Why haven’t baseball teams upgraded their player introductions?

Look around at the rest of the major American sports leagues, and before the game even begins, the fans have already been whipped into a frenzy. NBA arenas turn the lights off, hit the jams and get the spotlights going as the players race onto the court. You might even see flames bursting into the air, which seems dangerous, but hey, there are trained professionals out there.

NFL teams race through extravagantly designed tunnels as a sea of players, flag-wavers and general carriers-on get the crowd involved.

Things don't get any cooler (ice cold) than the NHL’s Sharks, who emerge from a shark’s mouth to enter the teal-colored arena with fans lighting up the ice with their cellphones.

Baseball doesn't have that yet. After the ceremonial first pitch, the players jog out from the dugout -- much the same way they did from their earliest Little League days. Sure, baseball is a different sport, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for some improvement.

Imagine if, before a crucial Friday night game against the Yankees, the Red Sox tore through a replica Green Monster with J.D. Martinez's bat splintering the wood to open up a hole for his teammates to emerge from?

The Brewers already have Bernie Brewer go down his slide, so why don't the Brewers follow him down and onto the field?

It doesn't even need to be complicated. Throw on a killer city-specific song and pump some smoke through the dugout and everyone in the stadium should be ready to run through a wall. Imagine the Dodgers running out of the dugout with plumes of Dodger blue smoke billowing through the stadium?

Or, it could even be as simple as adding a new ceremonial twist to the game. MLS' Atlanta United has celebrities from around the city come out and hammer a giant golden spike. The 76ers have their Liberty Bell which rings out to let the fans know it's time to get loud.

Baseball teams could easily follow suit. The Astros could have the ceremonial tooting of their outfield train. The Royals could start every game with the King for a Day ruling from his golden throne that it's time to "Play ball!"

Teams with domes could really make it special since they, like their NBA brethren, could opt for a complete and total blackout. Just imagine if the Blue Jays flipped out the lights, and over a cacophony of fans cheering, projected the team's greatest moments -- from Joe Carter's home run to Jose Bautista's bat flip -- over the infield while the players race out to take their positions.

This wouldn't just look cool, but would also help give teams a real home advantage before the game even begins. Just imagine the terror it would strike into the visiting team with hometown fans screaming like it was Game 7 of the World Series for a Tuesday evening game in August. With the crowd roaring from the very first pitch, you might even see a few more Johnny Cueto whoopsies:

One day, one team will pick up the torch and run with this idea and the rest of baseball will follow suit. There was once a time when no team had racing mascots, and now nearly everyone does -- that's about the silliest idea imaginable.