A minute here, a minute there, and you have a whole different sport

I’m trying hard not to curse these days, but what the hell, baseball? This is perhaps the stupidest idea in sports. I do not understand this obsession with shaving minutes from the game of baseball. MLB could save that same two or four minutes by cutting a couple of commercial breaks*. If they want to shorten the game, get rid of the odious designated hitter rule. Pitchers strike out more often than position players and hitting specialists. Starting extra innings with a runner on second is an abomination.

Baseball’s charm has always been its idiosyncrasies. The defense possesses the ball. There is no time clock. There is no sudden death overtime. Why do we need to change it? How about, in the name of speed, we just make the game into home run derby. Every guy gets two pitches to hit the ball, fail and you are out. Use a pitching machine to guarantee strikes. We could blow through nine innings in about an hour.

We have all been stuck working late. There is nothing more disappointing than to have the boss show up and tell you you have to put in some extra hours. Too bad baseball. Extra inning games are memorable. Imagine the 2016 World Series with this idiotic “ start the extra innings with a runner on second” rule. Why not start the 10th and subsequent innings with bases loaded and two outs? The next hit wins. Poof extra inning games are over in a flash.

Spit. I did not possess the vocabulary to adequately express my disdain.

* extra innings mean more commercial breaks, thus more money, so why cut the length of games?

H/t Dustbury