Boras proposes 9-game Fall Classic, opening at neutral site

"I could see how that would possibly be a big draw, a big money maker, something cool and new," San Francisco Giants player representative Randy Winn said. "But I think a 7-game Series is more than enough to decide who the world champion is."

Boras is convinced winning the right to stage the first two games would be a windfall for the host club, which would tie access to Series seats to season-ticket plans. Teams currently do that with the All-Star Game.

Chicago's Wrigley Field hasn't hosted a World Series since 1945. The Series hasn't been to Washington, D.C., since 1933, and it's never been hosted by Colorado, Seattle, Tampa Bay or Texas.

"The World Series is something that rarely gets to a number of venues in professional baseball. And that's one problem because we want the fan base of particular cities to participate in the World Series even though there may be a lull in the particular performance of the regional team," Boras said.

Imagine World Series Weekend in Las Vegas? Or Hawaii? Maybe even Tokyo?

"Obviously generating revenue is what this is all about anymore, which is sad, but again, you have to find ways to make it work," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "But yeah, that's certainly intriguing."

Given baseball's traditional conservatism and resistance to change, Boras' idea likely won't be adopted anytime soon. But it has gotten some people thinking.

"I'm not a guy that would just want to hold onto the past for the sake of combating change," said Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten, who had one conversation with Boras about the proposal. "But in this case, I think we have such brand equity in the marketplace established with a seven-game Fall Classic, played in the two home cities. I really like that. For a lot of reasons, I think that neutral sites wouldn't work the way they do in other sports."

But if baseball ever does include neutral-site games, businesses would salivate to be involved.

"I think the opportunity to celebrate the ultimate of our national pastime in a neutral location opens up a whole host of opportunities for corporate sponsors," said Eric Kraus, a sports marketing executive formerly with Gillette and now with Covidien. "Like an All-Star Game or like the Super Bowl, you're bringing in a whole host of fans and corporate partners that you wouldn't be able to reach."