My occasional sports opinions are probably of interest to no one. But as a lifelong baseball fan, I can’t help but weigh in about the new pitch clock.
I’m sad to see it, in a way, because one of the beauties of baseball is that there’s no clock. (It’s also, uniquely, the only major sport where the defense possesses the ball—think about it.)
Check out this side-by-side comparison:
Watching baseball in recent years has truly become insufferable. As teams used statistical analysis to gain every possible advantage, their strategies—defensive shifts, swinging for the fences, and taking forever for each at-bat—sucked the life and fun out of the game.
When I was a kid, games on TV moved relatively briskly. Check it out:
It’s also funny to watch how relatively small, skinny and sometimes flabby the players were!
But in recent years...oh man, I’m a fan, but some of these relief pitchers are just impossible to watch.
So, to their credit, the league said—no more shifts, no more endless throws to first base, and now the pitchers and batters have a clock.
It will take some getting used to, but I’m looking forward to it.
But first, one last look at “the old game” in the World Baseball Classic, which has been entertaining in the past. Play ball!