- Jun 18, 2023
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I'll play the odd duck. Drop dead is not inherently unfair. It is just a different game. You have to play it differently.
imo if you want to played timed baseball (And not just time limit for field use reasons) then do so. no mound visits, strict pitch clocks and penalties. time limit on each inning. runner on third but only 2 minutes left in that inning? prepare for slow methodical walks.
but there are so many things you'd have to tweak to make it work in the rules. catcher probably has to stay put, no real IBB at all. mound visits, time outs, throwing it around the horn, etc.
Eve with all that I don't think you could really make it a good time, there's just too much room to manipulate the time, which is why it's not a timed sport. walking the leadoff hitter is no longer a terrible move, because the time per AB was going in your favor that way.
You'll get things like the 8th and 9th place hitters doing stalling tactics if the inning is almost over so the lineup can turnover fresh and not waste them at the end of this one. Trying to endlessly foul balls off. 30 seconds left maybe they take off on the bases with no care, because if you tag them out they start the inning where they want. Because OUTs are no longer precious, time is.
It'd be weird, odd. Probably not good.
What you get in drop dead situations that are otherwise normal baseball is just a lot of people doing stuff that they are unaccustomed to.