Anthony Rizzo Advocates for Shorter Season: 'We Play Too Much Baseball'

The Cubs' star first baseman is an advocate for a shorter season.

After playing in miserable conditions over the weekend, Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo believes the MLB season should be shorter, he said Tuesday. 

"I think we play too much baseball," Rizzo said on ESPN 1000. "Yes, guys are going to take pay cuts. But are we playing this game for the money or do we love this game? I know it's both, but in the long run it will make everything better."

Rizzo acknowledged concerns over money, saying a transition period with guaranteed contracts could help ease the league into new contractual agreements that correspond with games played.

"Once you start taking money from guys, that's where it's going to be a little more dicey," he said. 

The Cubs postponed games on Sunday and Monday after temperatures dipped below freezing and a snowstorm covered Chicago. On Saturday, manager John Maddon complained that the Cubs' game against Atlanta "should not have been played" due to freezing rain combined with a wind chill at 28 degrees. The team is still scheduled to face division rival St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, although temperatures are expected to be low again. 

"I think playing in the cold sucks," Rizzo said. "I was thinking about this the other day. When you think of Cubs and Cardinals, you think of a beautiful Saturday at Wrigley Field. You don't think about playing in 20 degrees."

Rizzo did concede that this year's April was unlike others, saying "this is kind of a freak April." But the 28-year-old stood by his opinion and offered a solution to the scheduling issues.

"In a perfect world, we'd start the season later and play a few scheduled doubleheaders going into an off day," he said. "As a fan you're going to a baseball game in April, and it's raining, snowing and [with] freezing rain. Is it really that much fun? That's my question."

Although Rizzo said he knows nothing is likely to change, the Cubs will surely hope the weather warms up as their first baseman recovers from back tightness that landed him on the disabled list.