Four MLB teams are extending beer sales into the eighth inning in response to the quicker pace of play. A Philadelphia Phillies reliever wonders if it wouldn’t make more sense to cut fans off from beer sooner, rather than later.
“The reason we stopped in the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct?” Strahm said on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “So now with a faster-pace game, and me just being a man of common sense, if the game is going to finish quicker, would we not move the beer sales back to the sixth inning to give our fans time to sober up and drive home.
“Instead, we’re going to the eighth, and now you’re putting our fans and our family at risk driving home with people who have just drank beers 22 minutes ago,” Strahm said.
Yeah, actually, this does make more sense.
I mean, it’s not like your average Major League ballpark isn’t surrounded by bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.
And those places aren’t selling beers for $13 a pop.
They’re still pretty pricey, but still.
So, why are teams extending sales, rather than going in the other direction? Strahm, a 2012 21st-round draft pick out of JUCO ball in Kansas, has it figured out.
“When you mess with billionaires’ dollars, they find a way to make their dollars back,” Strahm said.
Basically, the billionaires don’t want the nearby bars and restaurants to make an extra buck or two.
I’m not sure Strahm’s concerns about giving fans time to sober up and drive home are addressed either way, of course.
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Chris Graham
