Baseball is definitely the LEAST crazy of the US professional sports, but still with its own issues:
Night games on weekends....some of which are last minute scheduling changes from day games for television.
The absurd length of games.
The obscene cost of attending games.
Juiced baseballs.....MLB knows about this, but wants it to have long ball appeal to the new generation of fans.
Small ball is getting phased out: bunting, hitting behind the runner, stealing bases, are becoming lost arts.
Too many strikeouts and walks....therefore less action in a 3-1/2 to 4 hour long game.
The emphasis on home runs with needless stats like launch angles and exit velocity.
Trying to get 5 "good" innings (3 runs or less) from starting pitchers....stemming from the fragility of pitchers and the overall decline in pitching due to expansion and protecting pitchers with huge contracts.
The constant righty-lefty pitching vs hitting matchups, which to some degree I accept, but it has become excessive these days.
A DH rule in one league and no DH in the other league (huh ??).....although that may change soon if the MLBPA has its way, which it usually does.
No salary cap.
The lack of a commissioner who oversees MLB with a true, sincere love and knowledge of the game...and its fans.
All this said, it's not going to change and I still want baseball even with its many flaws.
You have some valid points. Having said this... I think baseball has evolved for years & years. I mean who was to say that MLB back in the 40's, 50's, even the 60's did not change things around to take advantage of situations in that time frame?
Personaly speaking, changing the schedules around to fit televison schedule isn't a big deal. I mean one either is going to the gasme or they're not. For me, today's game is an event. I don't get to attend but maybe a handful of games per year and when I do, I clear the calendar so I can attend.
The cost is out of line. But people are still paying the prices. So while I can't go to as many games as I liked, they haven't priced themselves completely out of the market...YET.
Walks & Strike Outs have been part of the game forver. I do think batters & pitchers are better today than years past. A lot of cat & mouse games. But for me the length of the game is due to pitching changes, line up changes, pinch runners, pinch hitters for bunting etc. Those things take a huge amount of time that stretches the game. But I love them. Time of a game in baseball is no biggee for me.
Launch & Exit stats are the latest technology. I remeber baseball before the pitchers had clocked speed. Infusing technology into the gsme is a good thing. The technology of a elctronic scoreboard was a fascinating time when the Astrodome was opened. Good stuff.
I think the 'fragility' on pitchers today stems for a number of things. But primarily from kids throwing 'junk' at a very young age. This tears up arms badly. Many of today's pitchers are simply worn out by the age of 35. Their arms are dead from throwing curves & sliders for 25 yers. But I also agree that sometimes a fat contract is in play as well. Many pitchers re-hab today moreso than they did years ago. Perhaps their union has something to do w/ this.
The picthing/batting match ups have been addressed this year. Which is a good thing and also should speed up the game as well.
I do not like the new extra innings rule. Bseball is a team sport and if you go through your lineup to win a game, that's a good thing. If you go through your line up and lose a game, get better players.
There is a salary cap, but it's not really effective. Teams can pay a fine and move on. I don't remeber any Commisoner that was good for the fans. They've always been a tool for the owners to control the game and players. Some teams just manage better than others when it comes to their fans.
I love baseball. It has continually changed in my lifetime and most likely will do so in it's future as well.