The New Baseball

     We are moving into March and that brings a few things to mind.   First it means that we are closing in on Tax Time.  April 15th will be here before you know it, and depending on who you are and how you are paid on your job, it's either  a time to look forward to a refund or?.... dread having to pay up to Uncle Sam.   Or, if you live in the East or the Mid-West  section of the country, you will perhaps start to see the first signs of spring!  My good friend Janice,who lives in Michigan, just sent me a picture of some Robin's flying and frolicking in her yard.  She said her Dad always said when you started  seeing the Robin's , it was a sign that winter was almost over.  I always thought that Robin's toughed out the winters and didn't fly south.    I would be a liar, if I said a small part of me hasn't lost some respect for Robins now.  I thought them of much tougher stock you know?.., like Cardinals and Blue Jays..... but they do migrate south when the weather gets too cold....the wimps. But , I digress. 

    All of that is a part of the beginning of March ,  but for ME?.., March 1st means that we are now in full swing for Major League Baseball's upcoming season, and it's  time to start concentrating  on the changes and updates for the team I have followed since I was a kid ( St. Louis Cardinals) and my adopted Team ( Los Angeles Angels ) who is my AL favorite. ...and also?.. (I now get to the reason for this diatribe ....) to see if any changes have been made to the game itself as to rules and such. Most years of my life there wouldn't be many changes.  The game has been pretty much the same as it had been for 100 yrs.  OH sure ...they put in the DH, started interleague play...etc...but the GAME , the Rules of the Game...stayed pretty consistent.  ........... And then we have THIS year.

    This year?...the rule changes are HUGE in my opinion. These new rules Will change the game of baseball as it has been played for as long as I can remember.   The reason I say this is that the changes being made for this year, change the foundation of the game itself and, in my opinion?... lesson the historic achievements of the game ,the accomplishments of the players who played the  game in the past. and the traditions that made it great. 

    The first change that all will notice is, and I can't believe I'm writing this, there is now a CLOCK.  That's Right....but lets address this particular change in detail in a moment , first lets talk about what makes baseball....what it is. 

The thing that made baseball SO different from most other sports....was that it had NO- time period, or quarter, or half, etc., ruled by a CLOCK. The game is played in "innings" but there is no set time limit on these innings  The inning lasts as long as it takes for each team to get THREE outs, but There is no set time period that the game must be played in. .  And you know what?  I LIKE that aspect of baseball. I think Many fans do also.  Of course  they already started to take that aspect of the game away a couple of years ago by deciding if the game was TIED after 9 innings, the usual length of a game, they would not just continue to play until someone won the game in  "Extra Innings"...as it had always been done......ohhh no...They decided to now  put a runner on 2nd base at the beginning of the inning starting in the 10th Inning. This is being done because somewhere along the way in the last 20 -30 yrs.., someone or some group has decided that "extra innings" now made the game TOO LONG.  All of a sudden TIME for some reason, has become a factor in the foundation of what had always been called, " America's Pastime"   Read that again , "America's PASTIME".  The dictionary says a Pastime is " something that serves to make time pass agreeably; a pleasant means of amusement, recreation, or sport:  And that was accurate about baseball.  Because Baseball was  more than just a game, it was a part of our daily  routine, our historical tradition, woven into our daily lives.!  Baseball is a game that doesn't always demand to be the center of your attention.  It is that warm, comforting sound in the background as you work on your car out in the garage, it's the companion who helps you in cutting the grass on a hot August afternoon, or in falling asleep with the transistor radio tucked under your pillow filtering the game- through the crickets, and cicada's harmonizing,  outside your open window. It was on the  AM radio while you drove down to the lake,  and it kept you company as you sat out on the screened in porch reading that new comic book or MAD magazine.  And with all of that?, there was STILL never a time you would ask  "How much time is left in the game"?    You would simply ask  "What Inning are they in". And if you actually went to a game...You knew from the start,  you might  be home in 3 -4 hours...OR...you might be there past midnight!  It all depended on THE GAME.  Heck we even had things called " Double Headers" that was TWO games on the same day, so  you could spend an entire Day and evening at the ball park........Passing the time agreeably....

Okay.....So how is this Clock going to be used? 

    This year the "Grand Poo-ba" of Baseball, Commissioner Rob Manford, has really made sure that the game will change drastically.  Not only will they keep the runner on 2nd base in extra innings rule, but they have implemented a PITCH CLOCK into the game.  The pitcher will now have 15 seconds from the time the ball hit's his mit ( 20 seconds when a runner is on base ) from the catcher. to throw his next pitch or he is assessed a BALL to the count. So if a batter comes to the plate and the pitcher takes more than 15 seconds to start his delivery, the count goes to 1-0.. Oh?..   And The Batter?..  he must now be in the box, facing the pitcher and ready to hit, at 8 Seconds left on the clock or he is assessed a STRIKE  The batter only gets SIX SECONDS to be ready for the next pitch!!   How does that hurt / change the game you ask?.  Well I will say this. It DOES eliminate or at least drastically shorten the constant stepping out by batters to adjust their batting gloves , even when they didn't even swing the bat, ( HELLO Harrison Bader!! ) ...but it also absolutely takes some of the drama and gamesmanship  from the sport as it helps to eliminate the slow walk around the mound by the pitcher after getting , what he perceives to be a bad call by the ump....the stare down after the brush back or close pitch...the pitchers and batters natural Rhythm MUST now conform to a clock.  The " cat and mouse" game by pitchers and hitters is now gone the way of the split grip way of holding a bat, leaving your mit in the field when going into bat...and Chief Wahoo. 

    But that wasn't enough for his Highness, Lord Manford, oh no....he also has put a rule in that only allows a pitcher to throw over to 1st base Two Times when a runner is on , in a pick off attempt.  If the pitcher throws over a third time?..and does NOT get the runner out?.....its now considered a BALK and the runner goes to 2nd base!!!  How in the name of all that is baseball , can anyone think this doesn't  change the game of baseball?   A pitcher may not now " Hold a runner" in late innings say, down 1 run and doing all you can to make sure that runner doesn't get a big jump on a single or get into scoring position.  Get ready for more steals,and  more runs, in all likelihood, but less integrity and tradition. 

     With these rules You no longer have to "EARN " a win. by getting that leadoff man on base.....bunting him over to 2nd.. advancing him to 3rd on a  fly ball tag up....and then?... seeing who can win a one on one battle with the pitcher and hitter.  That's all gone.   Now? we'll see games where in the bottom of the 9th say a man on 2nd or Third, and the count is 3-2....and the batter isn't ready at 8 seconds?...  STRIKE THREE, GAME OVER...  How does this not cheapen and lower the integrity of the game?. The game is not won on merit or achievment...it won on a stupid rule made for ADD, Millennials, who can't concentrate or perhaps just RELAX long enough to see the game played out like it has been for years. 

    The people running baseball have decided that the game must now adapt to the whims and tantrums of those who say the game is too slow.  They have stopped seeing the game as it has been seen for over 100 years.  Television wants shorter games. Millenials want shorter games. I'm a dinosaur I know... Tradition, history, and old rules are suffering in many areas other than baseball ...but the loss of the small parts of the game is a loss that changes the big parts of the game too.  Time marches on, and Baseball has decided to march right over some of the best parts of the game.