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Pace of Play: What Does Speed Mean in Baseball?
Our society loves speed. In a world of instant gratification things like fast food, immediate access and high speed internet reign supreme. These one time amenities have morphed into needs, in some cases probably falling into the hierarchy Maslow would describe as basic needs. It’s a fast paced life and you better get on the train or you’re going to miss out.
The sporting world is no different. In the sports world speed is everything. A high school kid can get a full ride scholarship to any school in America if he run a sub 4.3 forty. In the NBA freakishly athletic and fast guards Russell Westbrook and Isiah Thomas are tearing defenses to shreds. Usain Bolt has defined an era with how quickly he can get from one point to another. In sports, speed is everything.
There in one acceptation to speed is everything, at least in the sporting realm. Speed isn’t always everything in baseball. Think about it. Baseball is the only sport where a butter ball can dominate. Babe Ruth wouldn’t be a considered a body builder, but the Bronx Bomber is considered to be one of the game’s home run kings. The Fielder family was a two generation baseball legacy, but tell me a sport where the porky pair of Prince and Cecil would’ve have the same impact as they did in MLB? Then there is the ageless wonder Bartolo Colon. This 43 year old “athlete” tips the scales at almost 300 pounds and I doubt could make it to first base by next week, however has been a consistent and at some point fantastic pitcher throughout his career. The point is in baseball speed isn’t necessarily everything.
This is the problem the recent “pace-of-play” movement across America’s pastime. People who call themselves fans of the game, want to get in and out of the stadium with plenty of time to watch the latest episode of the Bachelor. The have a problem when a pitcher and a base runner are entrenched in a battle for second base and there might be 1, or 2 or 15 pick-off attempts to first. They get frustrated when a batter fouls of pitch after pitch when trying to connect on a nasty slider or knock some high cheese out of the ballpark. They get bored when a manager comes out and makes a pitching change after the reliever he just put in has only through 3 or so pitches and he already has a pitcher in mind for the next batter. It’s just not fast enough for those fans.
The real problem that these “fans” have is that they don’t understand the sport they claim they enjoy. Baseball has never been built on speed or quickness. The game itself is a grind. There is no time limit to baseball. It’s a pure battle of wills that isn’t compromised by the stigma of a two minute offense or a shot clock. Baseball is played in it’s own sphere. Baseball requires resiliency. There are no time outs when a team drops a 9-0 run on you. You get your 3 outs and then try and match or better the effort that your opponent just put up. It’s a chess match. It’s deliberate. It’s baseball. The experience at the ballpark isn’t meant to be the same thing you’ll find in a football stadium or basketball arena.
For those of you who might be begging for a pitch clock or some other mystical cure for the slow pace of baseball please remember people like John Kruk, David Wells or even Big Papi. These seemingly irrelevant athletes thrived in a sport not because of their speed, but almost in spite of it. In the wise words of Ferris Bueller, “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” The same goes for baseball. If you don’t take time to notice the beauty of the game, you might miss the best of it.
Published by Hayden Coombs
Communication professor interested in a little of everything. My passions include: sports, journalism, human communication, parenting and family, teaching, academia, religion, politics, higher education, and athletic administration.
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Hayden Coombs 