Major League Baseball is back for the 2022 season with a
number of rule changes and gimmicks designed to speed up play and add interest
to what has become a dying business.
MLB's first weekend is in the books and the times are just
as long as they have ever been despite gimmicks like electronic pitch signaling
and larger bases. This year also marks
the use of the designated hitter in all National League games. This is a change the league resisted for 45
years but finally at the will of MLB "experts" was added despite
numerous NL team objections.
I have yet to watch a game in its entirety because I don't
care to waste time watching batters wander in and out of the batter's box and
pitchers waste time blowing on their hands, adjusting their hats and walking
around the back of the pitcher's mound.
Until baseball forces these players to play instead of
wasting the time of thousands at each game MLB will continue to lose fan
support and that translates to lost revenue for both sides.
Make the pitchers throw the ball to the plate in 15 seconds
when no one is on and 20 seconds when a base is occupied and it will speed up
the process and the hitter will have to be ready too. If not, then a strike will be called against them. Unless, a stick is poking out of their eye, the batter will no longer be granted time out at will.
Another way to keep
things moving is for the home plate umpire to call the strike zone as it is
written in the rule book; from the knees
to the letters. Currently the strike
zone is being called from the middle of the thigh to the waste. Make the hitters swing instead of waiting for
called balls. Now, when the hitter gets
ahead in the count he is looking to drive the pitch into the next time zone. This fascination with long homeruns is being
fueled by MLB. You need look no
farther than the daily highlights on the business' own application. This obsession with home runs has become
detrimental to the rest of the skills in baseball. Stealing bases and "small ball" have become
a lost art.
Until, Major League Baseball starts enforcing the rules, the
games will grow longer and even more tedious.
It will deteriorate even further until it finally starts hurting both
the players and owners economically. As
a former season ticket holder to a major league baseball team, I guarantee you
I will not buy another ticket unless the game swings back to what it used to be.
