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Monday, July 3, 2006
How to save baseball and enjoy the Fourth
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
On this most American of all American holidays, let me address the most American of all American games. Title this “Things Baseball Needs to Do to Become the National Pastime It Was Intended to Be,” as seen by one grizzled observer:
Eliminate the Designated Hitter, an accursed contamination of the game introduced by the American League. This recommendation, of course, is not original. My projection is that if such a measure were put to a national vote, the DH would be dead-headed.
Scratch interleague play, which is nothing more than exhibition games woven into the schedule, matches usually made for gate, television and geographical rivalries, otherwise how often do you see Kansas City playing the Mets, or Seattle playing Pittsburgh? Only way it can ever be fair is when each team in both leagues is matched against each team in the other, and that’s 29 games. How do you work that into the regular schedule? That’s their problem. They (whoever “they” are) thought it up, work it out.
Get tough with an anti-drug policy that tells the Players Union to get lost. Why should the violaters be included in making the rules? They’re hired hands who became grossly empowered when Marvin Miller came along.
Ditch the so-called World Baseball Classic. It digs a hole in spring training for teams trying to prepare for the major league season. If it’s a missionary project aimed at spreading the game around the globe, start down where it counts, at the grass-roots. This is not soccer. There aren’t enough countries playing baseball on the same level to have a World Cup.
Take a lesson from a past mistake, restore the game to the Olympics, but for non-pro players only.
On the college side, replace those bats that go “ping” when struck against a baseball. Back to wood, where the sound is solid baseball.
Ditch that creation from hell, the “closer.” I don’t know where the notion came from that one-inning pitchers are a part of real baseball. It cheapens the game and robs it of one of its stalwart figures, the complete game pitcher. Notice what a news item it is when a pitcher goes nine innings? And why should the ninth inning be any more important than the first, or second, or any other? I know, it’s “playing by the book.” Well, death to the author.
The Pitching Coach — no recommendation here, just asking a question. Do they really make good pitchers out of ordinary ones, or are they just good salesmen? Did Lefty Grove have a pitching coach? Walter Johnson, Dizzy Dean, Allie Reynolds, Bob Feller, any of those guys? And would a pitching coach have made any of them better? Look at Bruce Chen, 13-game winner at Baltimore last season before Leo Mazzone arrived, 0-6 this season. What’s the manager for?
Just something to chew on this Independence Day. Go jump in the lake, catch a greased pig, roast your wieners, do your barbecue, go to the parade and don’t miss the fireworks. You used to have a doubleheader to go to. They don’t do doubleheaders any more, bad for the box office. Otherwise, have a jolly Fourth of July, and express your appreciation for this country of ours and be thankful you have a vote. Exercise it!
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