Whoop-de-doo!! The media has found another idiotic controversy to sell to the uninformed sports fans. Actually TV executives are the ones who want to shorten the game--so they'll have more spots to sell to their advertisers, and that's the plain truth of the matter. It's not to enhance the game and make it more marketable. Just SELL more ads and make more money FOR TV, period.
Inventors of football, basketball, hockey and soccer put a clock in their game giving you a certain amount of time to score points. BASEBALL DID NOT! THAT'S one of the things that made it so popular. Not knowing when (or how) the game might end and, especially, always giving the underdog a chance to come from behind and WIN, without having to be constrained by the clock. The founding fathers of baseball knew that so don't try to sell us on the idea that it's outdated. It's survived the test of time, it's NOT BROKE...so don't try to fix it just to satisfy a private agenda!!
Some idiots are even toying around with the idea of subtracting one ball and one strike from the count?? Imagine, no more 3-2 counts. Now a full count would be 2 balls and 1 strike. A batter would walk on 3 balls, not 4. He'd be struck out on TWO strikes, not three. Sounds crazy (stupid is a better
word) but that's where these ideas to speed up the game of baseball are headed.
The GAME of baseball was meant to be entertaining and it is...just the way it is. Baseball CAN BE the most exciting game around because, on every pitch, there are several things that could happen.
You want it MORE exciting? Just give managers the opportunity to use EVERY scenario to produce runs, without having to worry about their jobs if some of them don't work. REMEMBER the 1967 "Impossible Dream" Red Sox? Dick Williams, a first year (future hall of fame) manager put in just about every play in baseball's arsenal including the steal of home when runners were on first and third. They were UNPREDICTABLE and that made them exciting. Us old-timers remember the late inning rallies that won games and earned them the nickname, "Cardiac Kids." Can you imagine how different (and less exciting) the games would have been if they were all worried about "the clock?"
"Colorfull" was often used to describe baseball and some of its players and managers and THAT
was a big part of making baseball "America's Game." (since replaced by more colorful football.)
I'll relate one story concerning Casey Stengel when he was manager of the BOSTON Braves. That's right, in the late 30's old Casey was in Boston. He was as big a cut up as he always was and some of the media found that criticizing his antics was an easy story to write and sell papers. They claimed it was "hurting the game." Eventually the commissioner stepped in and ordered Stengel to stop all the shenanigans on the field or else. THIS became a big story as the press crowed about how THEY made ol' Casey toe the line. The next game, was sold out with all the fans dying to see what would happen. As the managers met at home plate with the umpires to exchange lineups and go over the ground rules everybody held their breath anticipating "something." (or had Stengel really been reigned in by the media and the commissioner?) As they concluded the ritual and each manager walked back to their respective dugout, all without any "incident" the fans cheered for Stengel. As he got to the top step of the dugout he stopped and smiled at the crowd to acknowledge their applause. He then, quite ceremoniously bowed and waved his cap to the fans.....and a canary flew out. The crowd went hilariously wild and REALLY cheered. Stengel became an instant hero of the classes and nobody ever doubted again that he was good for the game, adding to it's entertainment. THAT'S in the days when a day at the ball park was an event and not a social obligation.
Let me remind you again...excitement is NOT KNOWING what's going to happen next and exploring all the numerous possibilities....WITHOUT worrying about the TIME CLOCK!!
I welcome, and WILL print any other views both for and against the time clock. ALSO, if you liked the Stengel story there are countless other stories about the old days of baseball and all of it's heroes that captured the hearts of America---When the game was played on REAL GRASS and the heroes were REAL HEROES and not "druggies" who could hit the ball 700 feet.....Stay tuned.....