Page 21 - ARUBA TODAY
P. 21
SPORTS A21
Friday 23 March 2018
Column: Rules tinkering by baseball bosses ruining sport
By HAL BOCK make a lot of sense for the In this April 9, 2015, file photo, Rochester Red Wings pitcher Alex Meyer (32) looks in for a signal as
AP Sports Writer showcase event of the a 20-second pitch clock is used for the Triple-A baseball opener between the Buffalo Bisons and
The proprietors of baseball, sport? Rochester Red Wings, in Buffalo, N.Y.
charged with the task of Oh, and speaking of the
protecting and preserving World Series, which once Associated Press
the sport, insist on tinkering was a best-of-seven affair
with it instead. played in the shadows of To make things move cerebral. But in this hurry-up would be all sorts of fun. It's
They keep fooling around October. Now, extended along, we now have the world, that's just not good just not baseball.
with the game, changing playoffs require 11 or 12 wins automatic intentional walk. enough for the people in Do the tinkerers understand
the rules every so often, to claim the championship No need to throw four balls. charge. how annoying they are?
adding a designated hitter of the summer game's big- Just take your base. That Well, here's a suggestion. They are messing around
here, and a wild card team gest stage, which often saves, oh, at least a min- Take a deep breath. Let with a product that was
there. And now they have ends in the autumn chill of ute or two each game, the hitter step out of the perfect in its previous form.
come up with the goofiest November. depending on how many batter's box. Let the pitcher It could be again, if they
idea of all. And all of the games are walks are issued. Some- step back off the mound. would just leave it alone.
This season, every minor played at night, decided times, there are none at all. Let them, consider the cir- If the length of games is
league game that is tied when the next generation And now, they have come cumstances. And let them really an issue, there is an-
after nine innings will begin of fans are safely tucked up with what might very do it without some runner other method which will
each extra inning with a away in their beds. No well be the wackiest idea on second base who got limit the time spent in the
runner on second base. This wonder kids play soccer in- of all, an invitation to break there because we can't let ballpark considerably. The
will be a better opportunity stead. ties as fast as possible. this game go on forever. solution is simple. Set up a
to break the tie so we can Once, the World Series was In case you haven't no- Here's a better idea. Take table at home plate with
all go home. the only time the leagues ticed, there is no clock away a defensive player for the two managers seated
That's fine. It just isn't base- played each other. Now in baseball. That's part of each extra inning played. across from each other.
ball. the lords of baseball have the charm of the game. Pretty soon, there will be Give them a set of dice
In baseball, runners are not homogenized the sport Basketball, football and only a couple of defenders, and some neat spinners
awarded bases for no rea- with interleague games hockey are ruled by dwin- inevitably a run will score and they can decide the
son. They earn their way every day, removing the dling minutes and seconds. and we can all go home. issue with a board game in
there. Not this season. Not uniqueness of the Series. Baseball is a more leisurely, Or maybe play Home Run an hour or so, just like kids
in the minor leagues. For- Then there is the clever wild thoughtful activity, more Derby to decide the issue. It did years ago.q
get hits, runs and errors. card scheme, a one-and-
Welcome to the baseball's done shootout, eliminating
brave new world where we teams from the postseason
are in a hurry to get done if they lose a single game
with the game. when they played 162 for
This is not new. It has been that opportunity. A mistake
going on for some time. here or there and a team
They insist on monkeying that fought for one more
around with a sport that chance at the postseason
seemed awfully good in its gets sent home in a heart-
original form. beat.
It started with the designat- With analytics and algo-
ed hitter, a gimmick that rithms encroaching on
turned a nine-player game the game, sooner or later,
into 10. Never mind that the technology was sure to
DH leads to us having the follow. So now, after com-
World Series played with plaining that games were
two sets of rules depend- taking too long, we have
ing on whether games video replays and umpires
are played in American huddling to debate their
League parks, where the calls for what seems an
DH is embraced, or Na- eternity while both teams
tional League parks where stand around waiting for a
it is dismissed. Doesn't that decision.
