|
For sure players today are bigger, faster, stronger (not entirely naturally) and better trained than in years past. To me at least, that’s the magic. A game played essentially the same way, for well over one hundred years, still is competitive and fascinating. The pitchers throw harder, the batters hit the ball harder and farther. And the fielders contend with the ball getting to them quicker. Somehow all these advances roughly balance out. [This was even true in the steroid era, at least among the juicers. Think of Roger Clemens facing Barry Bonds. The losers, sadly, were the players who did not juice.]
I’m not resistant to all changes in baseball. I just need to see some justification beyond “we’re an entertainment business”. The burden should be on those advocating significant changes in the dimensions, the rules, the equipment. A heavy burden, and a strong case.
Look, when my kids turned 13 or 14, they shifted from a field with 75-foot bases and 50-foot pitching distance to 90-foot bases and 60 feet 6 inches. That made sense, when the dominant (early-maturing) pitchers had been blowing away hitters, and guys with real speed could beat out hits and run the bases with abandon. The full-size diamond was better matched to maturing kids approaching six feet and 180 pounds and real speed and muscles. Maybe someday MLB will have to look at expanding the field due to the size and strength and speed of the players. But not today.
|