World Series Blues

I have been a baseball fan since I was 6 years old.  I remember when the baseball playoff was called The World Series, featuring the pennant winner from the American & National Leagues - win it all or go home. I remember Don Larsen's perfect game. I remember Bill Mazeroski's walk-off 7th game home run. I know I have written about baseball in this blog more than most readers can handle. Apologies to the non-baseball fan. I don't understand you, but there you go. I love October baseball and it has been rare that I have missed watching a World Series game. Even this year with the cheating Astros and the chop & chant Braves I am tuned in. (I cannot tolerate that chant  - I watch with the TV on mute. I'm a better color commentator than Darling or Smoltz anyway) 

But ... I fear Major League Baseball is committing suicide. Game one, a nine inning 6-2 victory for the Braves took 4 hours 6 minutes to complete. Who can tolerate that? Not even me. I can remember double-headers that took less time than that. Atlanta used 5 pitchers, Houston 6. No pitcher worked more than 2 1/3 innings. This is today's game and I hate it. When did starting pitching become irrelevant?

In 1957, Milwaukee starting pitcher Lew Burdette won 3 games, all three complete games and shutouts in both games 5 and 7. The Milwaukee Braves topped the Yankees in 7. That was gripping.  [By the way, a complete game is when the starting pitcher pitches all nine innings, something as rare as a leadoff home run in game 1 of the World Series. Lew Burdette was the fidgetiest pitcher in history and used his fidgets to obfuscate doctoring the ball for his unhittable spitball.] 

Here are the scores and game times for those 1957 games.

Game 1: 3-1 Yankees  2:10

Game 2: 4-2 Braves 2:26

Game 3: 12-3 Yankees 3:18

Game 4: 7-5 Braves 2:31

Game 5: 1-0 Braves 2:00

Game 6: 3-2 Yankees 2:09

Game 7: 5-0 Braves 2:34

I rest my case.

Copyright ©  2021  Dave Hoplin