Quote:
Originally Posted by Amazin69
The rules were always there (Charlie Finley had a pitch clock in Kansas City before I could dress myself), it's just that the umpires didn't enforce them. What I hate is using this as a thin wedge to butcher the game in unimaginable ways. (No pickoffs! No shifts! No extra innings! Barf.)
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Your comments about the clock are right on. I love it and it has always been on the books but rarely enforced. As to the other changes they do not bother me as much as I thought they would. I will readily admit to hating the idea of banning the shift but it really hasn’t bothered me in reality. I would also argue that it isn’t banned, it just has guardrails now. You still see the shortstop for instance start on the legal side of the game per pitch but still in a position to gobble up anything up the middle on the lefty batter. It did however, allow for more opportunities to find a hole or gap pull side for a lefty.
I’m still not a fan of the pickoff, extra innings and the bigger bases. The rationale around the bigger bases is very flawed in my mind. I can’t wait for the ABS system. That thing cannot get here soon enough.