Cubs superstar first baseman Anthony Rizzo made some waves on Tuesday afternoon, when he told ESPN Radio that the MLB season should be shortened, and that he’d be willing to take a pay cut as a trade off for playing fewer games.
“I think we play too much baseball,” Rizzo said Tuesday during his weekly appearance on ESPN 1000. “Yes, guys are going to take pay cuts. But are we playing this game for the money or do we love this game? I know it’s both, but in the long run it will make everything better.”
On Wednesday morning, Murph & Mac asked Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow to give his thoughts on Rizzo’s comments. Krukow seemed to disagree that the schedule should be shortened, citing that players have always had to play in less-than-ideal weather. He also doesn’t believe the owners would ever approve such a measure.
“I think that ship has passed Mr. Rizzo,” Krukow chuckled. “You start talking about the economics of the game, there’s no owner that is going to vote to go to a shorter schedule, it’s just not going to happen. April has always been a month where it’s been cold in certain parts of the country, but this is kind’ve weird the amount of weather and rain and snow and sleet we’ve seen across the country. I mean it’s rare you see five cities in one night have to postpone a game.
“It’s just never going to happen,” Kruk said about the schedule being shortened. “As far as the old time doubleheaders that are separated by 45 minutes, they’re done, they’re gone, it’s not going to happen. If there is going to be a doubleheader, it’s going to be a makeup on a day-night. That’s just the way the game has evolved. This year it’s a little better. They’ve expanded the length of the season, and they’ve given the players four days, so this is a problem they’ve been talking about for many years.
“I think for Rizzo to come out there and say something, I just think it’s kind’ve ridiculous actually.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Krukow on Rizzo, start from 13:45