{"id":79478,"date":"2017-04-10T16:05:14","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T16:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=79478"},"modified":"2023-02-14T20:39:20","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T20:39:20","slug":"behind-mic-strike-two-yer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-strike-two-yer\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: Strike Two – Y’er Out!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Play ball!\u00a0 Major League baseball has begun.\u00a0 And, once again, a new radical idea to shorten the length of games has surfaced.\u00a0 Former Mets\u2019 general manager Steve Philips recently suggested changing walks to three balls and strikeouts to two strikes \u2013 in other words every at-bat starts with a 1-1 count on the batter.\u00a0 His research indicates that 40% of the time a batter faces a 1-1 count anyway.\u00a0 This is drastic, to say the least, but creates interesting discussion.\u00a0 There have been many other suggestions and some have even been tried in lower levels of professional baseball.<\/p>\n

Do you like any of these changes<\/a>?<\/p>\n

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  1. A pitcher must deliver a pitch within 20 seconds. The batter must be in the box for all 20 seconds and the clock stops the second the pitcher starts his pitching motion.\u00a0 If the batter steps out of the box during the 20 seconds, the pitcher may throw an official pitch anyway.<\/li>\n
  2. The batter must keep one foot in the box throughout the at-bat. There are some exceptions.\u00a0 What would big Papi do?<\/li>\n
  3. Intentional walks would require no pitches, just an indication from the manger to the home plate umpire.<\/li>\n
  4. Some want to limit the number of commercials, while some want to put a between- innings time limit \u2013 2:30. At the 2:15 mark, the batter must be in the box and the 20-second clock for the pitcher begins.<\/li>\n
  5. Pitching changes must be completed and ready for play in 2:30. Failure to accomplish this would result in a ball being called by the umpire.<\/li>\n
  6. Only three player conferences between pitcher-catcher, player-player, or manager-player would be allowed per game. This rule would not apply to pitching changes or player substitutions.<\/li>\n
  7. Place a runner on second base with no outs to start an extra-inning game. Statistically, a game would end after ten innings 50% of the time and 75% of the time in the eleventh inning.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It is estimated that implementation of some of these rules could save between 10 and 15 minutes in the length of the game and games would average less than three hours.<\/p>\n

    Does baseball really need to drastically change to keep their fan base and, more importantly, to grow the base of the younger generation?\u00a0 For now, I do not see any of these suggestions (with, perhaps, the intentional walk modification) happening soon.<\/p>\n

    And I, for one think that\u2019s a good idea.<\/p>\n

    Play ball (as we know it!)<\/p>\n

    ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    1. I lost around nine hours this weekend watching the Masters<\/a>. If you are a golf fan, I\u2019m sure you found both Saturday and Sunday riveting.\u00a0 Thank goodness for TiVo \u2013 speeding through commercials helps, but the Masters limits the number of commercials so it doesn\u2019t help much.\u00a0 It sure was dramatic and Sergio<\/a>\u2019s emotional win was not to be missed.<\/li>\n
    2. Speaking of golf, in the recently completed Western Intercollegiate<\/a> golf tournament at San Jose University, there were five holes-in-one. They were by four players from three teams.\u00a0 Hunter Epson<\/a> of Pepperdine in a shotgun start made one on his very first shot in the tournament.\u00a0 His teammate made one in the same round.\u00a0 Daniel List<\/a> made one during the final round, but the topper occurred when Cal\u2019s William Aldred<\/a> made one in the second round and another in the third round.\u00a0 They all used a different club, did not shoot under par, nor finished in the top 20.<\/li>\n
    3. Did you notice that Tim Tebow<\/a>, former Heisman winner at Florida and NFL player, hit a home run in his first at-bat as a professional baseball player.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n