A lot of talk is going around about doing something to shorten the time it takes to play a nine-inning game in Major League Baseball.
Some of the reasons for what makes a game drag on have to do with players and their routines. I really think this is an issue that needs attention. What can they do? Let's talk about it.
First of all, the majority of players have these routines or rituals that they practice at the plate. These rituals have become more and more a problem with players having “superstitions.” It seems that some of the players have a style that could become a videotape loop, as they do the same things over and over before they take their next swing.
Just a few seasons ago, former New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch had a routine of messing around with his batting gloves before each pitch, an annoying habit that at times was overbearing and hard to watch! On a side note: Knoblauch, 46, lately has had domestic problems and has been arrested, a sad situation.
Speaking of the Yankees, Mark Teixeira, in an interview with ESPN Radio's “Mike & Mike” was asked about where MLB is going. Teixeira, who is one of the 15 highest-paid players of all times, feels that the topic of “pace of play,” is an important issue for baseball.
Last season, the average time for a game was just over three hours. Teixeira’s feeling is that there is not enough action and the games take too long. He also thought that there is enough concern coming from many players and fans that changes will be made.
Teixeira also mentioned that even kids get bored with the game’s pace.
“My kids don't watch a lot of games. First of all most of the games start at 7 p.m. and they go to bed at 7:30 p.m. And it's a slow game. I take my son to a Knicks game and we get to sit close to the court, there's action going on all over the place. In baseball, if you don't love baseball as a kid, it's very tough to watch it because of the pace of the game.”
There is no single obvious reason for the game’s pace because it is its nature, and there isn't a clock. Some interesting statistics about baseball, and we all know baseball is a game of statistics: This past season, pitchers have taken 23 seconds between pitches, up from 2011 when it took 21.5 seconds.
With approximately 300 pitches in a single game, and with the addition of pitching changes, it all adds up as another tick of a clock.
A rule that exists now: when the bases are loaded, the pitcher has 12 seconds between pitches. I have never seen that called! Why not have that rule between every pitch? There is also a rule that you'll rarely see an umpire call: time taken for equipment adjustment by the batter.
I like to call it the "Knoblauch Syndrome." It's an existing rule to get the batter to be ready to hit.
I think Teixeira’s point is a wakeup call for Major League Baseball. When I was a kid there weren't as many options for playing a sport, other than the "big three"— football, baseball and basketball. All changed, now we have soccer, lacrosse, tennis, hockey and track, not to mention there are more kids playing golf in today's world.
Now with an assortment of choices for youngsters to get involved with a sport, baseball doesn't have the popularity, for kids, that it had many years ago.
Football has some problematic issues, especially with young players at the pre-scholastic levels. It's a sport where the participants are susceptible to harm or injury, especially with concussions.
What's MLB's plan to get things moving? With baseball's new commissioner, Rob Manfred is endorsing some ideas that are going to be implemented in the Arizona Fall League, a league that showcases some of baseball's top young prospects.
Some of the new rules make sense and hopefully will help remedy the issue.
There will be a strict enforcement of 20 seconds between pitches, as well as two minutes and five seconds between innings, which will even include an on-field clock.
The umpires have their hands full, but they need to be more assertive, especially from behind the plate, with the batters and pitchers.
Here's an interesting thing. How many relief pitchers can be used in a game? Some of these managers will go through the whole pitching staff and so goes a baseball marathon.
How about ending an extra-inning game with the sudden death of the first hit? Instead of sometimes playing 20 innings, make the cut off at 15 innings and from there go with the sudden death solution that a hit is calculated as the winning run.
I'm no baseball expert, but some things need to be considered to speed up the game of baseball. The new rules for the Arizona League might not even be a consideration.
But when you hear one of the highest paid players of the game express a concern about the pace of the game, then I think changes need to be made. The time limit on batters and between pitches, to me that's the biggest problem and it can be a simple fix with some new parameters.
So give the pitchers 12 seconds, not 20, between pitches, and have the batter stay in the batter's box with minimal equipment adjustments. I feel that will solve some of the issue.
The new video replay is a tool that has cut back on the time consuming arguments between managers and umpires, a good change. Maybe there will be some resolve with future changes, but baseball is what it is and the game has always had those idiosyncrasies— after all it's baseball.
Finally, I think the sport of baseball is still as popular as it used to be, or at least almost.
