Bringing Equity to Baseball - I Call Foul

Bringing Equity to Baseball - I Call Foul
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
September 13, 2022

In the interest of speeding up the pace of professional baseball games, new rules have been thrust upon the players, the teams, and the fans, actually starting prior to Covid-19, with three new rule changes effective the 2023 baseball season. 

As a baseball purist, I object to just about every rule change since, and including, the imposition of the Designated Hitter in the American League in 1973. Sadly, the National League caved and adopted the DH full time this season after using it during the 60-game Covid-shortened 2020 season for the first time - with the exception of interleague play, something I also abhor. 

That said, there is one of the three new rule amendments I actually support - the introduction of the pitch clock, mostly. It will be imposed with nonsensical riders, as is said of extra, useless legislation added to an original bill being debated in Congress. Currently employed in the minor leagues, the pitch clock is proving successful in its quest to move the game of baseball along. For the first two weeks of the minor league season, nine inning games clocked in at two hours 59 minutes, sans pitch clock. From April 15 through the first week of September, minor league games, now with the pitch clock, crossed the finish line in two hours 35 minutes - 24 minutes shaved off the time of game. Nine inning Major League games are lasting an average of three hours and five minutes this season. If for nothing else, by the time minor league pitchers reach the Majors, they will be fully ensconced in the world of the pitch clock.

Once the pitch clock hits MLB, there will be 30 seconds between batters. Between pitches, there will be a 15 second clock when the bases are empty, and 20 seconds with runners on base. With runners on the basepaths, should the pitcher attempt to pick off a runner, the pitch clock resets. Should the pitcher fail to begin his motion before the clock expires, an automatic ball will be called against him. Should the batter not be in the batter’s “box and alert to the pitcher by the eight-second mark,” an automatic strike will be called against him. Since there is no point to having rules without penalty, it would be hard to support the pitch clock, but not the penalty.

Here’s where the pitch clock rule gets bogged down with unnecessary minutiae. Pitchers are to be limited to two, what are being called “disengagements,” be they pickoff attempts or simply stepping off the pitching rubber per plate appearance by a batter. Should any runner advance, the two disengagements are reset. If a pitcher offers a third attempt at a pickoff and is unsuccessful in picking off the runner, he is automatically awarded the next base. This is ridiculous. Once a pitcher has made two pickoff attempts, the baserunners know they have carte blanche to widen their lead or simply steal a base. This part of the pitch clock rule handcuffs the defense, giving an edge to the offense, something the powers that be in MLB, wanting more action and more runs, support.

Another rule change that could have merit, if employed properly, is the growth in size of the bases from 15 inches square to 18 inches square. The purpose here is to give runners and defenders a bit more room to avoid collisions, players getting stepped on or inadvertently spiked. It could also reduce the amount of oversliding of bases - a player oversliding a base and losing contact with that base, if tagged, is out.

Herein lies the problem. With larger bases, the distance between the bases will shrink by four and one half inches. This will make stealing bases easier. This will make beating out close plays for infield hits easier as well. That actually IS a problem, as for more than a century and a half, the distance between the bases has been an even 90 feet. Not 89 feet seven and one half inches. Records will be artificially rewritten - the same way when the regular season expanded from 154 games to 162 games.

For the only time in Major League history, expansion in terms of teams and games played were out of balance in 1961. In that year, the American League expanded from eight teams to 10, and from a 154 game season to 162. The National League followed suit in 1962. Perhaps the biggest debate to emerge from the expanding schedule, was the legitimacy of Roger Maris’ record breaking season home run record when he hit 61 homers in 1961 to best the record held by Babe Ruth who hit 60 in 1927 in a 154 game schedule. Maris hit home run number 61 in the last game of the season - game number 162. For years, two records stood - Ruth’s in a 154 game season, and Maris’ in 162 and the use of an asterisk (*).

The only way for the bases expansion to keep records honest, would be to move the bases ensuring the 90 foot distance between them is maintained.

