Bonus: The Old Ball Game - Top of the First

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Today on the Games People Play, we break from our usual format to bring you The Old Ballgame, a panel show where we discuss America’s Pastime, and wonder if its time has passed. Joining Bernie on the show are former California Angels GM and vice president of umpiring for MLB, Mike Port, former Major League pitcher and guest of the Games People Play, Norm Charlton, and longtime author and Boston sports journalist, Steve Buckley. With over 150 years combined experience in and around The Game, the group tackles many of the issues baseball faces as they attempt to expand their fan base without alienating longtime devotees. Topics covered include: pre and post expansion playoff formats; adding and subtracting Wild Cards; the future of the 162-game season; pace of play; start times of World Series games; balancing analytics, technology and traditional methods of evaluating players; the nature of baseball ownership and MLB’s failure to “grow the game”. Along with the spirited discourse, Bernie asks each guest to share his earliest World Series memory before looking to the future by offering some final solutions.