What the 2021 MLB Season Has Taught Us About the Future of Baseball

As the 2021 MLB season winds to a close, it's time to start thinking about how the past seven months of baseball could impact the future of the sport.

Some takeaways are right there at surface level, like the idea that the on-field product is in good hands thanks to an impressive collection of rising superstars ready to pick up the mantle as the next faces of the sport.

Others take a bit more digging.

For example, something needs to be done about the widening gap between major-market and small-market teams, and how the disparity in spending directly impacts a team's ability to contend.

Then there's the looming collective bargaining agreement negotiations that will quite literally reshape the sport in the coming years.

Ahead is a closer look at the biggest things the 2021 MLB season has taught us about the future of baseball.

The 2021 season felt like a true changing of the guard in many ways.

Granted, Max Scherzer is probably going to win the NL Cy Young Award, Bryce Harper is among the front-runners for NL MVP, and several other established stars were once again front and center in the baseball universe.

However, it was also a season that showcased an exciting group of young talent. All of these players are under 25 years old and had at least 3.0 WAR in 2021:

• Wander Franco (20)
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (22)
• Fernando Tatis Jr. (22)
• Juan Soto (23)
• Ronald Acuna Jr. (23)
• Bo Bichette (23)
• Trevor Rogers (23)
• Dylan Carlson (23)
• Austin Riley (24)
• Kyle Tucker (24)
• Luis Robert (24)
• Yordan Alvarez (24)
• Ozzie Albies (24)
• Logan Webb (24)
• Jonathan India (24)
• Casey Mize (24)
• Trent Grisham (24)
• Luis Urias (24)
• Luis Arraez (24)

Those guys are the future of a sport that is in extremely capable hands from a talent standpoint.

The impact that relief pitching has had on the 2021 MLB postseason is impossible to ignore.

With starting pitchers failing to go deep into games, or on a short leash by design, it has fallen to the bullpen time and time again to shoulder the load on baseball's biggest stage.

Through the wild-card games, division series, championship series and first four games of the World Series, starting pitchers have accounted for just 45.4 percent of the total innings pitched this postseason. Let's contextualize that number over the past decade:

• 2021: 45.4 percent
• 2020: 49.9 percent
• 2019: 57.7 percent
• 2018: 50.3 percent
• 2017: 53.5 percent
• 2016: 56.8 percent
• 2015: 63.1 percent
• 2014: 59.8 percent
• 2013: 65.2 percent
• 2012: 62.4 percent

We are witnessing a tipping point where a team's bullpen has become equally as important as the starting rotation, and that could mean the value of top-tier relievers spikes this offseason. That's good news for Kendall Graveman, Raisel Iglesias, Kenley Jansen, Mark Melancon and the other top bullpen arms set to hit the open market this winter.

Shohei Ohtani is a once-in-a-generation talent, and he showed that in 2021 when he slugged 46 home runs, stole 26 bases and logged a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 130.1 innings on the mound.

Expecting anyone else to come close to that level of two-way production is wishful thinking, but his performance this season has proved that what was once an outside-the-box experiment is indeed a viable approach. So who's next?

Injuries have derailed the development of Brendan McKay, who saw some two-way action with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019 after a standout career at the University of Louisville. However, he is still just 25 years old, and with a clean bill of health next year, he could be ready to make an impact in multiple areas.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo has expressed interest in becoming a two-way player, and most scouts actually preferred him as a pitcher in 2014 when the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him out of high school in the second round.

Here are a few other minor leaguers to know who possess intriguing two-way potential:

• Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals
• Tanner Dodson, Tampa Bay Rays
• Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves

What once looked like a fleeting oddity could now be part of the next wave of roster utilization.

Few things Major League Baseball has implemented in recent memory have been a more rousing success than the Field of Dreams game that was played between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees at the site of the iconic movie on Aug. 12.

According to Owen Poindexter of Front Office Sports, the game brought in viewership numbers a staggering 135 percent higher than a standard game broadcast on Fox, and it was played on a Thursday night.

Not surprisingly, the league has already announced that the game will return in 2022 with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds facing off this time around.

Maybe this is a lightning-in-a bottle-situation, but don't be surprised if we see Major League Baseball further explore the idea of these "pop-up"-style games. Something similar has turned into a sustainable approach for the NHL with its Winter Classic, Stadium Series and other outdoor games.

As long as the viewership numbers are through the roof and the engagement on social media is impossible to ignore, we'll see the Field of Dreams game as an annual staple on the MLB calendar.

The average MLB payroll in 2021 was roughly $130.8 million.

Of the 10 playoff teams, eight checked in above that midpoint line, with only the Milwaukee Brewers ($97.4 million, 19th in MLB) and Tampa Bay Rays ($70.8 million, 26th in MLB) residing in the bottom half of payroll figures.

There has been some discussion of a salary floor being implemented as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, along with harsher penalties for exceeding the luxury-tax threshold, which would in theory level the playing field as far as spending is concerned.

Revamping the arbitration system and allowing players to become free agents earlier in their service time could also serve as a means to boost the amount of money being spent on players leaguewide and would encourage teams to more aggressively pursue early extensions with up-and-coming players.

One way or another, competitive balance needs to be addressed. The vast divide between contenders and non-contenders right now is not doing the sport any favors, and it can largely be traced to each team's ability or willingness to spend.

The looming collective bargaining agreement talks are a cloud that has been hanging over Major League Baseball since MLB and the MLBPA very publicly couldn't get on the same page while working toward restarting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

At present, there is little faith a work stoppage will be avoided. Per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press:

"Baseball's ninth work stoppage and first in 26 years appears almost certain to start Dec. 2, freezing the free-agent market and threatening the start of spring training in February. Negotiations have been taking place since last spring, and each side thinks the other has not made proposals that will lead toward an agreement replacing the five-year contract that expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1."

That's not all that surprising.

From the implementation of a universal DH to robot umpires and further expanding instant replay to bigger issues like a flawed arbitration system, fair pay for minor league players, expanded playoffs, competitive balance and the continued struggle to connect with the next generation of fans, there is a lot that needs to be sorted out before a new CBA can be ratified.

A work stoppage of some sort has long been expected, but one that stretches into spring training and threatens the start of the 2022 regular season would be a devastating blow to a sport that is already lagging behind the NFL and NBA in popularity.

Change is coming, but there is a long road ahead to decide what that change is going to look like.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.