Tradition has always been a big part of baseball’s appeal, so when the Washington Nationals return for their season opener Thursday, they’ll be back with all the familiar sights and sounds of an afternoon at the ballpark — from the crisp green field to the national anthem to the satisfying smack of a fastball hitting a catcher’s mitt.
But the changes — some small, some big — will be hard to miss, too.
The biggest difference for the 40,000-plus fans expected at Nationals Park on Thursday: No Bryce Harper in the Nationals’ outfield.
For the first time since 2012, the Nationals start a season without the slugger, after the 26-year-old superstar spurned the franchise’s $300 million extension offer to sign instead with the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies.
Inside the team’s clubhouse, Harper’s locker has been re-assigned. Promotional photos of Harper around Nationals Park have been removed. The Nationals have moved on — and they’re confident they can contend this season with a foundation of other stars and high-quality players on the roster — from ace Max Scherzer to 20-year-old phenom Juan Soto.
Harper isn’t the only All-Star swapping uniforms — and he won’t be the last — but there are other changes afoot in baseball that could have much more impact on the game in the long term, from robot umpires to pitch clocks to new analytics-driven strategies changing the way pitchers are used and outfielders are positioned.
Some of those changes are being driven by baseball commissioner Rob Manfred’s determination to speed up the pace of play and make the game more attractive to younger fans. Nielsen data from 2017 found the average age of baseball TV viewers rose to 57, the highest among the four major sports leagues.
Whether the shrinking of attention spans is a millennial problem or something broader is up for interpretation, but according to data from Baseball Reference, the average length of a major league ballgame last year season was three hours and four minutes. That was down from three hours and eight minutes in 2017, but the average game hasn’t been shorter than three hours since 2011.
In the spirit of the mantra “every little bit helps,” Major League Baseball trimmed the time between innings for this season: From two minutes and five seconds all the way down to an even two minutes. Starting in 2020, pitchers will have to face a minimum of three batters, nullifying the “one-out specialist” role and aiming to cut down on pitching changes (teams used an average of 4.36 pitchers per game in 2018, an all-time high).
MLB is also sponsoring experiments in several minor leagues. In the independent Atlantic League, there will be no more managerial mound visits for anything other than a pitching change or medical issue.
Games around the majors might speed up incrementally as a result, but back at home, fans will have a slower time entering Nationals Park if they need to bring a backpack.
The Nationals have banned backpacks from the park this season, citing safety concerns, a decision that’s upset many fans. Other items, including purses, drawstring bags and diaper bags, are still allowed, and fans will also have the option to stash their stuff in a Binbox locker on site — though that will boost your price of admission $10 or $15 ($2 per hour for a small locker, $3 per hour for a larger one).
While demographics and technology are changing the game on the field, baseball owners are changing the sport’s economics off it.
Average salaries are down this season for the second straight year, according to an Associated Press study, despite several bombshell signings in the offseason, including Harper’s deal with the Phillies and Mike Trout’s record-breaking $427 million extension with the Angels.
Superstars are still raking in mega-contracts, but rank-and-file players are being offered shorter deals for less money than before, according to the labor union. Some teams — the nearby Baltimore Orioles among them — have cut payroll to the bone, leading many fans and observers to accuse organizations of not even trying to win.
That’s not a criticism to be leveled at the Nationals, despite the loss of Harper.
The Nationals spent the third-most money in free agency — trailing only the Phillies and San Diego Padres, both of whom acquired superstars in Harper and Manny Machado.
In doing so, Washington shelled out $184.6 million on seven players — most of it on starting pitcher Patrick Corbin. Corbin, who signed a six-year, $140 million deal, was the top pitcher available in this year’s market. The Nationals hope he and Anibal Sanchez, another signed starter, help stabilize Washington’s rotation after a shaky 2018.
The Nationals, too, acted quickly. They signed Corbin in December — months before Harper and Machado settled. For the second straight year, MLB’s free agency slowly churned, leaving players frustrated and concerned.
When Trout signed his 12-year extension last week, he admitted he did so partially because Harper’s free agency was a “red flag” to him.
“I would take one step back and recognize that the free agent process has changed,” said Scherzer, who will take the mound Thursday. “Teams used to covet players, marquee players and be aggressive in trying to get them. I don’t feel like that’s the case anymore. I’ll say that.”
First baseman Ryan Zimmerman also hinted at his frustration with the process when asked if the National League East was the best division in baseball.
“Yeah, it’s the only division where more than half the teams are trying to win, so that’s a good thing,” Zimmerman said. “That’s how it should be.”
The NL East does figure to be competitive. On top of Harper, the Phillies added All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Atlanta, last season’s division champs, added slugger Josh Donaldson — giving them another bat in an already explosive lineup.
Still, oddsmakers and experts have the Nationals right in the race. Bovada, an online sportsbook, list them as the second-highest favorite to win the division, while FanGraphs projects them to take the NL East with 90 wins.
But the Nationals won’t just be satisfied with only a division title.
Washington is looking to overcome years of coming up short. In Harper’s seven seasons, the Nationals made the playoffs four times — losing in the opening round in all four. They missed the postseason entirely last year.
As much as the sport is changing, some things — like the Nationals shooting for a title — remain the same.
“For me, I think every one of us comes in thinking that we have to win a World Series and that’s because of the roster they put together every year here,” shortstop Trea Turner said. “Every year we have the talent, every year it’s possible.
“It’s just a matter of whether we do it or not.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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