{"id":84595,"date":"2021-03-30T16:55:57","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T16:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=84595"},"modified":"2023-02-24T16:49:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T16:49:17","slug":"baseball-yawn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/baseball-yawn\/","title":{"rendered":"Baseball (Yawn)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are<\/em> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I grew up loving baseball.\u00a0 I played Little League, teeners, high school, Legion, college, Blue Mountain League<\/a> and, finally, succumbed to the \u201crigors\u201d of slow-pitch softball.<\/p>\n

My grandfather\u2019s job gave him access to great seats at Phillies<\/a> games played at Connie Mack Stadium and I would be crazy with excitement when my dad, my grandfather, his boss and I would jump in the car and head to a Phillies game.\u00a0 I always brought my glove because our seats were so close to the action that I could envision a foul ball coming my way or even a player tossing me a ball that was no longer usable.<\/p>\n

Often, we would be right next to the opponents\u2019 dugout and we actually talked to players before the game.\u00a0 Add to that, my grandfathers\u2019 boss had a Cadillac with leather interior, power windows, and something called \u201ccruise control\u201d.\u00a0 Even the trip to and from was exciting.\u00a0 For a young boy, it just couldn\u2019t get any better.\u00a0 When we arrived back home, I just wanted to play catch with my dad and just prolong the day.\u00a0 The fact that it was usually around 11 PM curtailed all of my dad\u2019s desire to cooperate.\u00a0 To me, this was a perfect day.<\/p>\n

But something happened to the game.\u00a0 I no longer have ANY desire to take three hours (3:07 was the average length of a major league game last year) out of a day to watch baseball.\u00a0 It appears, according to attendance and viewership statistics, many people feel the same way.\u00a0 What happened?<\/p>\n

The game changed.\u00a0 Today, it is a game of strikeouts, long balls, pitching changes, unfair defense, and little action.\u00a0 Batters cannot get into or stay in the batter\u2019s box; pitchers take forever to throw the ball; strategy has been taken over by computers (I\u2019m sick of the word \u201canalytics\u201d); fielders overload one side of second base making even a base hit that much more difficult; the excitement of a real close play is diminished by instant replay.\u00a0 Did you know that nearly four of every 10 plate appearances ends with the baseball never being put into play?\u00a0 It just is not the same game.\u00a0 And everyone knows it!<\/p>\n

I think I write every year that changes are coming, but few ever make it to the majors.\u00a0 Here are some changes being proposed – most for the minor leagues only, which I, also, have pretty much never watched:<\/p>\n