We talk about the extra-inning loss for the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day and how silly it is to have a runner starter on second base in the 10th.
Yes, I’m probably a little salty that the Atlanta Braves lost no Opening Day in extra innings, so now seems like the opportune time to complain about the extra-inning rule.
To be completely honest, I had forgotten they were even bringing that rule back for 2021.
And I really didn’t mind the rule in 2020 for a way to not prolong games, but man is that rule dumb.
That’s the kind of rule you make in church league softball when you’re not getting paid millions of dollars to play all night.
It’s just simply not baseball, and it highly favors the home team.
And yes, you have to tip your hats to the Phillies who made a great play to cut down Ozzie Albies to prevent the Braves ‘runner on second’ from scoring.
The Braves weren’t able to execute in the bottom half (why was Austin Riley playing so far in with two outs?) and the Phillies “earned” the win.
But this extra-innings rule has to go — or at least it needs to be altered.
As much as I hate the rule, I understand not wanting 18-inning games, which are fun for the 50 fans left in the stadium at midnight.
Maybe have a runner start on second base in the 11th or 12th inning, but not in the 10th. Not when teams have battled for 9 innings and then you simply create a running-scoring situation for both teams.
Even in hockey, when a game goes to a shootout, at least the losing team gets a point.
This feels like a shootout for baseball, but the losing team gets nothing.
Again, it’s easy to complain about the rule when you’re team just lost in part because of it, but I think most baseball fans would agree the rule either needs to go or be adjusted.