The 15 inning All-Star game was an awesome game. But my 9 year old nephew fell asleep at midnight missing the high drama (and his favorite player, David Wright, almost pitching.) Jack left in the 9th and Kathleen left in the 13th and the Tank had to call in sick on Wednesday. So the game, while awesome, went too long. How to solve this problem in the future? Here are some simple changes.
1. Screw the West Coast. The first pitch was not until 8:45pm, way too late. I know that was only 5:45 West Coast time, but let's face it, the center of baseball gravity is on the East Coast anyway. So start the game at 7:30pm. Kids and teens are your true audience on an All-Star game, so they will be home, eyes glued at 4:00 for the pre-game on the West Coast. For the adults? They can leave work early.
2. Eliminate extra innings. Play the full 9 innings. Play them hard. (And we got that yesterday, plays at the plate, etc.) If the game ends in a tie, have a tie breaker round. Have a second home run derby! Each team will select 1 batter and they get 10 swings. The team with the most HRs at the end wins the game. If it is still a tie, choose two other players and they get 5 swings.
3. Have an extra day off. Make Monday the travel day, Tuesday the Home Run Derby, Wednesday the game, and Thursday the travel day. This will allow all pitchers and catchers to be available and there is no problem pitching a few innings. Also this way teams can start the weekend on Friday with a 3 game weekend series.