THE FUTURE OF BASEBALL

There was a really interesting article on ESPN.com recently about the future of Baseball. What will (not should) Baseball look like in 2047, twenty years from now?

Some items are already staring to take place. Some are pretty hard to believe. And some I can see happening.

I've selected a few of the more interesting proposals, with my comments included:

* Pitch Clock- There will be a 20 second pitch clock in the future. Actually, there already is a pitch clock, only it's hardly ever enforced if breached. All in the name of speeding up the game, which we will see is a key objective in many of the proposals.

We live in a more fast-paced world. Younger fans don't want tp see through long, boring games or even think about baseball. For a true baseball fan, that's part of the charm of the game- no time clock. Games could go on forever. Baseball is a thinking man's game, full of strategy with time between plays to debate and discuss.

All of that will be less and less in the future, as fans will demand action, not thinking. Kind of like a video game.

* Trips to pitcher's mound- Trips will be limited to two an inning or even less. I can imagine a radio system form the dugout to the pitcher, sort of like the NFL has now with radio contact between the coach and the quarterback.Again, anything to speed up the game. I agree that too many trips to the mound can be annoying.

* No ties- Baseball's extra inning games will be different in the future. No more 18 inning games, where teams run out of pitchers and must use extra position players to pitch. I find extra-extra inning games to be fun, but not in the future.

If a game is tied going into the 12th inning a man will be placed on second base to start the inning. If the game remains deadlocked going into the 13th inning, a runner will be placed on third base. until the tie is broken.

I don't like this concept It cheapens the game and makes scoring too easy, making the early part of a game seen trivial. Again, all in the sake of saving a pitching staff and getting fans home in a reasonable time.There will be more sacrifice fly and singles game-winners, not walk-off homers, so less exciting finishes.

* No rain delays- All stadiums in the future will be made with retractable roofs, so a game will never be delayed by rain or postponed. Already stadiums have retractable roofs, so this concept isn't so far away.

Fields- All fields will have ground tarpaulins to make covering the playing surface faster, especially if there is no roof yet. I can also see fields being more mobile as well. The Arizona Cardinals in the NFL have a field on wheels, which they roll into the stadium for games, then roll out to be maintained.

* Safety- Protective netting will cover the field from foul pole to foul pole. I agree with this one as too many fans are being seriously hurt from flying, broken bats and vicious line drives. The netting will cut down on foul balls for fans and fans won't like looking through a screen to watch the game, but, as with most things,f ans will get used to the view.

Take out slides at second base and ban balls won't be outlawed but will be regulated more closely.This is already happening with the new take -out rules ( thanks, Chase Utley) in Baseball.

* Safety Helmets- In the future pitchers will be required to wear protective helmets or caps with protective liners. Baseball will be more and more concerned about pitchers being seriously hurt by batted balls.The special caps may be cumbersome at first and look strange, but again, safety first.

* Balls- Baseballs will become less smooth and more tackier or rough, which will be easier for a pitcher to grip and lose control of. Baseball will hope this lessens the cases of batters getting hurt or hit by unintentional baseballs thrown by pitchers. A pine tar rag as well as a resin bag will be common items on the mound.

* There will be no Oakland A's and Tampa Bay Rays. Instead of Baseball expanding to Mexico, Japan,Europe or other American cities, teams will actually decreased down to 28 clubs.This makes scheduling easier. Teams will play each other six tomes in a season. 6 x 27 for a perfect 162 games.

Owners won't want to give up revenue, so schedules will remains at 162 games a season, no 150 as suggested. Baseball likes to preserve it's statistics, another important reason to stay at 162. The top 10 teams will make the playoffs.

I'm not crazy about this concept. First, teams will play each other, home-and-home, American and National leagues, six times. That means the Phillies would play the Minnesota Twins as much as key divisional rivals such as the Mets. Will there even be divisions, or will Baseball go back to strictly American and National leagues to determine World Series teams?

One thing I wish the owners would do, but will never happen, is schedule doubleheaders again, specifically twi-light doubleheaders. Owners won't give up the extra gate money unless each team is mandated to schedule at least one doubleheader per year.That way all teams lose a gate.

It would be throwing b none to fans. If there are doubleheaders now, there are day-night doubleheaders, which are separate games and not really doubleheaders.

I have fond memories of twi-lighters. They usually started at 5:35 pm, often ending after midnight, sometimes ending around 5:00 a.m. as was the case with  the Phillies one magical morning ( Mitch Williams hit a single to beat San Diego in the second game of that doubleheader in 1993, a 12 hour fun time at Veteran's Stadium filled with extra-inning baseball an drain delays).

Such affairs, as fun as they were, will never be seen again, as again, the focus will be on shortening games not sitting in a ballpark on a warm summer evening/morning for endless hours.

* Uniform ads- In the future, ads will be displayed on free space on uniforms. Several NBA basketball teams are already doing this, so it's not crazy to think of a future baseball player looking like a walking billboard.

Ballparks will continue to be named for corporate sponsors, something I hate.There won't be a Wrigley Field or Fenway Park anymore. And names will change, as it has with the Wells Fargo Center/ Wachovia Center/ Core States Center.

* Money- Contracts will continue to increase as will ticket prices. Bryce Harper may be the first player to earn over half-a-billion dollars after the 2018, with Mike Trout right behind him. Contracts may not exceed a billion dollars but they will keep rising.

With ticket prices rising as well, more fans  won't be able to afford seeing a game live, watching it on cable TV or another appliance. A shame, as future kids won't know what it's like to attend a baseball game in person, the sights and sounds of a game, instead staying home in a sterile atmosphere.

I love going to the ballpark. The hot dogs, the fans, the smell of the grass, seeing the players live, you can't get that at home.

But I can understand why fans don;t go to the park. Parking is increasing, food and concession sales are outrageous and no worries about traffic, the weather or ticket prices.

* Rosters- Rosters will expand to 27 players to ease the burden on pitching staffs. Two-way players will be more in focus. So, you'll have a player pitch seven innings one night and play first base the next. We already see that in the most recent college baseball draft, with numerous top prospects being legitimate two-way players. This would also save roster spots.

* Designated Hitter- The DH will be universal. The days of pitchers batting will be gone, but then again, some of the future pitchers will also be position players as well.

Umpires- There will always be four umpires on the field. We already see more umps for playoff games, two more umps down the foul lines. We see instant replay, a system which needs to be developed regarding speeding up the process and when or when not to review.

Technology will help ump with sensor lights on the bases to help call close plays, but the human element will still take precedence.

Probably the biggest change in umpires  in the future will be moving the home plate ump to behind the pitcher to have a better view to call balls and strikes. I wonder how that ump will cover plays at home from that distance. It seems the strike zone will always be a topic of change.

So, all interesting stuff. The bottom line is, Baseball is here to stay, but maybe in a different form. The basic game may stay intact. Colorful characters and monster home runs will survive . The game may not be as popular in the wake of the NFL and soccer. But it's good to know that the basic game of strikes and balls, 89 feet between bases and the charm of the Grand Ol' Game will live on.