https://baseballfireside.com/i-love-baseball-but/
Some aspects of baseball don’t quite make sense to me. Some are designs of the field, and some are rules and coaching positions that perhaps need revisiting.
The Mound
Is there a reason a pitcher needs to be up on a hill? Imagine in football an area of the field having a bump to run over, or in basketball having a ramp to run around or run up? Baseball originally started with the pitchers on a flat area. After hills were allowed up to 15 inches high, pitchers had an advantage. The advantages were much so that after 1968, The Year of The Pitcher where batters couldn’t buy a hit, mounds had to be lowered to 10 inches. As a little leaguer, I played on barely developed fields with no hill for the pitcher. Scores of games were not out of control, and good pitchers beat the hitters more often than not without a mound. Now that pitching is dominating the games with a plethora of guys throwing over 100 M.P.H., it might be wise to consider flattening the mound. See how tough the flame throwers are then!
Batter’s Box Is Not A Sandbox
There are batter’s boxes on both sides of the plate. A hitter is supposed to stay within the lines of the box. That seems reasonable enough. Yet, what is the first thing they do when going up to bat? They take their feet and spread dirt all over the lines! So how does an ump know if the batters are too close to the plate? Imagine in tennis a player taking a bag of dirt and spreading it all over the lines of the opponent’s end, presumably to keep the umpire from seeing if the ball went out. Yet no baseball umpire I’ve ever watched seems to care. Clubs could save money on paint and not line the box if the umps aren’t going to pay attention to its instant desecration!
Infinite Two Strike Fouls
When the batter has two strikes on him, to avoid striking out on a third strike foul, he’s allowed to keep fouling away to ad infinitum. Keep in mind the vast expanse from the plate to the outfield fences. Think about how much FAIR territory there is between the foul lines. Yet we see batters hit eight or more two strike pitches everywhere but fair. They hit them backwards, downwards, and to the side. Announcers talk about what a great battler the hitter is. No, he just can’t hit or at least not hit this particular pitcher very well. It gets tedious watching the hitter nick, ding, and pop balls just out of play over and over. If you can’t hit it fair then you’re not battling–you’re just overmatched. The pitcher is beating you. Giving the hitter a dozen second chances to hit the ball into that wide field seems excessive. I propose batters get a limit of three two strike fouls. On the fourth foul they go back to their IPads in the dugout to check why they can’t hit a pitch into fair territory that covers more area than football fields do.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hmf8QvcdIcM
Umps With ADD
When I first got into baseball, major league umps were pretty fiery when making calls, especially steeeerrrrikkke threeeee!!! Now there seems to be a delay making calls whether they are behind the plate or on the bases. I’ve noticed several umps at the completion of a throw to a base that’s close a play…and no call. Five seconds later he’ll quietly fidget his hand as if to indicate…something. That’s right, it’s almost as if their minds were elsewhere. “What’s the bar we’re meeting at later?’ “What should I bring to the cookout?” “That hottie in the bikini top and Daisy Dukes shorts behind the third base dugout–is she flirting with me?” Whatever things are on their minds, I suspect at times baseball is not one of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZIiXhtmCq4
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z80Lgdu9hzs
Unnecessary Coaches
First, can somebody please tell me what a “bench coach” does other than cover for a manager too lazy to talk to players ten feet away? The manager wants Player A to pinch hit, so the bench coach tells him instead. The manager has an idea on a certain strategy, so the bench coach is his “yes man.” What else could a bench coach possibly do? I’m still hoping to be enlightened about this concept of a bench coach.
Next, why must there be first and third base coaches? All they do is talk to the runners when they are on base (and in earshot of the first or third basemen). What profound wisdom are they passing on? “Hey, run to the next base when you have a chance.” “Don’t get picked off.” I also am dismayed by the utter incompetence of third base coaches. I’ve seen numerous runners approaching third base, the left fielder already has the ball in his hand, and he is beginning the act of throwing. The clueless third base coach sends him to home anyway! Inevitably, the runner is cut down by more feet than the length of the living room that you’re watching the game on tv in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGpovwczuNo
Have bench players serve as base coaches, and save the team money from paying an actual salary to someone who couldn’t run a lemonade stand.
Do you notice oddities about baseball you wish to share? Please leave them in the comments section below.