I think its ludicrous that home field in the World Series is determined by the winner of an exhibition game who's starting lineups are made by the fans. But this isn't going to be a post ranting against all the problems associated with the All-Star game. Its about how to add some life and excitement (and a way out of a jam) into the game.
The lunacy of deciding home field advantage with the All-Star game came as a reaction to the debacle of a "game" that was the 2002 mid-summer classic. They (read: Bud Selig) wanted to give the All-Star game some meaning and force it to come to a proper conclusion (all good things, I should add). However, the new rule does really change anything- how would the '02 game been different if home field were on the line? They would've had to of played into the 12th inning and beyond, which is what they were trying to avoid in the first place by calling the game a tie.
This leaves baseball in a tough spot- the game has to have a winner, but no one (players, managers, GM's, owners) wants their guys to play 18 innings to get there. So the ideal solution would be something that would allow for some overtime, but not too much, and still produce a winning team. Call me crazy, but that sounds an awful lot like how soccer.
Dan: Casey?
Casey: Yeah?
Dan: I've been thinking a lot about soccer lately.
Casey: And?
Dan: Pretty much through with that.
[Okay, that's three Sports Night quotes in a row; I might be over-doing it a bit. I'll try and mix it up. I promise.]
That's right, soccer has the answer to baseball's All-Star game quandary.
I know I'm in the minority on this one, but I love penalty kicks to end soccer games, er, matches. Naysayers claim that its anti-climactic and akin to ending a baseball game with a home run derby. The problem with that is, I don't think home run derbies are anything like penalty kicks (or shootouts in hockey, for that matter). PK's are exciting- the misses (or saves) are just as, an maybe even more, important than the makes. Home run derbies are boring because the non-home runs (and the non-swings) are meaningless. The batters a)are getting BP fastballs, grooved down the middle and b)taking pitch after pitch after pitch until they get the ball they want. That's not how overtime PK's work at all. The shooter gets one shot, that's it. No rebound, no second chance. For a home run derby to be like this, the batter would have to get only one pitch to hit, and that pitch sure as hell wouldn't be a BP fastball. With that in mind, here's my solution for extra innings in the All-Star game.
First, you have to give the teams a chance to win the game on the field. So if the game's tied after 9 innings, you get a max 3 extra innings (ie- at least one full trip through the lineup) to finish the game. If its still tied after 12, you go to extra inning home run derby. The rules:
-One pitch and one swing per batter
-If the pitch is a strike (swinging, looking, foul ball), 1 run for the pitching team
-If the pitch is a ball, 1 run for the batting team
-Any fair ball not home run is a wash (no runs for either team)
-Home runs are worth 2 runs (because I suspect they'll be rare)
-9 batters per half inning (thus, only 9 pitches for the pitcher)
-All players are eligible batters (that includes all pitchers in my mind, but I could be convinced to limit it to position players only)
-Any 9 batters can be used (ie- not restricted to player positions)
-Each lineup of 9 batters must be different each inning
-No pitching changes mid-inning (its only 9 pitches) and a new pitcher must be used every inning
-A player can't bat a second time until all available players have batted; ditto for using pitchers
-Runs earned with pitching and batting are added after each inning to determine winner
-Innings continue as needed
I would love to see an All-Star game end this way. Every pitch would matter, every swing (and non-swing) would matter. I think it would be awesome.
Monday, July 14, 2008
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4 comments:
It's an interesting idea, but it seems way too complicated.
Why not do a traditional home run derby, just using your inning style? You get three batters per half inning, i.e. 3 outs. No pitches can be taken, or it is an out. Players hit til they get out. Every pitch still matters, and we don't have a crazy scoring system.
Puddin; even with your system, there is still no accounting for balls. While you say no pitches can be taken, what happens if its a ball? If nothing happens it's in the best interest for the pitcher to throw as far to the border of the box as possible. No penalty for the pitcher, but everything for the batter. And thus the game stretches on. With GAM's system, there is a direct penalty for balls. Therefore, to continually throw balls only helps the batting team. While immediately convoluted, all it is is a simplified scoring system of the regular game.
The pitcher, per normal HR Derby rules, would be a BP pitcher selected by the hitter.
I suppose sabotage is possible.
But barring that, there is no problem with the pitching.
bad rule; too complicated. penalty kicks and scoring, easy. your solution, not.
on the other hand, i stopped paying attention to everything in your post after i read the title, a smash mouth reference. tsk, tsk.
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