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'Let's Play Two' Is Now So Old School

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JOSEPH H. BROWN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 24, 2008

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area dodged a bullet - again - last week when Tropical Storm Fay veered to the northeast. While government officials were sweating it out in anticipation of where the storm might hit, the Tampa Bay Rays were also worried that they might have to postpone Tuesday's game.

They played Tuesday night as scheduled, but if they had to cancel the game they would have had to do something that was once common but is now almost nonexistent: play a doubleheader.

Yes, there was once a time when Major League Baseball scheduled two games to be played in one day, not these concoctions they throw together to make up for rainouts. I'm talking about two games two games for the price of one, with about a 20-minute break in between.

But it's been over 30 years since baseball regularly scheduled doubleheaders, and since the Rays play in a dome, it will take a strong storm for the team to ever play two games in one day at The Trop.

All-Day Family Fun

"Doubleheader" was originally a railroad term for a single train with two engines. Baseball teams once played as many as 20 doubleheaders in a season, mostly on Sundays and always on holidays like the Fourth of July.

Growing up in Chicago, I remember doubleheaders well. My friends and I would attend Sunday school, hurry home and change clothes, then hop on the "L" train and get off at either Comiskey Park to see the White Sox, or Wrigley Field to see the Cubs. It was nothing to spend six or seven hours at the ballpark watching two games, and our parents wouldn't mind if we were a little late for dinner.

Outside of Wrigley Field is a statue of "Mr. Cub," Ernie Banks. Engraved on it is his catch phrase, "Let's play two," expressing his wish to play a doubleheader every day out of his enthusiasm and love of the game. If a ballplayer said that today, the players' union would probably tell him to shut up.

Games Now Too Long

Nobody seems to know when they stopped scheduling doubleheaders, but some time in the 1970s owners decided that, as salaries got larger, they needed the full revenue from all 81 home games. Jet travel also did away with the need for a "travel day" necessary when trains were the primary form of transportation.

Television contracts also played a role. Back in the day, baseball games took two and a half hours at the most. With the many TV commercials that run between innings, most games are now three hours, especially in the American League with its designated hitter. Also, the networks don't want to try to hold an audience's attention for that long.

Scheduling doubleheaders again would shorten the season so that the World Series isn't played in the mid-autumn cold. Even if it happened, I don't think it would go over well with many of today's youngsters. The advent of video games has shortened attention spans and fed the need for instant gratification. Many of these kids aren't going to spend seven hours at the ballpark.

Still, it's fun to remember when a ballplayer could say "Let's play two" and not be thought of as a crazy man.

Joseph H. Brown is a Tribune editorial writer.

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