MESA, Ariz. — There’s a lot to marvel at with Bryce Harper’s new 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. The money. The longevity. The money some more.
And then there’s this: The contract calls for Harper to be into a Phillies uniform until the 2032 season. 2032!? That almost doesn’t even feel real — especially in the world of sports contracts.
Baseball is a sport that is changing before our very eyes. Strikes, balls, runs, out, homers, strikeouts, those things aren’t going anywhere. But the influx of technology and analytical intelligence has ushered in a new era for the game.
Video replay has arrived. Decades-old rules have been changed. A pitch clock may very well be on its way. And we can’t seem to go a few months without new chatter about this rule or that rule, expansion to this city or that city.
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Harper’s contract is at least a nice jumping off point to ponder the future of Major League Baseball. What would baseball even look like in 2032?
“I think players are super careful when it comes to changing the rules of the game or adding — like right now — the pitch clock,” says San Diego Padres second baseman Ian Kinsler. “There’s a lot of resistance there for players. Those are things that are very hard to change in the game.
“But outside of that,” Kinsler continues, deadpan. “We’re going to be wearing jetpacks.”
We should all be so lucky to have that to look forward to.
“I bet there’s some different type of wood to make the ball go farther,” says Cubs star Kris Bryant. “But the pitchers will be throwing 110 mph by then.”
“Probably an electronic strike zone,” says Joey Bart, the San Francisco Giants’ top prospect, who at 22 still could reasonably be playing in 2032.
“I hope the DH never arrives in the National League,” says Joe Maddon, Bryant’s manager with the Chicago Cubs.
“We’ve seen some concept gloves,” says Padres outfielder Hunter Renfroe.
“Maybe more teams. I would love one in Vegas,” say Bryant, who is from Vegas. “That’d be sick.”
“There’s a lot to be learned from the new betting, where that’s going to lead with fans, even in the ballpark,” Maddon says. “Which I have no opinion on.”
“I believe this year is the 150th year [of professional baseball],” says Tony Clark, the 15-year ex-big leaguer who is now head of the MLB Players Association. “For 140 and some change, it’s looked a certain way. It’s changed a lot of late. As someone who has no hair on top [of his head] and white hair on his chin, and who played the game for as long as I did, I hope we recognize the game in 2031 in a way that suggests there’s a reason for us to continue to be baseball fans.”
The concern among many players and coaches that the game is changing for the worse is real. Whether we’re talking about rule changes or economics. The ongoing labor feud between players and ownership this offseason is an underlying factor here. As some people in baseball ponder the future, it can’t all be jetpacks.
“I assume the owners would probably try to take control of [the game],” Bart says. “So there will probably be a lot of guys coming up and down from Triple-A to the big leagues, so they can save money.”
“You might see some rule changes, obviously,” Maddon says. “Maybe expanded rosters. Maybe an extra guy or two on the roster. I think the pitch clock will still be in the effect. Still permitting shifts. The biggest thing that I’d like to see is that any potential rule that applies to pace of the game, I’m fine. Any rule that applies to the length of the game, I’m not into. Any rule that interferes with strategy, I’m against.”
What will MLB look like when Bryce Harper’s 13-year contract with the Phillies expires? We asked some players at spring training. (Getty Images)
The inverse of this exercise is thinking about how much baseball has changed in 13 years. So, 2006. That doesn’t seem so long ago, right? Well, until you realize that was when Justin Verlander and Hanley Ramirez were the Rookies of the Year and Brandon Webb won the Cy Young.
“When I was 14, you had a lot more sinker-ballers,” says Renfroe, now 27. “All these guys that were dotting the strike zone with movement. Now you got all these guys that are overpowering people with 96, 97 — that’s a huge swing.”
Let’s turn back to Kris Bryant and all his baseball-of-the-future ideas that are beginning to sound like a kid running for his school’s class president while promising no homework and candy in the cafeteria.
“If they moved the mound back, that would be sweet. I’d love that,” Bryant says with a big smile. “Bring the bases closer. Bring the fences in. I would love a big wall — I know we’ll never get a dome at Wrigley Field — but something to stop the wind from blowing in at Wrigley Field.”
Spoken like a man who loves to hit homers.
Jokes aside, every player who talked to us about 2032 was pretty clear on the position that they want the game to stay like the game they’ve always known.
“I hope it’s the same thing,” Renfroe says. “I hope it’s exactly how it was back when it was Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and all those guys.”
He stops for a second and then adds: “I hope we’re all still alive then.”
Indeed. Alive and with jetpacks.
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