RIP Extra Innings

I was watching MLB games for the first time the other night, really only because Bobby had placed a few sports bets on some of the teams. During the Nationals game, in the 10th inning, I noticed something I had remembered hearing about years ago, but forgot about since…

They were starting runners on second base for extra innings.

I don’t know how I should say this, how vulgar I intend to get on this platform I’ve built for myself, but to say the least, I am intensely triggered by the rule change. I hate it, I hate it so much.

Runners on second for extra innings was a brilliant idea for our local little league team, whose games ultimately don’t matter, and where obligations of the participants demand that the game not take too long. Parents have work the next day, children have school, or otherwise need to attend to regular duties. At the professional level, it is completely insane. I could go on for hours about all of the reasons this kind of rule has no place in professional baseball… a players ultimate obligations are not separate from the games they are playing, long extra-inning games have always been a staple in major league baseball, and some of the most legendary games in history, an era which is no longer comparable to modern baseball. If fans must leave, that is no reason to abandon the principles of the sport.

Placing runners on second is ridiculous, anyway. It takes far less effort to score from second with no outs than it does to score with no runners in a typical inning. In the Nationals game I watched, I watched as the “Manfred Man” starting the 10th inning on second base would ultimately score in a manner which should not have occurred under regular play. This rule change makes a difference, a big one. I'll say it again: I hate it, I hate it so much.