The "Pitch Clocks, Larger Bases, What Are They Doing To My Favorite Game?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the sports section of my daily newspaper when I came upon an article that talked about "Pitch Clocks" and "Larger Bases."  It reported that minor league baseball games that now use a pitch clock are ending about a half-hour sooner than in the past.  Could be that next year Major League games may be using the pitch clock.  Major League officials have taken notice to the fact that minor league games end a half-hour sooner and they are going to promote the timers to the major league.  It is said to be coming even though players don't want it.  Yankee's All-Star pitcher, Gerrit Cole believes it will happen regardless of the opposition it will meet in the future.  Another change that may be coming to Major League Baseball in the near future is shift limits, larger bases, and restrictions on pick-off attempts.  By 2024 baseball may be using robot umpires to call balls and strikes.  Today the average time of a nine-inning game has increased from 2 hours, 43 minute in 2003 to 3 hours, 13 minutes in 2020.  Recently, a clock experiment in the minor leagues cut the average time of a game to 2 hours, 37 minutes.  Today, the time between pitches with no runners on base ranges from 12.6 seconds for Milwaukee's Brent Sutter and San Francisco's Sam Long to 26.6 seconds for St. Louis' Giovanny Gallegos.  With runners on, San Diego's Tim Hill leads at 18.1 and Gallegos (32.1) and Jansen (31.1) are the slowest.  Then along came video review for home runs in 2009 and for a broad array of umpire decisions in 2014.  All 30 of the major league teams are using the electronic  pitching signaling device introduced this past Spring.  In comparison...a clock is being used in the minors: 14 seconds with the bases empty and 19 with runners on in Triple A and 14/18 at lower levels.  The clock starts when the pitcher has possession of the ball and the catcher is in the dirt circle surrounding home plate.  In addition...the batter must be in the box and alert to the pitcher with at least 9 seconds remaining.  Major League Baseball's goal is to eliminate dead time which includes batters tapping their toes with their bats and adjusting their batting gloves between every pitch.  Bases have been increased to 18 inches square from 15 inches to help promote safety.  It will be less likely that first basemen will have their foot stepped on with the larger base size.  Shifts have been limited all season at Double A and Class A leagues.  Now teams are required to have four players on the infield, including two on each side of second base.  During the past decade, shifts have exploded.  Now teams in the majors might shift an additional player to one side or another of the infield and have 3 infielders on one side of 2nd base based on each batter.  Big league batting averages have suffered due to that change.  To me, baseball is getting to the point where it is no longer baseball but a game of wits.  Major League Baseball is now piloting an automated Ball-Strike system in the minors, which could reach the majors as soon as 2024.  Defining the computer strike zone is still being worked on.  In an age of high-speed video cameras, umpires are being criticized on just about every pitch.  The best umps have been correct with their calls 95% of the time.  In the Class A Florida State League, robot umps have been tried.  For me, that's just not baseball!  I like the fact that the umpires are human and do make mistakes.  What would the game be like if we didn't have the chance to yell at the umps if you thought they made the wrong call?  Hey...it's only a game...or at one time it used to be!  I know, it's probably best if the pitches were called correctly every single time, but to me that just isn't baseball.  I doubt if I would watch it as much because of it.  And, I hate it when they put three infielders on one side of the infield depending upon whom is batting.  Being an umpire is one of the toughest jobs in th world.  I know because I umpired adult league softball for a year.  Couldn't take all the fans yelling at me so I changed positions and now I once again do the yelling.  Hey!  It's part of the game known as baseball.  Umps expect to be yelled at.  In return they get paid to take all the yelling!  When someone is throwing the baseball 100 miles an hour and you have a micro-second to decide if it falls within a small area, you are going to get it wrong quite a few times.  So what!  That's how the game was designed to be played years and years ago.  If you don't like how the game is being called, go home!  Baseball: players, umpires and making calls is all part of the game and somewhere along the way, someone is going to make a few mistakes.  So what!  Tomorrow is another day and the calls will go your way.  It has always happened that way and will forever happen that way.  Except if they add all these special devices to make the calls.  Then it will no longer be called BASEBALL!  It will be more like a board game where there are specific rules that have to be followed to play the game.  Please don't ruin the game of baseball!  It will never be the same again!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.