We're All (Unfortunately) Part Of Baseball History

For baseball fans, this season is truly a historic one. We have never been through anything like this before, and we will hopefully never be through it again.

Baseball SHOULD have started a couple months ago. Instead, it looks like we're at least six or seven weeks away from a season. It all depends on the players and owners sorting out their money issues. You can bet that there are owners who don't want a season because they will lose too much money. There are players, and agents (I'm talking to you, Scott Boras) who are in the same boat.

It's history, and got me thinking about part of baseball history 14 years ago (May 28, 2006). We were spending a few days in San Francisco, and went to the Giants game with friends Mild Bill and Tina -- both both baseball fans as well. Lo and behold, we're part of history when we watched Barry Bonds launch a home run that passed Babe Ruth.

There was an announcement that fans should show up at a downtown location in a couple of  days with their tickets to receive a special commemorative something. We were slated to fly out the next day, so Tina volunteered to come back to San Francisco from their home in Sonoma to retrieve said gift. Many days later, in the mail, we got our "something special" -- it was the chintziest little tin button one could every imagine. It was something akin to a prize from a box of Cracker Jacks.

Boy, the San Francisco organization really thought a lot about the Bonds home run. True, he went on to pass Hank Aaron -- but we all know, in our hearts, that Aaron is The Home Run King.

THERE HAVE BEEN several plans put forth to have a baseball season. If MLB moves forward with a proposed mini-season that would  have regional games only, the Milwaukee Brewers would face the NL Central and the AL Central (Sox, Twins, Indians, Tigers and Royals). That's a pretty favorable grouping.

And, for this shortened season, the National League would have the Designated Hitter. This would REALLY help the Brewers. Christian Yelich, coming off an injury, could ease back onto the field. And Ryan Braun, on the tail-end of his career, would be a natural fit for the DH.

Look for teams, if and when they return, to expand rosters from 26 to 30 and have a "taxi squad" of maybe 20 or 30 players they can move up and down as necessary. This especially needed if there's no minor league season.