sports
ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2023 | The Observer
13
Sports Authority
Coolican: Imagining a midseason tournament for baseball Liam Coolican Associate Sports Editor
Imag ine yourself in a ny mid-si ze minor leag ue baseba l l tow n: Montgomer y, Toledo, Frisco or Sout h Bend. Now imag ine t he scene if a n MLB tea m like t he Ya n kees, Red Sox or Dodgers rol led into tow n for a playof f ga me. This cou ld be a rea lit y if MLB ever adopts a mid-season tourna ment simi la r to t he Eng lish FA Cup. The hugely popu la r tourna ment matches up tea ms f rom t he g ia nts of t he Premier Leag ue a l l t he way dow n to t he nint h div ision. Each yea r, some of Engla nd’s biggest clubs t ravel to sma ll stadiums t hroughout t he count r y, to face of f aga inst tea ms whose players ma ke less in a yea r t ha n t he Premier Leag ue’s sta rs do in a week. Even t hough a
top-f light tea m a lways w ins — t he last t ime a tea m f rom a lower div ision won t he Cup was 1980 – t here have been some memorable upsets over t he yea rs. Recent ly, t here has been ta lk of implement ing a simila r mid-season tourna ment in Nor t h A merica n spor ts, most notably in t he NBA. According to The At h let ic’s Sha ms Cha rnia, t he format wou ld involve cup ga mes t hroughout November w it h eight tea ms adva ncing to a sing le-eliminat ion f ina l. It cer ta in ly is a n int rig uing idea. As a fa n of t he basement-dwelling Det roit Pistons, I’ll readily admit t hat I haven’t watched a f u ll ga me in weeks. It wou ld g ive fa ns somet hing to cheer for a midst a n ot her w ise lost season. Yet I ca n’t help but feel as if it’s a n empt y t rophy. The FA Cup is specia l because it matches up tea ms t hat wou ld never ot her w ise
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thing about Notre Dame’s v ictor y against Louisv ille is it offered a blueprint for the Irish to follow the rest of the way. The Irish avoided sloppy mistakes or having their weaknesses exploited. They hung tight on rebounds, losing the margin by just three, notched 16 assists and finished plus-nine on turnovers and plus12 on points off them. Doing that against the abysmal Cardinals is one thing. Repeating it against a March Madness hopeful in Wake Forest would be quite another. W hile the Demon Deacons are a bit buried in the ACC standings — their 6-6 record in conference play is tied for eighth — they are on the edge of the bubble and a strong last month of the season could propel them into the tournament. So far, Notre Dame’s only conference w ins have come against the two teams below them in the ACC standings — Louisv ille and Georgia Tech. Beating the Demon Deacons would be a whole different echelon of v ictor y. It is not that the Irish are not capable of hanging w ith good teams. They have proven that w ith competitive games against top-six ACC teams in NC State and Miami. A game half as clean as the one they played Saturday might have been enough to w in those games. W hile fix ing these mistakes w ill not change this season’s fate, getting things back in the right direction is always a good thing. Of course, Wake Forest w ill not be eager to prov ide the Irish
play each ot her. However, t here is one spor t t hat wou ld be a perfect f it for a midseason tourna ment: Major Leag ue Baseba ll. Minor leag ue baseba ll has been in t rouble recent ly, a nd MLB tea ms have faced declining attenda nce for yea rs. No one cha nge ca n f i x t hese problems t hat a re plag uing t he ga me. But a midseason tourna ment cou ld go a long way towa rd rejuvenat ing interest in t he spor t especia lly a mong younger fa ns who a re increasingly turning to basketba ll a nd footba ll. W hile t here a re ma ny different formats t he leag ue cou ld ex periment w it h, t he idea l scena rio wou ld likely include tea ms at each of t he f ive levels of a f f iliated baseba ll, f rom Single-A to t he MLB. Wit h rough ly 30 tea ms at each level, it cou ld feature seven best-of-t hree
rounds. Much like the FA Cup, there is something remarkably appealing – for most fans – about the Yankees potentially being eliminated by a Double-A squad. As we’ve seen in the playoffs, anything can happen in a bestof-three series. W hile the MLB teams would more than likely dominate the competition, there would also be some intriguing stor ylines. How many Minor League batters Jacob deGrom could strike out? How far Aaron Judge could hit a ball against a Single-A pitcher? This would certainly attract fans far and wide to minor league baseball stadiums, as well as give players a much-needed change of pace from an otherwise grueling season. The 162-game season can become a slog in July and August. Having meaningful games in the middle of the season would be beneficial
for fans and players alike. It would also give teams a chance to evaluate their top prospects against Major League talent. There are certain kinks to work out. Unlike English soccer, minor league baseball teams are affiliated with an MLB team. As a result, teams could manipulate matchups easily by moving top prospects up or down strategically before big games. Another is providing an appropriate incentive structure for teams and players who are only looking to win a World Series Trophy. But these problems aren’t insurmountable. The benefits of this format could be huge for the sport. Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
w ith a much-needed confidence boost. The Demon Deacons actually could be an ideal matchup for the Irish, who have struggled on defense all season. Wake Forest does the same, allow ing 73 points per game, third-most in the conference. Like Notre Dame, Wake relies heav ily on the three, shooting at nearly an identical clip and volume as the Irish while also defending them at a similarly poor rate. Better still, if the Irish can continue to protect the rock as they have done all season, they can mitigate one of Wake Forest’s biggest strengths — their abilit y to force turnovers. The simila rit ies do not stop t here. The Deacs a lso have four players in double f ig ures scoring, w it h g ua rd Ty ree Appleby leading t he way. The Florida t ra nsfer is a duel t hreat, ra n king second in t he ACC in points per ga me a nd f irst in assists. Da ma ri Monsa nto leads t he conference in t hrees per ga me. A ndrew Ca rr a nd Ca meron Hildret h a re just outside t he top ten in rebounding in t he ACC. The one obv ious adva ntage Wa ke has is dept h. Nine players average at least 10 minutes per ga me for t hem, compa red to seven for t he Irish (who might be at si x if Ven-A llen Lubin ca nnot go). Eit her way, t he Irish a nd Demon Deacons meet for t he f irst t ime t his season Saturday at Purcell Pav ilion. Tip-of f is at 1 p.m. The ga me is ava ilable on loca l reg iona l spor ts network a nd t he Not re Da me Radio Net work. MICHAEL LI | The Observer
Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu
Irish graduate guard Trey Wertz steps up to the line to prepare for a foul shot. Wertz shot 100% from the foul line and netted 15 of the Irish’s valiant 71 points, but it was not enough to top FSU.