Sunday, July 12, 2015

Spitballing: Extra Innings

Here we are, midnight or later, where you can pretty much get Taco Bell or Wendy's if you're out looking for fast food.  ...or how about the concessions at yet another Pittsburgh Pirates extra inning / way into the night game? That's right folks, we're headed to the 14th inning! It's a tight race in the standings to close the gap on the first place St. Louis Cardinals. And I'm not upset at all. It's all about getting the most out of your ticket stub price if you're attending, right?

But, I got to thinking tonight (I know... "oh no, here we go..." Yeah, you're right, this is gonna be a fun stream of consciousness blog) about what would keep the seats filled throughout these late extra inning showdowns.

What if (I know this is a stretch...) MLB decided to adopt some of the overtime rules of other sports?

Take for instance the lesser of my favorite, the NFL rule. If you score a touchdown on your first touch after the kickoff play or including the kickoff play, you win, but if it is on the second play or you score a field goal the other team gets to try. ...but you can end in a tie. No, I would never encourage a baseball game to end in a tie, but if the rule were modified to "if you hit a home run with less than two outs the game is over, but if you score in any other fashion the other team has a chance to retaliate."  I know, that would suck. but you'd have your lead-off hitters swinging to end the game. Not that they aren't already, but the incentive would be even higher, especially since it alleviates the home-field advantage in theory. Especially if a tie game were a threat. BUT I don't like the thought of a tie at all.

I am much more amused considering an NHL adaptation. Imagine a ballgame where after the bottom of the 9th goes into a tie, you drop your Center Fielder and Shortstop and two spots in the lineup that are not necessarily those two players. This would be much more relieving in the National League, as they wouldn't need to hit for the pitcher spot. But it would be interesting if the DH would be dropped in the American League version of this rule and only one position player. Then, in the next inning in the NL drop the entire outfield and two more spots, and the same in the AL, except they would still have their shortstop (or whatever, I'm just spitballing some serious fictitious what-ifs right now).

[PS: McCutchen has ended the game with a 2-run blast to center in the 14th inning #LetsGoBucs ].

An even more amusing turn in the extra innings would be, say, if there's an 11th inning, they go to a "Shoot Out" / "home run derby." Factor in this year's bizarre home run derby outline, the game could get way out of line in terms of seriousness but boy oh boy would it be entertaining. And like I said, for me a lot of the extra innings play is all about it making the ticket stub worth what you paid for it. Everybody likes getting more than they paid for. [Sidebar: I've been to four games this season. Three of them had rain delays and some even had extra innings on top of that. So worth the money for extra baseball / extra time at PNC Park. I tell everybody there isn't a bad seat in the house. Beautiful park.]

Anyways, I appreciate you letting me spitball here. I'm obviously sort of excited about the framework of my idea here, but by no means is it anything more than a plea from a baseball fan solely in terms of entertainment. Plus it's like some sort of sport fantasy type ordeal combining all three of my favorite sports. If I haven't made it clear, ultimately my thought process is solely based on fans getting at least their money's worth [...I don't care if I never get back...]. I love the game, and I am excited for the All-Star events, but even more excited to see if the Buccos can end the first half of the season closing that gap with the Cards.  

Let's Go Bucs, Let's Go Tigers, Let's Go Baseball.