Benson Show Rant: Dear Mr. Commissioner, Great Idea, But….You Are Wrong

Pitchers and catchers have reported. Baseball is a little over a month away. Yesterday, word leaked that this coming season the intentional walk is being eliminated from Major League Baseball.The purpose of this is to speed up the game. New MLB commissioner Rob Manfred's big initiative is "Pace of Play", a big buzzword these days in baseball. So a manager will signal the umpire and no more four pitches to get to an intentional walk.

Another proposal that was on the table was starting extra inning games with a runner on second base. What? Is this freakin' Little League or T-Ball?

Some folks say, it's the commercials. NO! They were always there. All these attempts are to speed up the game. The irony to me is, the pace of life in our world is faster than it's ever been, and yet, baseball has never been slower.

I love baseball. I have two, yes, two, revolutionary proposals. 1. Players, QUIT DIDDLING! Get in and bat. Get on the mound and pitch!!!! 2. Umpires: Enforce the existing rules. Batter's not ready,. "Strike!". Pitchers diddling, "Ball!" And call the strike zone the way its defined.

Don't believe me. Somebody sent me a link to a 1965 Cubs-Reds game on YouTube. Spoiler Alert: It's a no-hitter. More spoiler alert: The Reds' pitcher walked something like 11 batters. And guess what?  The game didn't seem slow at all. Why? Because nobody diddled. In fact, just watch the first few pitches on the video. Pitcher pitches. Batter bats.

Enforce the rules and #QUITDIDDLING