Column: Bigger bases? Bring them on but baseball needs more

That baseball is in serious need of change isn’t really in dispute. Even the most rabid fans grumble that the game is stagnant and one dimensional, sorely missing the strategies and nuances that in days past made it America’s favorite pastime.

That Major League Baseball is finally trying to do something about it underscores the threat now being posed to the sport. People may still be going to the ballpark for an occasional night out — albeit in declining numbers — but plunging television ratings indicate they’re voting with their remote when faced with the prospect of having to invest more than three hours into a game that offers little in return.

Still, I’ve got to admit having bigger bases wasn’t on my list of things to do to make baseball relevant once again.

That’s not to say the extra 3 inches being added onto bases at the Triple A level this year is a bad thing. A few more runners might reach first base safely and a few more might attempt to occasionally steal a base — which will both bring some more action to games, at least in theory.

There are other changes being tried out at the minor league level this year that are promising, too, even if they are not quite ready for prime time. Automated ball and strike calling in the low minors, restrictions on a pitcher throwing to first base and pitch timers will all be in play at various minor league levels.

And, at the top of the list, a requirement in Double A that infielders keep both feet on the dirt — with an option that at least two infielders must be on either side of second base.

The object isn’t so much to get fans to care once again. It’s to get them to watch once again, something even Miami manager Don Mattingly said is becoming increasingly difficult to do.

“I watched a lot of the...

source https://www.chron.com/news/article/Column-Bigger-bases-Bring-them-on-but-baseball-16048654.php