How to save baseball? Put it on the clock

How to fix baseball? Time it.

By CASEY GISCLAIR, G-4-2 Sports Exclusive

Before we start, my absolute sincerest apologies for a lack of activity on the site. My home Internet went down, and I had no way to navigate or post stories. I have 1,000,000 things in my mind and the time away reminded me just how deeply of a passion this truly is, so I give you all my word that this will not happen again in the future.

OK, so now that that’s out the way, I had an epiphany on Monday night. It’s an idea that I wish I had the money to bring to light on my own. But because I don’t, I will give the idea to Major League Baseball free of charge.

I know how to fix baseball.

I’ve got it.

It’s in my dome begging to jump out onto this website.

I can make the sport more lively. I can make it more exciting. I can give it everything that it needs to be No. 1 in our country’s hearts again.

Give the sport a game clock.

Close your eyes and imagine the following.

Wait, no. Don’t close your eyes. You won’t be able to see anything.

Instead, just closely follow along and envision the world we are about to create.

Let’s say that baseball had a game clock. Let’s say that said game clock ticked upward – like soccer’s. Let’s say that after two hours, the game was over.

You get my drift?

Let’s say that rules dictated that pitchers must throw a pitch every 25 seconds – to avoid stalling. Let’s also say that you could only throw back to a base one time per at-bat. Again, to prevent stalling. Let’s say that we stopped the game clock during breaks between innings and let’s also say that we equipped teams with three timeouts.

If it’s tied at the end of regulation, let’s say that we put 30 minutes on the clock and give teams one timeout each. If it’s still tied, then we go home with both teams getting a tie.

Sorry. Tough luck. Next time, score a run and win the game.

Let’s say that we cut the season from 162 games to about 120. Let’s say that we offset that by making all playoff series Best of 7, and the World Series best of 9, which would allow for teams with pitching depth to be rewarded adequately.

In the postseason, the ties go away. It becomes hockey overtime where one team has to win.

Let’s take away the ‘home team gets the last at-bat’ rule. We’re under a clock system now. Let’s give the home team the advantage by letting them bat first. If the game ends and one team batted 8 times and the other 7? Too bad. You should have gotten them out sooner and gotten another chance.

The Home Run Derby tonight did a lot for me. It showed me how fun and exciting the sport of baseball could be – if it got a little kick in the rear to give it added urgency.

My tweaks will never happen. We know this. The sport’s supporters are old and grey, and they don’t even want instant replay, much less something that would drastically change the landscape of how the game is played.

But look at those rules above and tell me that it wouldn’t be a funner product to watch.

There would be urgency.

There would be pace. Teams would pitch quickly, throw strikes and do whatever possible to get as many at-bats as humanly possible.

There would be strategy and gamesmanship and in-game storylines that the crowd could follow and pay attention to.

Can you imagine how exciting it would be if a guy hit a game-winning home run in the World Series with 1 minute left on the clock?

Can you imagine how aggressive an offense will be if it’s down by 1 with 2 minutes to go? We’ll see home run hacks and drama like we’ve never seen before.

It’s a more fan-friendly experience that the sport needs.

The Home Run Derby did it for me. Putting a clock to the rounds made it so much more fun to watch.

So let’s dream big and do it to the regular season, too.

It’s a pipe dream that will never happen, but it’s worth a shot, right?

Right now, American’s Pastime loses in ratings to soccer.

How much more can the mighty afford to fall in its current format?