Author Jane Leavy joins Adam Weinrib to unpack Make Me Commissioner: a fan-first blueprint to restore baseball’s soul. From Cape Cod’s Eldridge Park to today’s metrics-first MLB, we cover wood bats, shifts still legal on the Cape, NIL/draft churn, and two competing arm-health fixes—shrink to 11 pitchers (force real starting pitching) vs expand to 15–16 with honest, fluid usage to reduce TJs. Plus: Roger Angell’s critique, Dave Roberts’ tough calls, why the challenge system (not full robo-umps) is coming, and what MLB can learn from the Savannah Bananas: “Fans first, entertainment always.”

— Why Cape Cod = Baseball’s Soul

— The Illusion of “Nothing Changes” (MLB $$, nets, safer parks)

— Wood Bats Return: New Sound, Old Game

— Shifts on the Cape: Still Legal, Still Used

— NIL & Draft Timing → Showcase League (Cotuit’s 40-player churn)

— 2023 Firebirds: A Real Team (feat. Labradoodle “Betty”)

— Air Bud vs. MLB Rules: Dogs Taking Infield?

— Roger Angell’s Lament: “They Took Away Half the Game”

— From $18 Beers to Fading Primacy

— “Throw Till You Break”: The Rays Model

— Fix Idea #1: 11-Man Staffs—Make Starters Pitch

— We Lost the ‘Third-Time-Through’ Chess Match

— No-No Drought, Yamamoto Close & Letting Him Finish

— Pulling Kershaw/Hill: Are We Precluding Greatness?

— Fix Idea #2: 15–16 Arms, Fluid Usage, Fewer TJs

— First Act as Commish: Kids 10 & Under Free (Math Checks Out)

— Next Up: Challenge System... Full Robo-Umps

— Savannah Bananas Lesson: “Fans First, Entertainment Always”

— Clutch Defined (Sue Bird) & Measuring the Immeasurable

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