Baseball is America's Pastime Sport - 162 games in a season & then playoffs makes it one long season starting in April and ending in October with games being played almost everyday.
I have been to a few Boston Red Sox games in Fenway and came out really understanding why Baseball is the pastime sport! A very large cross section of the crowd in Fenway were there more to socialize and were hardly watching the game, their heads turned towards the field only when there was a "cling" noise from the bat hitting ball (some unfortunate fan injuries off late have happened, especially the broken bat that hit a lady in the crowd). The rest of the time they are either talking with their friends or others, drinking beer, enjoying their hot dog or socializing in the hallways! Being in Fenway, you will off course find a few series fans who are scoring every pitch in their personal scoring sheet - true fans!
In the recent past there has been a talk of Pace of Play & making a baseball game completed in under 3 hours. So, there might be a pitch clock for pitchers similar to the shot clock in basketball. Thinking through this and other aspects from my experience at Fenway, sharing a few ideas where baseball can change to make it interesting for the average fan & adding more excitement in the game (meaning more Runs scored, my cricket influence wont go away!)
3 Changes to Baseball
1. Reward every Base Hit - either with 0.25 runs (as 1 run in baseball is circling all 4 bases) or 1 run (then make a home run or a player circling all 4 bases be given 4 runs if one doesn't want to see decimals)
- In an era of instant gratifications & rewards, it is very painful to see base hits not being rewarded with anything that counts to the end result of a game. People want action, results, runs & every hit having some meaning, so reward it
2. Powerplay - For the first 3 innings eliminate the Short Stop position. This will create more opportunities for Runs to be scored, which is what an average or casual fan wants to see
- Most people are not interested in a pitching duel especially those who are watching it in the stadium as sitting a far from where the action happens, it is very difficult to follow & gauge what a great act the pitchers are putting up
3. Ball Count - While a player is trying to steal a base the pitcher throws to the first base or second base to prevent him from stealing the base. If the Pitcher ends up throwing a pitch anywhere - home base to the batter or any other base to prevent a steal, call it a BALL. This will not only speed up the game but will also create more strategic thinking before throwing unnecessarily to prevent a steal. If the player is out stealing a base then do not count it as ball (reward for achieving some result!)
Assume that implementing any of these changes in MLB will be radical & not easy. Why not experiment with these changes in AAA or Minors or Little Leagues to gauge the impact on the players, fans & game results?
What say Baseball fans?!
I have been to a few Boston Red Sox games in Fenway and came out really understanding why Baseball is the pastime sport! A very large cross section of the crowd in Fenway were there more to socialize and were hardly watching the game, their heads turned towards the field only when there was a "cling" noise from the bat hitting ball (some unfortunate fan injuries off late have happened, especially the broken bat that hit a lady in the crowd). The rest of the time they are either talking with their friends or others, drinking beer, enjoying their hot dog or socializing in the hallways! Being in Fenway, you will off course find a few series fans who are scoring every pitch in their personal scoring sheet - true fans!
In the recent past there has been a talk of Pace of Play & making a baseball game completed in under 3 hours. So, there might be a pitch clock for pitchers similar to the shot clock in basketball. Thinking through this and other aspects from my experience at Fenway, sharing a few ideas where baseball can change to make it interesting for the average fan & adding more excitement in the game (meaning more Runs scored, my cricket influence wont go away!)
3 Changes to Baseball
1. Reward every Base Hit - either with 0.25 runs (as 1 run in baseball is circling all 4 bases) or 1 run (then make a home run or a player circling all 4 bases be given 4 runs if one doesn't want to see decimals)
- In an era of instant gratifications & rewards, it is very painful to see base hits not being rewarded with anything that counts to the end result of a game. People want action, results, runs & every hit having some meaning, so reward it
2. Powerplay - For the first 3 innings eliminate the Short Stop position. This will create more opportunities for Runs to be scored, which is what an average or casual fan wants to see
- Most people are not interested in a pitching duel especially those who are watching it in the stadium as sitting a far from where the action happens, it is very difficult to follow & gauge what a great act the pitchers are putting up
3. Ball Count - While a player is trying to steal a base the pitcher throws to the first base or second base to prevent him from stealing the base. If the Pitcher ends up throwing a pitch anywhere - home base to the batter or any other base to prevent a steal, call it a BALL. This will not only speed up the game but will also create more strategic thinking before throwing unnecessarily to prevent a steal. If the player is out stealing a base then do not count it as ball (reward for achieving some result!)
Assume that implementing any of these changes in MLB will be radical & not easy. Why not experiment with these changes in AAA or Minors or Little Leagues to gauge the impact on the players, fans & game results?
What say Baseball fans?!
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