Baseball 2017

I approach every new baseball season with hope but also usually with some dread.  This year I am worried about what the new commissioner is going to do to "speed up the game" (I am certain it will not include shorter breaks between half-innings; this would involve sacrificing income and we certainly don't want that).  Veteran writer Tyler Kepner reported in yesterday's New York Times that commissioner Rob Manfred is going to push for a pitch clock, limits on visits to the mound, automatic intentional walks and the raising of the strike zone, the last supposedly to produce more hittable strikes!  I emphatically agree with Tony Clark, the executive director of the players' union, who said he would prefer to educate fans on baseball's nuances rather than make major changes.

The important question becomes how exactly do we educate fans on nuances, especially fans who were attracted by the excessive and ultimately boring home runs of the steroid era.  My modest suggestion would be to begin with the announcers, many of whom don't seem to know how to calculate earned run average or slugging percentage, much less the more current and more esoteric calculations. Every once in a while the announcers could quickly mention what earned run and batting averages mean and how they are calculated, for example, or mention the strategy behind the hit-and-run play.  Which means, of course, that we need more educated announcers who are encouraged to talk about the many and varied nuances of the game.  More nuances I would like to see myself this season include stolen bases, bunts (for sacrifices and hits, both) and relief pitchers, including closers, coming in the game with runners on base.