In an unprecedented move, the Cubs have petitioned Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to play the 2012 season without keeping score.
President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein announced the move while flanked by a Little League team at a press conference held at a Lakeview baseball diamond.
“Baseball is better when you don’t keep score,” Epstein said. “We teach kids from an early age that it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. It’s time to practice what we preach. This is all about the kids.”
Selig is expected to rule on the Cubs’ proposal by late September. He has begun creating an outline to identify the process to select the people who will appoint the committee that will rule on the petition. Sources indicate the outline should be completed by the All-Star break.
In addition to not keeping score, the Cubs’ proposal would mandate that all 30 teams receive participant ribbons in lieu of trophies. Teams will receive gold stars for moral victories, but under no circumstances will these gold stars be counted.
Reaction to the proposal has been mixed, but one team is certain to back the Cubs.
“I love the idea,” said Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington. “Theo is really living up to his reputation as an innovative thinker.”
