anthony rizzo Apr 1, 2018; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) walks through the dugout prior to the game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo articulated an opinion that many professional baseball players would likely agree with: MLB plays too many darn games.

Via ESPN:

“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.”

Rizzo has a few reasons to complain about the density of games. For one thing, he just spent time on the disabled list with a back injury, the type of ailment that a little extra rest here and there could go a long way toward preventing or healing. For another, his team just had two games postponed due to cold and rain, a day after playing through wet conditions in what wound up being an extremely sloppy game. Again, via ESPN:

“I think playing in the cold sucks,” said Rizzo, who was activated from the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday. “I was thinking about this the other day. When you think of Cubs and Cardinals, you think of a beautiful Saturday at Wrigley Field. You don’t think about playing in 20 degrees.”

Even if the season isn’t shortened, Rizzo sees no reason it has to start so early.

“In a perfect world, we’d start the season later and play a few scheduled doubleheaders going into an off day,” he said. “As a fan you’re going to a baseball game in April, and it’s raining, snowing and [with] freezing rain. Is it really that much fun? That’s my question.”

Some fans will likely respond to Rizzo’s comments with some variation of, “He’s lucky he gets to play a game for a living,” and while that may be true, it doesn’t mean the Cubs All-Star doesn’t have a point. After all, it’s not as if the 162-game schedule that starts in April and includes few off days was handed down from Mount Sinai. Until 1962, the league used a 154-game slate, and the world kept spinning.

In truth, a shorter schedule would be good for players, who wouldn’t be quite as worn down by September. It would be just fine for the fans, who would hardly notice the loss of a few weekday contests here and there. The only party who would stringently object to a shortened schedule would be the owners, who would lose a few gates and a couple dollars off their media-rights deals.

And that’s why Rizzo’s dream of fewer games will remain a dream for the foreseeable future. Teams simply won’t sacrifice the cash unless the players offer something extremely enticing in return, and with all the other issues the MLBPA has to fight for, it’s unlikely the union would die on the hill of a shorter schedule. As Rizzo said, “Once you start taking money from guys, that’s where it’s going to be a little more dicey.”

And so Rizzo and his balky back will just have to tough out a cold April and a long season. All 162 games of it.

[ESPN]

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.