The Problem With Baseball (From a Hockey Point Of View)

Before hockey came into my life, I was a baseball fan. While I was never a season ticket holder, I attended 10-15 games a year. I went out of my way to get tickets for game series involving my favorite teams from other cities. I watched baseball on TV when I couldn't attend games. I followed all the off-season trades, and knew batting averages and ERA's for my favorite players. I was also convinced I was destined to marry Mike Piazza, but that's another story altogether.

Ever since I discovered hockey, baseball just hasn't been the same for me. Let's face it -- after experiencing the speed and constant action of hockey, sitting through an entire baseball game is the rough equivalent of watching grass grow.



Even so, I still enjoy the occasional Dodger game. Especially when a fight breaks out! And who was the Dodger involved? None other than Canadian-born catcher Russell Martin.



OK, not as exciting as a hockey fight, but a vast improvement on your normal night of baseball. Unfortunately, the fight was the most exciting thing that happened in regulation, and the game was tied after 9 full innings of play.

Now, the most perplexing thing about baseball, when compared to a sport like hockey, is the role of overtime, or in baseball parlance, extra innings. In hockey, like most sports, overtime is when the excitement builds. In a matter of minutes, one team will claim victory and the other will collapse in defeat. Sudden death! Nail biting! Fans sitting on the edge of their seats, anxious to see how the saga ends!

Extra innings in baseball receive exactly the opposite fan reaction. Instead of getting excited, baseball fans are thinking "We've been here for hours already! Is this ever going to end? Damn, we could be here all night!"

But baseball fans are in luck, because as I sat there wondering how late I would be getting home, I had an epiphany. I have the answer to baseball's extra-inning woes! Baseball games that end in a tie should ultimately be concluded with a Home Run Derby!

In my little baseball fantasy world, here's how the rules would work:

• At the end of 9 innings, each team would have 5 minutes to choose a pitcher and determine a batting line-up.
• There can be no pitching changes once the Home Run Derby begins.
• Each batter can be used only once.
  
• Each batter would receive 5 pitches.
• Batters would alternate one at a time between both teams.
• The first team to hit a home run wins the game.
  

For all you baseball fans out there, I'm curious what you think! I figure I should have a plan to handle potential objections before I pitch my idea to the commissioner of baseball.

Until the rules of the game get changed, I will give baseball credit for one thing...much better food than hockey! Nothing on Earth like a Dodger Dog....