Three Impressions Of The Return of Major League Baseball
Plus one regret and one thing that will keep me watching
It has been since last October since we have seen Major League Baseball. Here are three impressions after catching Saturday’s game between The Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees.
Play Ball
It was great to see the teams on the field. Anyone who loves baseball has missed it. There is something natural and elegant about America’s past-time. And a little soothing too in the midst of the pandemic and the on-going city violence.
Crowd Noise
The artificial use of crowd noise is weird. It took me about 2 innings to realize that there was crowd noise but the stands were empty. Then it became a little weird. It must be tough on [players to keep their concentration, and momentum, with empty stands. But I’ll take the weirdness of artificial crowd noise to not having the games played at all.
Extra Innings
We know it as “international rules” in amateur baseball. Having each team start with a runner on second if the game goes to extra innings is a way to speed the game up and to preserve pitching. As a coach and a player, it is just ok — better to settle the game in the traditional manner. However, it inserts something different for the short MLB season. Let’s see how it goes.
Two additional thoughts also come to mind. One is bad. The other is good.
No Minor League Baseball
This is disappointing in two ways. First. Minor league baseball is much more exciting than the big league games. Second, those young players essentially lose an entire season in the prime of their careers.
Evan Phillips with the Big Team
Hometown pitcher Evan Phillip is on the Baltimore Orioles 30-man roster to open the 2020 season. Evan has been up and down with the Orioles and Braves major and minor league teams over the past two seasons. It is great to see Evan getting the opportunity to pitch in the prime of his career without losing his opportunity due to the pandemic. Clayton’s Chris Archer who is a key starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates underwent season-ending surgery in June and will not pitch again until 2021.
Looking Ahead
It is going to be a great season. Three cheers for Major League Baseball putting the teams back on the field. Pulling for the Reds to win the World Series, but it is tough being a Reds’ fan. Enough said.
