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MLB is back (for now, at least) with our first weekend of action now in the books. This 60-game sprint to the playoffs where just about every team will make the postseason is already unlike anything we’ve seen before, and that’s not just because of those awful virtual fans that Fox Sports tried to pull off on Saturday.
One of the best things that MLB has done for this quick season is to make a big change to the extra-innings rules. For this year only if a game goes to extras each team will start each half inning with a runner on second base. This is designed to make sure games don’t run too long for health reasons since so many games will be played in such a short time.
And you know what? It’s a perfect rule that should be used for the rest of time, just only in regular season games when these games can last forever.
One pitcher doesn’t agree with me at all on this, though. Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger bashed the new rule after Cleveland’s loss to the Royals in 10 innings on Saturday.
Baseball’s “overtime” has long been the worst in all of sports. Fans flee the stadium long before some outfielder makes the trip to the mound in the 17th inning, people turn off their TVs well before the outcome has been decided, and those still watching at home are far from the edges of their seats – they just want the darn game to end.
Again, this is all for regular-season games. Keep the normal way in the postseason when things really mattered and should be settled the old fashioned way.
But for right now and going forward these regular-season games can end so quickly by just putting a guy at second base to start somethings off, which is great.
Nobody needs a 5-hour baseball game in their lives when its not a playoff game.
That’s just not fun for anyone.
The weekend’s biggest winner: Christian Yelich.
The 2018 NL MVP kicked off his 2020 season in Chicago over the weekend and he made his presence known before the first official pitch was thrown as his homer during batting practice broke the Wrigley Field scoreboard.
Quick hits: Pressure on Pete Carroll… Masks in baseball… UFC ref’s terrible move… And more!
– Henry McKenna explains why Seahawks coach Pete Carroll now has a ton of pressure on him after the team traded for safety Jamal Adams over the weekend.
– Pirates manager Derek Shelton and the home-plate umpire in Sunday’s game calmly put on their masks before having an argument after an ejection.
– UFC fighters and commentators were rightfully furious with ref Herb Dean and his late stoppage in one of Saturday’s fights.
– Mike Ditka is an idiot.
– Shohei Ohtani did not look great in his first start on the mound since undergoing Tommy John surgery.
– You should look at these 9 photos of MLB mascots looking lonely in empty MLB stadiums.