I don’t wanna watch a game to quickly get through it, I wanna watch it to enjoy it.
A huge part of the beauty of virtually every game are the dramatic face-offs between pitcher and slugger - situations where the outcome of the game can be dramatically turned. Those instances (even during a game in the first week of a new season) are always stage-worthy, dramatic events that get your blood flowing, get you praying to the heavens for either a big hit or a big strikeout...but now it’s been bastardized into some sort of bizarre 'speed-dating' ridiculousness. If you sneeze, the moment passes you by and on to the next inning we go.
I want the batter in a clutch situation to step out of the box, take his time assessing what he thinks the pitcher’s approach is going to be. After seeing a pitch, taking a few moments to adapt his thinking, since it is a thinking man’s game. I want the pitcher and the catcher going back in forth in a debate of what’s the right pitch to tosss. If it takes too long, I want the tension to make the batter call time and step out. I want the big build-up in these situations...even though basic math tells you the odds of it ever working out for the batter are extremely low...but sometimes Mazeroski, Dent or Chambliis plants one into the seats and makes the masses scream in excitement!!!!!!!
I want that excitement. I want the version of baseball where there’s a multitude of things to think about in every situation on the diamond. I don’t want to get it over with quickly, so I can get off of the couch a little sooner.
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