This is my new baseball field – no queues
Major League Baseball whistled past its own graveyard this spring, almost turning a lockout into an extended work stoppage as billionaire owners battled millionaire players over rule tweaks, modest tweaks and, ultimately, pocket change. And when the dust finally settled, hardly any changes were made to make the product look or feel significantly different in the field. Of course, with a new universal designated hitter, no pitcher will ever hit again, but pitchers were hitting less than ever anyway, since starters rarely last six innings and no relief pitcher has hit more than 10 times in one. season since the Ford administration.
Meanwhile, the powers that be continue to treat fans as an afterthought, belittling the regular season and making the playoffs impossible for kids to watch with more games starting later than ever and/or hidden away on streaming services. They nibble at the edges in an attempt to show how serious they are about making games shorter, never addressing the fact that it’s not the length of the game that’s frustrating for fans, but the way the game is play.
So today leave a lifelong fan, and exactly the kind of guy you expect, to uphold the historical integrity of baseball, deliver a new game of baseball for a new century and future generations of fans.
Let’s start by recognizing why professional basketball and soccer are so popular. These are star-run leagues where fans are thrilled to see Steph Curry shoot and Tom Brady pitch. Are fans paying big bucks to see LeBron give up the game-winning shot to a scrub? No. They bought a ticket or turned on the TV to see LeBron go to the hoop or see Mahomes pass. The NBA and NFL exploded in popularity as players and coaches leaned into this idea of getting the ball in the hands of the stars as often as possible and telling them to make things happen.
Fans understand that in basketball and football, the stars usually determine who wins and who loses. Baseball, however, is crippled by rules, which ensure that superstars such as Mike Trout and Aaron Judge can never have equal chances to play with the game’s interchangeable Joe Schlabotnicks. In times of crisis in football and basketball -ball, you know the ball will be in the hands of the stars. Still, Trout may only have four chances to strike in an entire game, and there’s a better than 50/50 chance he’ll never bat with the game on the line.
So here is your new baseball idea. No queues. The start of each round is a new start, and the manager can send whoever he wants, in any order he wants. Everyone must hit this inning before the now defined “order” repeats, if necessary. Maybe add a rule that says no batter can be a top three batter more than 3-4 times. Now, if people want to see Trout with a bat in his hands, they don’t have to wait. Fans will see him hit 6-7-8 times per game. Sure, Joe Schlabotnik may be a magician on defense, but he hits .225 and fans want to watch the offense, so let’s regularly put the bat in the hands of the offensive stars people want to see.
Also, no pitchers change once a batter is announced. And, since no one knows the roster in advance, managers can’t play the tedious game of left-handed/right-handed relief pitcher. Fewer pitch change delays, and more life and death with who you have on the mound. Now add a rule that there must be two infielders on the ground on either side of second base, and with all of that, you’ll now have more hits, more action, and more runs. Fans will naturally see more of their favorite stars, especially in the decisive situations, and suddenly the duration of the match will no longer matter.
Granted, every once in a while Joe Schlabotnik becomes the hero, like when superstar rookie Willie Mays watched everyone Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard Round the World from the circle on the deck, but come on. Everyone at the Polo Grounds that day wanted Mays to be the guy in the batting box.
David Rafferty is a resident of Greenwich.