The MLB is not the NBA or NFL. So, for all of those ‘experts’ in the main-stream media, quit trying to morph it into a combination of both. Baseball is, has, and will continue to do just fine without your interference. Every time I turn on the T.V. or radio, there is some puppet on the dial telling me what’s wrong with the world’s greatest game. Like a sport that brings in billions of dollars needs help from these analysts. It is flat out absurd.
We, the people (the true fans of baseball), do not want our game to resemble any of these games that we do not adore as much. And, in some cases, avoid at all costs. The MLB is not the NBA or NFL and baseball fans go to a game to relax and escape the hectic lives we are leaving behind. Do not put a stopwatch on our mini getaways. Most of us can do without the goofy music and fireworks that most parks have, and wince at the thought of an NBA-type light show at the beginning of the game. Sorry Dodgers and Angels fans, bringing that up probably just put a dumb idea into somebody’s head out west.
Let us watch, enjoy and spend our hard-earned money on what we love. Not what outsiders think we should love. They’ve already NFL-ed up the home plate area. Stating that fans come to see stars, Major League Baseball outlawed the blocking of home plate; just like the way football has practically outlawed tackling. Stop before you screw up this perfect game. Here’s where these folks think they can help, but will only hurt the sport and its popularity. One also has to remember that ESPN has a lot of money invested in the NBA and NFL. Some of their own rants are very misleading for the sake of boosting their own interests.
The first thing that is brought up is a pitch clock. Having a 20-second pitch clock implemented when no runners are on base. There are rules in baseball to address this already, but the rule has never been enforced because the pitcher is rarely the problem. It is usually the batter that is going “Nomar Garciapara” on us anyways. Fidgeting with batting gloves, stepping out of the box between pitches, smacking the bat around and taking swings at the air. Hall-of-Famer Warren Spahn once said “If hitting is timing, pitching is upsetting timing.” A pitch clock would take that away.
Limit the pitching changes is the next suggestion that surfaces. That rule just isn’t practical. Strategy of who to pitch and when is an intriguing part of the game. Now, if a rule was implemented to limit how many pitchers a team can carry were in place, then we might have something. You just wouldn’t be able to reduce the total roster size. The MLB Player’s Union would never go for it. Also, when a reliever comes in, give him two warm-up pitches. Eight is way too many. The between inning warm-up should be reduced to about five as well.
The last thing that most outsiders choose to pick is putting a DH in both leagues. What makes Major League Baseball great is the debate. There is no better debate than which league is better or more fun to watch.
I have always said, and will always stand by the fact, that there are two kinds of people in this world:
1. The kind that loves the DH and the potential offense it brings.
2. The kind that knows the DH is wrong, artificial and immoral.
And if someone does not have an opinion on the DH, then they are no kind of person at all. Baseball is baseball. It’s different than any other sport out there. Major League Baseball is not even close to basketball or football, but it isn’t supposed to be. This game is different, and that’s what makes it better.
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