Following the conclusion of next week’s Owner’s Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig will meet with the newly-formed advisory committee for the first time. The committee, formed on Dec. 15, are coming together to examine all aspects of the game on the field and determine whether improvements can and should be made. Selig has invited the committee to Arizona and will convene following the conclusion of the joint session on Jan. 14.

The committee consists of 14 members including four managers (Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Mike Scioscia, Joe Torre), four general managers (Andy MacPhail, Terry Ryan, John Schuerholz, Mark Shapiro), four club owners and presidents (Chuck Armstrong, Paul Beeston, Bill DeWitt, Dave Montgomery), Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, and columnist-broadcaster George Will. This group of individuals have centuries of baseball experience to their credit, and their opinions on all things baseball will be taken very seriously and may affect the very core of the future of the game.

Items on the agenda to be discussed include the postseason schedule, use of instant replay, scheduling, and the pace of the game, among other things. Some of these are hot-topic items among fans. Many lost interest in the postseason due to the vast amount of off days between games. If it weren’t for the Yankees winning the World Series, many might have tuned out much earlier than they had. Instant replay is also a polarizing topic, and half the field argues taking the “human” element out of the game is wrong, while the other half says that getting the call right is all that matters.

This news couldn’t be better for the fans. When a corporation can step back after a tough year and self-evaluate, it is sending the message that while they acknowledge there are problems, they’re willing to work towards fixing them. And that’s key. Nothing, especially in something as complicated as sports, is ever perfect, and Bud Selig and baseball have taken the first step towards getting as close to perfect as can be. And let’s face it; baseball in its current form is far from perfect.