The one rule change that has absolutely no merit of the three passed by the Competition Committee, and truly smacks of imposing equity, is banning the shift. For the uninitiated, the shift is a defensive strategy employed in the infield oftentimes positioning three infielders either to the left or to the right of second base. Sometimes an infielder will move behind the infield to the short outfield. This strategy is a maneuver clearly designed to prevent the batter from successfully reaching base as he is prone to hitting the ball typically to the side of the infield where the greater number of players are positioned. Obviously this strategy has negatively impacted hitters’ batting averages, and with fewer hits, fewer baserunners, and less action on the field. It also inevitably means fewer runs being scored. By banning the shift, the four infielders must be evenly distributed on either side of second base - two to the left, two to the right, and be fully ensconced on the dirt of the infield - standing on nary a blade of outfield grass.

Here’s where the equity nonsense emerges. Because the defense has the advantage, this rule is designed to handcuff the team in the field because the batters’ averages are dropping. So instead of encouraging the batters to work harder at hitting the other way, or dropping down a bunt, a lost art in and of itself, the league has to create a rule change to make it easier for the batters. I oppose this handcuffing of the defense. It’s good managing to be able to position the players where the manager thinks it best to prevent the other team from getting on base and scoring. The solution is simple - hit better! Or bunt. Drop a bunt down the lesser defended side of the infield and a batter can run all day. A few of those and the defense will think twice about the shift - problem solved - on its own, without a mandate from on high.

The imposition of these rules come via the Joint Competition Committee which consists of four active MLB players, six members of management appointed by MLB itself, and one umpire. Base enlargement received unanimous support by the committee. The pitch clock and banning of the shift passed, but with split votes - the players voting against both in defeat.

However, there should be a ray of hope and sanity with the addition of the pitch clock. As it is designed to increase the pace of play, there are recent rule changes that must be ended and reversed. End the no-pitch intentional walk. End the mandatory three batter or end of the inning rule for relief pitchers - yet another rule handcuffing the defense. End the automatic runner on second base starting all extra innings - that was imposed during Covid to prevent games from going deep into multiple extra innings.

No true baseball fan likes, appreciates, or wants to see rule changes past, present, or future that will radically alter the game, our national pastime, that has brought joy, and yes, anguish, to millions of, not just Americans, but fans around the world. Baseball is huge in Japan, South Korea, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, elsewhere throughout Latin America, and growing in popularity in Australia, and even in Israel. In an effort to draw new, younger fans to the great game of baseball, the powers that be, including the incompetent Commissioner Rob Manfred, are in jeopardy of losing many of the long standing fans who simply wish the game be played as it has for more than a century and a half. The pitch clock should have its desired effect - both on the field and off. Reverse or end the other superfluous rule changes and all will be right with the baseball world. Play ball!

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a New York Mets fan for 50 years and counting.

The Coronavirus and Other Rule Changes

The Coronavirus and Other Rule Changes
Commentary by Sanford Horn
May 6, 2020

Should Major League Baseball enact any or all of the myriad rule changes recommended by Mike Axisa, a CBS sportswriter, Commissioner Rob Manfred should adopt Who Are You? as the sport’s walk-up music throughout whatever will remain of the undoubtedly disjointed 2020 season.

Of the 10 suggested changes, some just for this virus-addled season, and some permanently, only one seems remotely reasonable. Most of the others are insane, while others are simply inane.

Leading off in this menagerie of mayhem is a Universal DH. I have long despised the Designated Hitter rule, even before Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees stepped into the batter’s box at Fenway Park on that fateful April 6, 1973. In January, the American League approved a three year experiment with the evil designated hitter. Blomberg drove in the first run as a DH with a bases loaded walk in the first inning, and in the third, he delivered a single for the first hit by a DH. The only good thing about that game is that the Boston Red Sox beat the hell out of the Yankees 15-5 that afternoon.

As a Mets fan for nearly, G-d help me, 50 years, that would be a solid NEVER for me on the question of the designated hitter. It eliminates a certain degree of strategy. The pitcher is a part of the team and lineup, let him take his cuts at the plate and try to help himself. Also, a pitcher can’t hide behind the DH if he intentionally plunks a batter knowing there is no retaliation coming. No doubt one of the pitcher’s teammates will suffer the slings and arrows of the opposing pitcher. As it is used in college baseball (aluminum  bats are the work of the devil and will kill someone someday), there is a call from non-purists to have the DH in both the American and National leagues. It is already employed during interleague games played in American League stadiums.

