The Full Count

Major League Baseball is trying to add yet another rule to their illustrious rule book. This time they're testing an extra inning rule where a runner would be automatically start off on second base. The rule is being proposed to help increase the pace of the game.

Minor League Baseball will be testing the rule for the upcoming season. If you think about it, it should be very interesting considering that Minor league baseball isn't aired on national television just like slow pitch beer softball isn't on national television.

Today people are so worried about how fast something can go and how quickly they can be done with something. If you ask me, MLB is doing way too much to try and please fans rather than just playing baseball. They're so worried about pumping up the pace of the game that they seem to be forgetting about why people attend America's past time.

Last year the MLB implemented a rule that said batters must leave on foot inside the batters box at all times or else the player would be punished with an automatic strike. The rule seemed to work for about half of the year but later seemed to be worthless. Players seemed to not care and umpires weren't enforcing it.

Now I understand that there are times where it seems like a baseball game can take forever. Some pitchers have a knack for taking their sweet time on the mound and some batters seem to take a million practice swings. All in all, yes baseball is a slow game but if you think about it, it wasn't made to be a fast paced game. It is a very mental sport and requires a lot of thought and focus. Not everybody can through an 85 mph slider in a space smaller than the human body and not everybody can hit a ball the size of an apple coming at them at 100+ mph.

Peanuts and cracker jacks, ice cream in fun sized helmets, the smell of fresh cut grass, why would anybody want to hurry and leave? If that can't make you want to stay, lets not forget about the beautiful sunsets baseball fields always seem to provide. The authenticity of the game is unlike any other. Baseball has been around longer than any of the other four major sports in America and has some of the oldest stadiums around.

If you can't be convinced that baseball is fine the way it is, than you should leave that seat for someone who can fully appreciate the game. Nobody will judge you if you don't like the game but someone out there loves the game more than they love their own mother and would love to have that ticket.

Hall of explain yourself?

The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame has made it so their voters will have to make their votes public as of 2018. Finally, we get to see as to why players such as Ken Griffey Jr. weren't unanimously selected in.

There are many players becoming eligible for the HOF that played in what is known as the dark ages of baseball. The baseball world has been riddled with steroids and steroid like substances. It not only ruins athlete’s bodies, it ruins the name of the game.

Players such as Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire are the two huge controversial discussions that not only make writers question their decisions but also the everyday fan. Many think they should be in and many think they should be banned for life. It’s hard to decide but maybe the votes should go public. The writers must explain their thinking and reasoning. Some people will like it and some won't. 

The argument for Bonds is that he clearly used steroids. when he first entered the league in 1986 as a skronny kid and just kept getting bigger and bigger while gaining more and more power. There was always suspicion but nothing really until the end of his career. His frame started getting bigger and his skin tone started to get darker. 

The problem with McGwire is that everybody knew he was doing steroids. At the time, it was completely legal to do so. He consistently had bottles out in the open in the locker room and never tried to hide it. People at the time seemed to have no problem with it. Suddenly as he's working to get into the HoF, people seem to be so disgruntled about him using PEDs. 

The thing about baseball writers is that they study the game so closely. They eat, breath, and sleep baseball. They can give any argument and for the most part will be right with whatever they say. Players and coaches trust them to make fair and accurate statements. They earn the respect and the right to be in the locker rooms. 

At the end of the day, it’s up to the writers to decide and quite frankly, the public must deal with it. These are professional writers and their life basically revolves around baseball so they know what they’re doing. If someone decides to not say why they voted or didn’t vote for someone, it’s their choice. If you don’t like it, maybe you should become a writer and make your own decisions.