Expecting pitchers to throw within 20 seconds when the bases are empty should happen. It will make a better product for the Washington Nationals and MLB.
After nearly a full week of Washington Nationals exhibition games, it is becoming increasingly clear the game needs a pitch clock.
Now, before you roast me in the comments section and online, let’s make something clear, pace of play issues and length of games are not equal. You can have a riveting five-hour game and a boring 90-minute affair. How long a game goes should not be the only judge.
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The dead time during a game, however, must be addressed. Cutting meetings, automatic intentional walks and the time a manager has to make a replay decision are a cosmetic start, but do little to address the problem.
Because baseball is a timeless game does not make it okay to take forever to play. When the bases are empty, 20 seconds between pitches is fair. Throw the ball.
As with a movie or book, we get antsy during dead scenes waiting for action. As writers, we are taught to keep sentences short and simple. Do not say in 30 words what you can in 10.
Keeping the pace of a baseball game moving works on the same principle. The current rules state you have 20 seconds between pitches when the bases are empty. Yet, the rule is never enforced.
In college baseball, clocks are being used. When a batter steps out, the clock is reset. A baserunner kills the timer. You lose no action, simply shortening the sequences between acts.
Why is that wrong?
Over the weekend, the Nats had a game taking 54 minutes to play the first two innings. Think about that a moment, a meaningless game grinding to a halt. This is not okay.
As a living game, baseball evolves. Offenses are complex and pitchers do their best to adjust to batters with great scouting reports. We survived he designated hitter, artificial surfaces and Interleague play. Telling a pitcher to do his job does not ruin the sanctity of the sport.
Ideally, games should run between 2:30-2:45. With bullpen usage, 2:45-2:55 is realistic. Add in what television needs for commercials and 2:45 is the bare minimum to expect.
Yet, for all the chatter for speeding up things outside the game itself, little is being done to address what happens during play. By implementing a pitch clock in the minors, you are training tomorrow’s stars to throw the ball in rhythm. When they reach the majors, they know the drill.
We keep hearing about baseball is a plodding sport in need of fixing. No one loves flogging a sport as much as a baseball writer. A pitch clock with no one on is more than a simple fix. There is nothing wrong with a four-hour game if you are entertaining the audience.
Where the problem lies is with the pace, not the length. If a fan feels things are moving forward, they are less inclined to check cellphones and watches.
If Major League Baseball enforced their own rule, you would knock of around 10 minutes a game sacrificing nothing.
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It is dead weight. Time, literally, to cut it.