The Plan to Speed Up Baseball

The Wall Street Journal ^ | APRIL 3, 2015 | MATTHEW FUTTERMAN

[MinorityRepublican]

As the 2015 Major League Baseball season dawns, the lords of baseball are asking for our forgiveness. They want a second chance, and to get it they are making changes that could shake the game to its foundations.

This isn’t about tinkering with the playoffs to make a few extra dollars from the television networks. The 30 team owners have ordered the new commissioner to modernize baseball and make it appeal to an audience that is increasingly weary of the game’s slow pace. There will of course be cries of sacrilege from traditionalists about putting the national pastime on a clock. Many players are resisting, too. But they are unlikely to slow the transformation.

[tenger]

I seem to recall a One Pitch Softball game in Chicago, where one of your teammates pitches the ball. You get one pitch. That’s it. Probably wouldn’t work but it sped up the game greatly.

[MediaMole]

What really sucks about baseball this year is the intrusive searches for all fans trying to enter the ballpark.

[cherry]

all the seasons are too long....nba finals running into June?...nfl which used to have its Superbowl early in January now having it in Feb....

baseball season is too darn long....

[left that other site]

No scratching and spitting in Golf, yes. But the lyin’ King has poisoned that game for me forever.

[Bullish]

Just bring in the robots and forget about it already.

[cripplecreek]

The voice of the turtle used to be the official opening around here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr0wonW9u1A

[ThomasThomas]

But I thought they did drug testing to get rid of speed.

[Ken H]

Four foul balls - you’re out?

Seems overboard. Why not just have the team use Gold-Bond?

[Paladin2]

Replace it with Cricket. Then one can use slow drying paint.

[cripplecreek]

Baseball poetry by Ernie Harwell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cloU58N0YVI

The man loved God, America, and baseball.

Still a strong clear voice less than a year before he passed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4rCyVbzpVk

[left that other site]

Oooo...Nice.

I come from a big baseball-loving family.

My grandpa used to recite “Casey at the Bat” from memory, and my Mom has the autographs of the entire 1941 Boston Red Sox, as well as Joe DeMaggio.

[demshateGod]

The real question is what this will mean to gay marriage.

[Fungi]

Simple, get the mandated commercials out of the game. Won't happen as the carriers will scream. Not a worry for me—no TV, no cable carrier, no problems.

[demshateGod]

The article shows that games were an hour shorter in the mid 50’s.

[cripplecreek]

Al Kaline spent his whole career with the Tigers (1953–1974) and is still working for the team today.

[left that other site]

Now that’s LOYALTY! :-)

[going hot]

Stupid people don’t understand the use of the tape and fast forward button.

[Michael.SF.]

There is nothing like a long summer afternoon at fenway park, drinking beer...

I'm guessing you are not 6'2" 240 like me, ok, 250.

Those seats are SMALLLLLL.

But I loved going to my one and only game I saw there!

[fungoking]

Just have umps call the strike zone.

[Verginius Rufus]

The regular season used to be 154 games. Then they lengthened it to 162. Hence the controversy over whether Roger Maris had broken Babe Ruth's record because he hit 61 home runs, but not in the first 154 games of the season. But then they went immediately to the World Series.

Maybe they should go back to 154 games for the regular season.