Major League Baseball has a certain rhythm that you do not get in other sports. There is a minor league system filled with players who would love to be with the big league club, and there are countless times when they are called up. Players are sent back and forth from the minors to the majors without a second thought, but the September call-up was the most serious of those events. You called up players because you wanted to have hope for the future. You wanted to show the fans that you had a plan, and you wanted to give that kid some confidence.
Call-ups in August are the new thing, and they have provided us with some of our best young players.
What is the difference?
Calling up players earlier gives the team more chances to evaluate them against MLB talent. The hitter who is leading the minors in home runs may not touch the ball in the big leagues, and his weaknesses must be discovered before the team invests too much in him. September call-ups were done to show fans that this player will be around next year. The teams urged their fans to get excited, and that player would have one magical hit, the team would miss the playoffs, and that player would be swamped with questions the next year. August call-ups get everything out of the way before next season.
A taste of Major League Baseball
Aaron Judge was given a taste of Major League Baseball last year when he was called up with Gary Sanchez. The Yankees did not believe they would be contending that season, but they wanted these two players to know the Major League game before spring training started the next year. Judge is hitting the cover off the ball, and Sanchez has been invaluable to the Yankees.
These players went through the steep learning curve in August and September of last year, and they have has remarkable seasons because of it.
The league is slow to change
Detractors will say that these two players are outliers. They do not represent what happens in most cases with MLB team, and they cannot be used as a measuring stick for success.
The harsh reality is that the extra month with the big team gives these players things to think about. They open spring training with the major league club, and they are more likely to make the team. These players will feel seasoned, and they will look seasoned because they have played quite a lot before the beginning of the next season. Fans will learn about their new favorites when they see them in August call-ups, and there may be hope yet for that playoff run if the right players are called to serve.
