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California Power Crisis?
Once upon a time, I had a college professor
who made a class web site, but he posted it before completing all
of the links. He filled in the unknown links with www.xxx.com and
planned to fill them in later. Then, a few of my fellow classmates
went clicking on some of the links during class, expecting to be
taken to some future class assignment, only to be brought to a porn
site with those annoying popup banners similar to the ones on the Wiffleball2K1
message board. I guess you had to be there.
And I guess one has to be in Chico,
California to understand what is up with all of these home runs.
From my perspective in New York, it seems as if home runs are becoming
as common as assholes in the cul-de-sacs of Chico. Just look at
the stats. With one-third of the season completed, Jordan
Lockhart is the only player in the 20-person league to
have more doubles than homers. No big deal, you say? Think again.
Lockhart is the only person since 1998 to have this honor.
Altogether
players have hit more than four times as many homers as doubles
this season. In fact, 43 percent of all hits have been home runs;
that's up from 34 percent last year. These ratios are way too high.
Bandage wrap may have something to do with the increase in homers,
but I don't think that's the only reason.
I have to be honest, seeing such ridiculous
home run totals so early in the season turns me off. Home runs should
be a challenge, not something that players expect every half-dozen
at bats (or less). Sometimes rules need to change to make the game
challenging once again. With a few minor changes, players could
start putting up more realistic stats.
One idea is moving the plate back a
few feet. Seriously, if you hit a ball 90 feet at either ballpark
it's a homer. For crying out loud, Jim Abbott could hit a ball that
far right-handed. Maybe 90 feet seemed like a good distance when
you guys started playing back in 1994, but you've grown and developed
some power. Major Leaguers don't play in Little League sized parks
their whole life, and neither should you guys. Moving the plate
back, say ten feet will not only make it a little tougher to hit
one out, it will also increase the playing area of the field, meaning
the pitcher and fielder will have more area to cover, and at times
have to move further to field the ball. Balls that would have been
ground outs could become singles; singles could become doubles;
doubles could become triples, etc.
Next, move the bases closer together.
In such a small park, sixty feet is pretty far to run to get to
first base. Put all the bases 45-50 feet apart. This will also increase
the number of doubles and triples and cut down on that ridiculous
hit to home run ratio.
Third, move the mound a few feet closer
to home plate. In my league, we started out by pitching from 40
feet away, and soon found that pitching was dominant. Hitters just
didn't have a chance against the pitchers who threw hard. Getting
a hit was more difficult than trying to shove a strand of wet spaghetti
up a wild cat's ass; not that I've ever tried, but it sure sounds
difficult. So after the All Star Game we moved the mound back three
feet. Surprisingly, it made a huge difference! Batters started putting
more balls in play, and most pitchers couldn't rely on their fastball-only
onslaught and had to develop second and third pitches to get hitters
out. You'd be surprised what such minor changes can make, especially
when used together.
Look, I'm not going to tell anyone
how to run his or her league, but I can tell you that this method
works back east and the result is a more realistic game. Stick with
what you've got for now, maybe give it a try in the off-season,
and see if you agree.
Those of you who made it past the www.xxx.com
part, am I alone in thinking that the home run totals are too high?
Or am I just being bitter because Scott
Carmichael hit more homers in one game (8) than I did
all of last season in my league (6)? Post a note on the message
board or send
me an e-mail and I'll either reply to you in person or
in an upcoming article.
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