How can Major League Baseball fix its free agency problem?

We think it's too late to fix it. The Major League Baseball Players Association has become far too powerful and the owners can't afford a long term strike.

Lessen the number of years it takes to be a free agent. Or redo the arbitration system. Basically, they need to pay the younger guys a much bigger slice of the pie and the older guys less.

Many years ago, Tom Yawkey (Red Sox), Charlie Finlay (A's), and Yankees Head Honcho George Steinbrenner, all created the monster today that is MLB free agency.

The concept was to pay player's enough money so that they could devote their full attention to the game as to not have to worry about financial problems.

The owners are realizing that they shouldn't pay for past performance. Now the players have to fight for better terms during the first seven years (typically the most productive) of a players career.

What was originally an amazing idea in theory quickly became a pissing contest between owners as to who's players were more valuable. For example Boston Celtics honcho Red Auerbach always paid Bill Russell $1 over more than the Lakers Wilt Chamberlain just to send a message this guy is better than yours.

We forget who quoted this but a Boston sports writer many years ago stated that free agency would be the death of MLB and how right he was. Contract size and length has become a measuring stick for a players worth and popularity and will never be able to get back to what it once was.

For the players, this is probably a good thing as player's back in the Charlie Comiskey days of the 1919 Black Sox scandal we're paid and treated like slaves. Players were trapped onto teams with cheap miserly owners who cared nothing for their health and we'll being. As a matter of fact, it was Comiskey who's miserly tactics spurred the players to throw the world series vs. Cincinnati back in 19′. He renegged on a bonus to star pitcher Eddie Cicotte sitting him the last 3 starts as not to pay him for a thirty win season bonus.

Today, it's the players who are running the asylum. Extraordinary contracts are now commonplace and it's the poor fan who feels the pinch. A father can no longer take his kids to a big league ball game without refinancing his home.

The only way out we can foresee would be an organized nationwide boycott of the entire sport by the fans both in attendance and on TV. Maybe then the fans could win their sport back. But until that happens, we the fans are at the mercy of the greedy ass players and owners who feed of the blood of the loyal baseball fan.