By now you are getting ready for the MLB season to begin in late July.  All the money issues are worked out so you can rest easy that all of the players and owners can go to the grocery store now and feed their families.  Now they are working on the safety issues and that's no small task, or unimportant one, so let's applaud that.  Imperative stuff for sure.

But with that said, let's look at what the season has in store for fans from a baseball only stance.  There will be NO crowds at games, a 60-game schedule, most games in the division, the universal designated hitter, and a regular post season.  All completely understandable.  BUT in extra inning games, innings will begin with a runner on second base with no outs.  What?  To shorten games down and I guess be out there less actual time.  OK, but doesn't that just sound silly at the Major League Level?

Sounds like my backyard, ALA 1973 in Berea. "Ghost man on second."  Remember when you didn't have enough guys to play a real game?  At my house, if the ball hit the barn roof it was a home run, and the pine tree was in foul territory.  Break a window and it's an out!  Ball under the bushes is a double, and if the ball hits the electric wires from the house to the barn, it's a single. Don't trip over the hose, look out for the wooden picnic table, and watch out for my moms car.  My point is, at the big league level, this man on second thing, is just so diminishing.

I get it, but it's silly. The season is going to have enough changes, so why mess with the basics of the game?  They figure if players are out there less than that is beneficial to them with no really long games. But this will look so...backyardy.  Picture this. The Indians overcome a big deficit in the bottom of the ninth in a real important game with a Lindor grand slam with two outs. Baseball at it's BEST.  Ten minutes later, extra innings, and the ghost man thing comes into play, and the Tribe loses on some kind of ground out to second base. Baseball at its worst. Because all extra-inning games will look the same. Ghost man, bunt, some kind of flyout, or ground out, wild pitch, passed ball, game over. No one will be happy.

Maybe since they are only playing 60 games, leaving the guts of game alone would be a good choice. But here we are. Oh, and if they like this, (and they will I feel), look for "man on second extra inning thing" to continue after C-19 is over.  After all, the Designated Hitter was originally a "25 year experiment"  that MLB adopted in 1973 in the American League when Ron Bloomberg stepped to the plate as its first one. (And the DH will more than likely be adopted by the National League too when this is over)

So we'll see how it goes.  Who knows, maybe after the games are done, the MLB players can ride their bicycles to Spafford's Carryout and get a cola to celebrate a good game played with their gloves on their handlebars, because all the parents chipped in to buy.  Or they can run under the sprinklers to cool off after an afternoon of playing ball.

Play Ball!!!