Baseball on the Clock

Although the sport of Baseball is known as 'America's Favorite Pastime' and has been around since the 18th century, it's not rare hearing or reading about fans or critics and sometimes umpires *cough Joe West* complaining about the game's length. But now, the SEC (SouthEastern Conference in College sports) is doing its best to try and fix the problem. How? The conference is subject to experiment a pitch clock similar to Basketball's shot clock or Football's play clock. How does it work? The pitcher will have 20-seconds to pitch when the bases are empty. If the pitcher happens to take longer than the given 20-seconds, an automatic ball will be given by the umpire. But don't think these rules only apply to the pitcher. If a batter steps out of the batters box or calls for time in the last 5-seconds of the clock, an automatic strike will be given. Also, after a third out each team is expected to be back on the field, ready and in their positions within 108-seconds. A ball or strike will be given to whichever side violates the time period.

I'm sure I'm not alone on this, but the unpredictable length of a baseball game is something I like best about the sport. Mainly because it separates the game of Baseball from just about every other sport out there. But at the same time there's a million others who are disinterested in the sport due to the game's length that can last anywhere from 1 hour to 8 hours. Something that seems to be the case with many of my peers. With college players playing by these rules, it's likely pitchers will grow accustom to the much quicker paced game and transcend it to the big leagues. And although it's been talked about for years, it's unlikely the MLB will adopt similar rulings according to Commissioner Bud Selig. And for the game's sake, I hope the MLB continues to blow off the idea of adding a pitch clock. You've seen them above the glass in the NBA and behind the end-zone in the NFL, but behind the backstop? No thank you...