I feel the need to offer a brief critique of the Major League Baseball game I attended Friday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
What about it? Hardly anything to criticize about it?
I want to offer one comment, though, on the rule changes enacted this year to speed up these games. They work.
MLB has put a timer on pitchers. They have to toss a pitch within a certain amount of time. They are warned by the home-plate umpire. The home-plate ump, Mark Ripperberger, offered one warning to a pitcher. The rest of the night? He let the players play the game, which is what umps should do.
It took a little less than three hours to finish it.
There was exactly one appeal of a call, which wasn’t even close. A Texas Rangers runner was thrown out at home plate. He was out — as the saying goes — by a “country mile.” Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy thought he would appeal the ruling. It was upheld … and the Rangers faithful, of course, booed the decision, even though it was so very correct.
This was my first big league ballgame in nearly 60 years. It was enjoyable to the max. I got to spend some time with a good friend and former colleague; we gossiped about this and that individual we knew and with whom we worked.
Not only that … the good guys won the well-played game of hardball!