, Columnist
Save Baseball: Start Fall Classic in July
How to make baseball truly national again? One solution would be a split-season playoff system, with baseball moving a postseason round from October to July, when no other sport matters.
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Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith and Anheuser-Busch recently partnered on what appeared to be a serious effort to have today, baseball's Opening Day, declared a national holiday, turning the American tradition of playing hooky from school or work into an inalienable right.
Holiday or not, there will be sellouts and near-sellouts in stadiums across the land this week. Baseball's closing act, however, is a different story. National television ratings remain relatively weak for baseball's postseason, at a time of year when the sport could use a sick day away from football. Maybe the middle of the season is where baseball should seek relief.