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College Baseball is Painfully Slow

College baseball is clearly in need of major surgery – a time-indectomy

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North Carolina State University’s baseball team was one game away from reaching the 2021 finals, a ‘best of three’ for the NCAA championship. Then it was bounced from the tournament because of COVID-related matters. A terrible decision!

Tonight Vanderbilt, which benefited from the decision, plays Mississippi State in Game Two of the finals. I am leery, however, of watching the entire game. Why?

Molasses Moves Faster

In 2015, I had intended to watch an entire college baseball game: the second game between Villanova University and the University of Virginia in the finals. The game was well played. However, with a starting time of 8 p.m. eastern, at 11:30 p.m. the game had only progressed 7½ innings.

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You might think that the run total was enormous. It was only 3 to 0, in favor of Virginia. I finally turned on the DVR, and went to bed. In the morning, I watch the rest the game, which took another 22 minutes.

Six years later, the game remains as slow as ever. Can college baseball take a clue from major league baseball? People do not want to sit for 3 to 4 hours for a typical game.

Out with the Old

College baseball needs to change a variety of long-standing rules and traditions. Here are my suggestions:

* No more four pitches to intentionally walk a batter. Throw one pitch wide, and then wave the batter to first base.

* No more batters walking to first after four balls or an intentional pass; they must run as if they had gotten a hit, or face a delay-of-game warning. Two delay-of-game warnings for a non-pitcher and the player should be tossed out of the game.

* No more teams strolling on and off the field before and after innings. They must run out and run back.

* In each inning, reduce pitcher warm-ups before facing batters by two pitches.

* Reduce all visits to the mound by 30 seconds, whether it’s the team manager or in-fielders.

* Reduce relief pitcher warm-up prior to them facing their first batter by three pitches unless a relief pitcher is pressed into service due to an injury to the current pitcher. Otherwise much of a reliever’s warm-up occurs in the bullpen anyway.

* Allow batters to step out of the box twice, maximum, per time at bat. No more pauses between every other pitch.

* Allow the pitcher to step off the mound twice per batter, maximum. No more floating around and deciding when to throw the next pitch.

Here is a big change but it’s needed to counter those batters who are skilled at fouling off pitch after pitch: on a batter’s third foul ball, declare him out by strike out, much like a failed bunt attempt.

The Missing Ingredient

Now, the most vital element of all: in any game, 150 pitches or so will be thrown by each side for total of 300. With ten seconds less per pitch, on 300 pitches, that equates to 3000 seconds or 50 minutes. Thus, games can be shortened by 50 minutes when pitchers have ten less seconds than they currently have to throw the next pitch.

College baseball, as it presently stands, is a slow, plodding game, and is losing fans. Typical major league baseball games, 30 years ago, took 2:36 and then also started to see ever-longer games.

As for college baseball today, no less than major surgery – a time-indectomy – is needed.

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Jeff Davidson is the world's only holder of the title "The Work-Life Balance Expert®" as awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is the premier thought leader on work-life balance, integration, and harmony. Jeff speaks to organizations that seek to enhance their overall productivity by improving the effectiveness of their people. He is the author of Breathing Space, Simpler Living, Dial it Down, and Everyday Project Management. Visit www.BreathingSpace.com for more information on Jeff's keynote speeches and seminars, including: Managing the Pace with Grace® * Achieving Work-Life Balance™ * Managing Information and Communication Overload®



 
 
 

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Family

Game Face: What Does a Female Athlete Look Like?

“For women to become strong is a deep part of the revolution.” Gloria Steinem

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The endorsements below are for Jane Gottesman’s 2001 book, Game Face: What Does a Female Athlete Look Like? It was published before the ‘woke’ transgender stampede. Keep in mind that not a single house Democrat voted to protect the sanctity of sports for biological women.

Before the Stampede

“Whether you’re from the generation of drum majorettes or Title IX, the athletes of Game Face will inspire you. For women to become strong is a deep part of the revolution.”
—Gloria Steinem

“A powerful image seizes a moment in time and yet tells a story of a lifetime. There is no better proof of this then Jane Gottesman’s Game Face. Game Face captures the essence of being a female athlete. And it also does much more. It shows that sport unites us all because it belongs to us all.”
—Anita L. DeFrantz, International Olympic Committee First Vice President

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“Game Face is a first. Together these photographs give a face to the critical mass of people who have made women’s sports part of the popular landscape.”
—Billie Jean King

“Game Face is a tribute to the beauty of competition, to the dedication, skill and enthusiasm female athletes are finally encouraged to display. Every one of these women is a winner and so is each of the photographs.”
—Dick Schaap, ABC Sports

“Inspiring! Game Face is proof that a picture is worth a thousand words. This book looks at women’s sports from a refreshing perspective. Talk about feeling empowered—I’ve got my Game Face on!”
—Robin Roberts, ESPN anchor

How About Today?

Hmmm… what do you say we interview these endorsers today and catch them in their own hypocrisy?

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Society & Culture

Inspiration from Caitlin Clarke

whatever it is that creates a magical feeling among those who watch her, it certainly has happened to me

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As a University of Connecticut alumnus, naturally I was aware two years ago of the phenomenal freshman season of Paige Bueckers. I had never seen a female basketball player, that good, that young. It seemed as if there was nothing that she couldn’t do on the court. Like many other fans, I was swept up in the team’s entire season, and was a bit disappointed when they got knocked out in the final four. Still, their accomplishments were many.

This year, another player has emerged who, perhaps, exceeds the prowess of Paige Bueckers. Caitlin Clark, as everyone now knows, has lead her team to the finals of the NCAA tournament. She had been good at an early age, playing against her brothers, then making most of the U.S. youth teams which played abroad.

When she entered college she was slight of build, but still a remarkable talent. She could score from almost anywhere, and she passed with the precision of Sue Bird.

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You Work Hard, You Get Better

Over last summer, I’m told, she worked out extensively in the weight room building up her body and her stamina. It paid off. She was just named AP Player of the Year, and is the first woman in basketball history to score 41 points in consecutive games, and deep in the NCAA tournament. At the University of Iowa (!) of all places, seeing her lift up her team of decent but not extraordinary athletes is, in ways, miraculous.

What is the difference for me between Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark? Paige Bueckers is extremely talented, but I personally draw inspiration from Caitlin Clark. Although I am decades older than she, watching her makes me want to be a better athlete. As she does things on the court that don’t seem possible, it makes me believe that I can be better at swimming, basketball, running, pickle ball, aerobics, and anything else in which I engage.

So, thank you Caitlin Clark, for whatever it is you do that creates a magical feeling among those who watch you. It certainly has happened to me.

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