September roster expansion not always a hit
From Pete Grathoff at the Kansas City Star on August 31, 2013, with mention of SABR member Cliff Blau:
Baseball’s annual gnashing of the teeth is upon us.
The Sept. 1 expansion of rosters from 25 to 40 has long been derided, mostly by those in the game.
“You play 80 percent of your season with even rosters, and then all of a sudden, you throw that out,” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said a few years back. “It’s like playing three-on-six in basketball or 11-on-18 in football. I don’t know of any sport in the world that does it like ours, with this kind of imbalance of rosters. I’d like to find out if there’s any other sport that does that at the most important time of the year.”
Why does baseball expand rosters? Because that’s how it’s been done for a century. Clifford Blau of the Society for American Baseball Research found that the practice dates to 1910 — just two years after the Cubs won their last World Series title.
These days teams expand rosters for two reasons: to look at players who had good minor-league seasons and to give teams pushing for the playoffs some added weapons.
Read the full article here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/31/4450170/the-rundown-roster-expansion-not.html
Originally published: September 5, 2013. Last Updated: September 5, 2013.