Eliminate instant replay. I became a supporter of instant replay on June 2, 2010. That was the date of Armando Galarraga’s 28 out “perfect” game. Here’s the full story: https://sanfordspeaksout.blogspot.com/2010/06/28-outs-to-perfection.html  I would agree to modify the instant replay concept to move the proceedings along. A team would have 30 seconds to decide whether or not to use one of its two instant replay calls per game. The umpires then have one minute to either uphold or overturn the initial call. Can’t do it in one minute, call upheld.

Axisa next calls for an Automated Strike Zone. Time to bring in the robots. Absolutely not. This is a people’s game and should remain as such. While the replay is helpful once or twice a game in getting the calls on the field correct, an automated strike zone would remove any sense of the human element to the game. Will a home plate robot-umpire be able to determine if a player is safe or out at the plate? A robot still requires programming. Let the umpires do their jobs, keep the robots at bay, and see the above regarding instant replay.

The pitch clock, which is already in use in the minor leagues, is not a bad idea. It takes nothing away from the game, and is rarely enforced unless the pitcher is egregiously slow. Attending Indianapolis Indians AAA games where the clock is employed, it is hardly noticeable. In 2018, the average pitch was clocked at 22.7 seconds, while it rose in 2019 to 24.9 seconds. A 20 second clock could trim five seconds per pitch and shave roughly 20 minutes of game time, assuming each team throws 120 pitches per game. No objection.

Ties. Unless this is an addition to the uniform, NEVER! That is sacrilegious. Is this the National Hockey League? Oh, wait, even the NHL doesn’t have ties any longer. Extra innings are greeted with “free baseball!” Anyone who says “can we please just get this over with already?” is not a fan of baseball. That is not the attitude of a fan. Extra innings are exciting. As people head for the exits before the ninth inning, as they pass my row, I say, “they play nine here.” The suggestion of a point system for wins and ties is not baseball. Hockey or soccer, but most definitely  not baseball.

Because of the discussion to play this 2020 season only in the spring training states of Arizona and Florida, there is some concern of players tiring faster or getting heat exhaustion. If professional baseball players can’t stand around in the field or can’t run 90 feet every two or three innings, he is probably too out of shape to play in the first place - yet another reason people support the DH - lengthening the careers of some players who have lost a step or 10. The players’ union already is calling for a return to the 154 game season and a reduced work load for the players. Some have suggested calling the game after 10 or 11 innings. Still no. For the money these players make, and I don’t begrudge them their paychecks if someone is willing to pay them, they can suck it up and hustle.

Another ridiculous suggestion is the “mercy rule.” Is this Sunday beer league softball? This isn’t the “California Penal League.” If you don’t get the reference, you are not a true baseball fan. If a team doesn’t like getting blown out, there’s a simple solution - play better. Sadly, the International Baseball Federation uses a mercy rule. A team leading by 15 runs after five innings or ahead by 10 runs after seven innings is declared the winner. During the World Baseball Classic, a game is declared over if the winning team is leading by 10 runs or more after seven innings. “Anything that potentially prevents injuries has to be considered,” wrote Axisa. Hey, Axisa, virtually anything could cause an injury blowout or no blowout, pinhead.

If the mercy rule isn’t dumb enough, here’s one aimed at the Coronavirus era - Ghost Runners. This is insanely stupid. There would be no tag plays or holding runners on base. Runners would only advance one base ahead of the batter. No stolen bases? Again, is this Sunday beer league softball? No. If the concern is the health of the players, and their health should be a consideration, don’t play. Don’t open the season.

Then there’s the suggestion of seven inning games. No, sorry, this is not a minor league doubleheader. Again, if the concern is player health, safety, wear and tear, don’t play. Don’t open the season if the players can’t go the distance. Anyone complaining that nine innings is too long, are not baseball fans.

