The game of baseball has always been known for its leisurely pace and absence of a clock. It’s one of the things that has always separated itself from other sports. Unlike sports like football or basketball where the game is divided into timed segments, baseball has always been structured around innings and outs. The lack of a clock is what made baseball unique and is part of what made it so beloved by fans.
However, in recent years, there has been a trend towards adding a timer to every aspect of the game. This includes the amount of time a pitcher has to deliver a pitch, the amount of time a batter has to step into the box, and the amount of time between innings. The idea behind this is to speed up the game and make it more appealing to a younger generation of fans who may have shorter attention spans. But the crazy thing is… the games were MUCH shorter in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. This is nothing but trying to shorten the game by means of adding more advertisement time on TV. And it’s a freaking joke and it is going to make baseball even less appealing to fans and future players (who are already choosing to play other sports instead of baseball because the modern rules in baseball has made the game a freaking joke and no fun to play).
The result is that the game loses some of its charm and strategy– and it is losing it’s fanbase and its potential future players to other sports. The timer adds pressure to both the pitcher and the batter, who are forced to rush through their actions in order to beat the clock. This can lead to mistakes and can make the game less enjoyable to watch.
The use of a timer means that umpires are required to interject themselves into the game more often. They are responsible for enforcing the clock and this can take away from their role as impartial judges of the rules of the game. Fans don’t come to the game to watch umpires; they come to watch the players.
The use of a timer in every aspect of the game of baseball is a terrible idea that will further deteriorate and already dying — once great — sport. And it will kill its already dwindling fan base. Even former pro players, like me, have no interest in watching the game anymore. Clocks go against what made the game unique and beloved in the first place, and having them won’t bring more fans to the stadium or TV sets to watch. Instead, it creates more pressure on the players, interjects the umpire more into the game, and ultimately ruins what made baseball great in the first place.
