The time is out of joint

Other than some rain outs, most major league teams were in action yesterday. One of the classic debates this time of year is whether the pitchers are ahead of the hitters or vice-versa. It is one way of wondering when players will get into mid season form. Unfortunately there is already one aspect of baseball that is already in mid season form - the length of games. As much as I love baseball, this is one area where I think the game is going backwards.

Yesterday's Mets-Reds opener lasted 3:17 in a game where only three runs were scored and the Reds only had three hits. Not surprisingly, the Yankees-Orioles game was even longer at 3:31, although it seemed like it lasted over four hours. I suppose the
10-5 score mitigates the latter game, but American League games, especially Yankees games always seem interminable to me.

It doesn't have to be this way, the classic example that I have used is the Brooklyn Dodgers-Boston Braves 26 inning game from 1920 - the longest game ever played in terms of innings. That game lasted about 3:45, in other words, they played almost three games in just 15 minutes longer than it took the Yankees and Orioles to play one. I realize that is a obscure example from a different era of baseball, but I found a more modern example the other day. In preparing to submit the Ebbets Field historic ballparks proposal, I was looking at the first book in the series about Forbes Field. It has the box score from the classic seventh game of the 1960 World Series between the Yankees and the Pirates which Pittsburgh won on Bill Mazeroski's ninth inning home run. The score of the game was 10-9, it was the seventh game of the World Series and it took all of 2:36 to play!

Some might object to my concern on the basis of why would you want to see less rather than more baseball. My point is, however, that you don't see more baseball, you see the same amount of baseball, it just takes a lot longer to play it. Last year at Phillies/Marlins game, Carol asked me why the games take so much longer - I told her to focus on how much time is wasted by batters stepping out of the box between pitches. Changing that alone would make a big difference.

Two years ago we were at a minor league game in New Hampshire with Paul and Sarah. One of the pitchers took so long between pitches, that it was as if he didn't want to throw the ball. Thinking about that later, it occurred to me that he was being trained to throw that way. The idea must be something along the lines that you can control the game more by slowing it down. Yet that certainly isn't the way great pitchers work - they work fast to keep hitters off balance. Again changing that philosophy would make all the difference in the world.

I don't want to seem negative about opening day - one of the highlights of any season. But this has bothered me for a long time and, unfortunately, I don't see it getting better. On a more positive note, I know that my Shakespeare buddy, DT, enjoyed the Yankees-Orioles game because for at least for one day, the Orioles are in first place and ahead of the Yankees. Let the games continue, but could we please move it along a little!