to increase the competitive nature of the first round series? and increase rivalries ? making for exciting television viewing. Lastly, I think it?s important to change the start-times. With an 8:00 start-time, I feel MLB is missing out on a very key demographic it should be trying to reach: kids. The kids are the future of the sport, you want them to see the excitement of the playoffs and increase their passion for the game. But if they have to be in bed by the time the 4th inning rolls around, that doesn?t really help at all. Obviously you couldn?t start the games too early that they run into dinner-time, but a 7:00 start-time would definitely increase the longevity that young fans can watch the games. I am sure there are many more ideas that can be thrown around; anything from paying more to advertise the playoffs, to replacing Tim McCarver and giving Joe Buck someone tolerable to work with. But I don?t feel the issues I brought up are that far-fetched, and I think it is definitely something Major League Baseball should look into. Besides, looking at recent trends, there isn?t anywhere to go but up. Comments, feedback and suggestions is always welcome: [email protected]