Ten simple rules to save America's Pastime
Unless you have been stranded in Bob Melvin's doghouse like Tom Hanks in "Castaway" you've probably heard about the experimental Baseball Rules they are testing in the Atlantic League. It is obvious that Baseball has gone from being America's pastime to arguably the third or fourth most popular sporting event in our country. That said, here are my Ten best rules MLB could institute immediately that would quickly improve the game.
#1 Robot Umpires; in what other sport do we allow some "game official" to set the conditions in which teams play? In baseball I LOVE that the stadium designs are different and I really am not bothered that we have a DH in the AL and in the NL the pitcher has to bat but c'mon... what if in the NBA the referee decides how far away from the bucket you can shoot free throws or in the NFL if the head ref could alter the size of the end zone all willy-nilly like? In Baseball you'll still need a blue behind the dish to make the signal, it works and players love it... make Robot Umps happen!
#2 Speed up the game by limiting the pitcher to 3 warm up pitches. Bruh if you are worried about getting cold, go to the bullpen between innings or wear a freaking heating pad on your arm. Quit wasting our time playing catch... just rock 'n' fire. And while we are at it~ spare us that the 4 pitches from an Intentional Walk are slowing down the game, that is just lame.
#3 Implement the 10 run rule. In the era of pitching specialists when was the last time a team came back from down 10 after the 6th inning on? Following the 6th inning either team can end the game by being up by Ten when concluding the home half. In a completely lopsided game this would seriously create a lot of fun. Instead of shutting down the running game teams would now be stealing bases and playing aggressive to spare their bullpens and the team down by 8 or 9 would be busting their butts trying not to be humiliated. Damn this would be hella fun!
#4 You often hear that nobody understands what the heck is going on during the challenges and reviews... make ALL of them LIVE with audio and video feed of the Game Officials back in New York who are making the rulings AND have former Umpires (just like the NBA & NFL does) there to give you insight as to what they are looking at. As a fan I am so SICK of watching different angle replays that clearly show an Umpire's mistake just to watch the crew chief take off his headphones and signal the call "stands". Baseball needs to become more inclusive, more insightful, more transparent, and we need to start peeking behind the curtains of this game if it has any hope at all.
Now let's just speed round rules #5 thru #9... #5 Bat flips, sign stealing, and celebrating during the game... definitely! Seriously Old Skool baseball hater-guy... just die of old age already. #6 Pitchers wearing a protective crown and heart guard... DUH~ YES! #7 Baseball shifts... deal with it! #8 Shorten Spring Training, start the season 2 weeks sooner, play 6 doubleheaders within your own division home and away and get the playoffs started BEFORE the NFL takes over the Fall. And #9 finally put up some netting to keep little kids safe for crying out loud.
#10 Institute the "third man in rule" for fights. If you are familiar with hockey then you already know when two men engage in fisticuffs, if someone else tries to get involved they are automatically given the boot. In baseball it should be no different. Every single time someone goes after the pitcher or the pitcher plunks somebody it makes all the highlights. Baseball needs to stop acting like this is a bad thing and embrace their own culture. What... baseball doesn't revel in Bob Gibson putting one in a guy's back if he had any success verses him? Who didn't like watching Nolan Ryan beat the sh!t outta Robin Ventura! Tell me, when Randy Johnson faced off with John Kruk in the All Star game or versus Larry Walker who wasn't worried about a fastball smoking one of those players? And oh how ESPN and FOX sports loved to play those moments up. So make it a more organic part of the game. If you drill a guy and he wants to rush you... settle it right then and there. Just like in hockey the fight is over when the umpires peel each other apart. No more players running out from the dugouts, no more guys trotting in from the bullpens 5 minutes AFTER the dust has settled, no more (pathetically) watching a Pedro Martinez haymaker on a 70+ year old coach. Two players wanna scrap... let it happen. Of course players and managers may still be subjected to fines or suspensions but this is a step in the right direction.
If you agree or disagree you comments are always welcome.