Going from bad to worse is the concept of the Quick Counts. This is some ridiculous mishegas created from a video game where random pitch counts on the batter would be spit out of the video. The only upside, and there really isn’t, would be the increased pace of the game, which seems to be the recurring complaint of so-called fans. Perhaps it’s the fans. Baseball is a leisurely game played for 150 years sans clock. Axisa didn’t actually endorse this nonsense, to be fair. Such a rule wouldn’t even fly in Sunday beer league softball. Although some leagues start every batter with a two ball, one strike count in order to get more batters up and more innings played as those games are usually timed in order to avail the field to more teams and games on a given day. That’s just a matter of logistics.

The last of Axisa’s rule changes would be to let the one-two-three hitters in the lineup bat in every inning. Imagine a batter getting nine plate appearances a game. Should someone play the entire 162 game season, he is looking at 1,458 plate appearances. The record for plate appearances in a season is 778 by Jimmy Rollins in 2007 with the Philadelphia Phillies. If the Players Association is worried about player fatigue, this would be laughed out of the room in an instant. Players would burn out not just in a season, but for a career. The seven-eight-nine hitters could conceivably never come to bat in game after game. They already bat at the bottom of the lineup for a reason. This idiotic plan would further deteriorate players’ skills. A compromise was suggested. Once a game, each team could send any player up to bat - even if he had already been removed from the game. Absolutely not.

There are also other proposals being considered much more seriously that would also be deleterious to the game. Throwing out the leagues and divisions and creating three larger conglomerate divisions, just for the shortened 2020 season, but still wrong.

EAST:
Blue Jays, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rays, Red Sox, Yankees

CENTRAL:
Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Indians, Reds, Royals, Tigers, Twins, White Sox

WEST:
Angels, A’s, Astros, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Padres, Rangers, Rockies

While on the subject of rule changes, end the automatic intentional walk. Make the pitcher toss those four pitches. What is that, 30 seconds? How many intentional walks are there in an average game? Stranger things have been known to happen - a wild pitch or a batter poking his bat out to make contact with the ball. When that rule change went into effect in 2017, a solid majority of fans opposed the plan. A nonscientific Twitter poll of over 11,000 respondents showed 74 percent against the plan. In 2018, an intentional base on balls was granted 0.38 times per game, saving about 35 seconds per game. For that 35 seconds, return to the traditional intentional walk rule.

One idea that has been floated is almost reasonable - having the season played in Arizona and Florida exclusively. Those teams whose spring training home is Arizona would play the regular season there, and the Florida teams likewise in the Sunshine State. Not a fan there either, but if modified, it could work. The better idea is to put one league in Arizona and the other in Florida, while eliminating the interleague games from the schedule - that’s about 20-22 games. Major League Baseball will likely play no more than 120 games if the season commences June 1. If the season runs June through October, during those five months, a 140 game season is possible. Teams would play 28 games per month, giving teams two to three days off per month - typical in July and August during a traditional schedule. To give the teams four additional days off per month, play one doubleheader per week. Postseason could comfortably be played in November sticking with the Arizona-Florida plan.

That plan works for me, especially as I am not a fan of interleague play. Fans or no fans should be determined on a week to week basis, as well as how many fans would be appropriate to allow into the stadium.

Another recently discussed plan on ESPN has the season starting by Independence Day. If the season will run through October, MLB could get in 120 games, followed by November postseason. That would be acceptable. If the regular season does not include playing through October, or starting the season August first, neither of those notions would be acceptable. A season of fewer than 100 games is barely more than a half season (81 games) and is not worth the aggravation, especially if the Arizona-Florida scenario is in place. Postseason in November in Arizona and Florida will work.

The game is for the real fans. Rule changes this drastic would destroy the integrity of the game. If the plan is to attract new fans to the game of baseball, it would backfire miserably as the loyal fans the game currently has would create empty stadiums - Coronavirus or no Coronavirus. Given a choice between some bastardized version of the game or no baseball for 2020, painful as it may be, no baseball would be better in order to maintain the integrity of our national pastime.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, Indiana. Growing up in New Jersey, he is a lifelong New York Mets fan.