Bob Walk For Commissioner!

There’s a revolution afoot. Protest signs all around PNC Park and in the crowd. Some are calling for a new commissioner. A line is being drawn in the sand. You can even get a t-shirt promoting it. That proves it’s serious.

Pittsburgh Pirate broadcaster Bob Walk is behind it all. And there’s usually not a game goes by where the tongue-in-cheek Pirate color man (and colorful man) does not at least briefly mention the highly volatile, yet much needed undertaking. Though many of the players are indifferent to the cause, possibly fearing reprisal from the current powers-that-be, the Pirate fans are behind him, facetiously calling for his election as the new baseball commissioner who will deal sharply and directly with the stark issues at-hand. So what’s all the fuss about?

The designated hitter of course. Banning it, specifically. And true, it’s nothing new. Mr. Walk and others of his ilk have been sounding the trumpet against the hideous rule change for some time now. Not that anyone’s really listening that doesn’t already see the bastardization of the game since the ill-conceived rule took effect some 30 years ago.

In 1973, in an attempt to bolster offensive production and thereby increase their fan base (i.e. make more money), MLB adopted the “revolutionary” idea of allowing a player, the pitcher specifically, not to have to come to bat in a major league baseball game. Amazing as that sounds to anyone who truly understands the ramifications of that rule change, the wicked scheme still remains today. Yes, the National League has managed to hold off the barbarians at the gate for now, but there’s talk of unifying the insanity across the board. If that ever happens, baseball as we know it will be gone.

How anyone over the age of 40 can stomach the concept of having a player in the starting lineup not have to take his turn at bat is beyond me. Pitchers are not good hitters? So what. Shaquille O’Neal was not a good free throw shooter, to say the least. Does that mean every time he got fouled, someone off the bench should come in and shoot for his free throws for him? Of course not. It’s ludicrous. As a matter of fact, why not have Ludacris himself come in and shoot free throws for NBA ballers who can’t sink a free throw throw to save their life. It would increase interest in the game, no?

On a more serious note, there’s an ebb and flow to any major league baseball game. On the surface, a National League game looks the same as an American League game, but anyone who pays attention and actually watches can see the difference. AL games are flat. The manager throws his starting lineup out there and for the most part, sits back and watches them play. He doesn’t have to worry about batting for the pitcher and thereby making the “wrong” decision and being second-guessed. To underestimate the exquisite drama this aspect of the game creates is to miss part of the overall perfect design of the game itself. Decisions and possibilities are what make the game interesting. Not just scoring runs.

In a misguided attempt to make the game more interesting, major league baseball has in fact, made the game more boring. Reducing the decision processes a manager has to make, and thereby their dramatic effects on the game, reduces the intensity, drama and possible outcomes of the game. This makes watching the game less, not more, interesting.

The casual fan may disagree and claim watching a pitcher stand up there swiping at baseballs like a bad butterfly catcher is not very engaging, but he or she misses the bigger picture in doing so. It’s a case of instant gratification versus delayed gratification. And studies show the ability to delay gratification can lead to a host of other positive outcomes, including academic success, physical well-being, psychological health, and of course, better ballgame watching!

So Bob Walk for commissioner! Ban the DH!