Rangers vs Orioles 30-3
You know it really is funny when the Rangers scored 30 runs in a game, especially if they didn’t score any in the first 3 innings. On August 22, 2007, the Rangers dropped a whopping 30 runs on the Orioles. I had only heard about this game, but when I watched some highlights and looked at the box score, I couldn’t contain myself. I started laughing my eyes out. Let me explain why.
First of all, let me explain the lead up. The Rangers were sitting at 55-70, and the Orioles at 58-66. They weren’t going to make the playoffs, and they were basically playing for fun. The Orioles would end up 69-93, and the Rangers would finish 75-87. But now it’s August 22, 2007. It’s 5:05 PM. We’re digging in for a doubleheader at Camden Yards, and a bad game that no one wants to see.
The Rangers pitcher was Kason Gabbard, and he entered the game at 5-1. And then there was the slightly less effective Daniel Cabrera who entered the game at 9-12. Through 3 innings, the score was 3-0 Orioles, and it looked like the Orioles would take this one. And then in the top of 4, Marion Byrd walked to start the inning. Nothing unusual, as a lot of innings start out as a walk. Jason Botts singled, and then runners were on first and second. Nelson Cruz popped out, and then there was a single to the pitcher. Each runner advanced 1 base. Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled, scoring 2 runs, and then Ramon Vazquez hit a home run to make it a 5 run inning. That was it for the 4th, and there would be no more scoring until the 6th, where the Rangers dropped 9 on the Orioles. Again, another scoreless inning, and then a 10 run inning. The Rangers scored 6 in the 9th to top off a 30-3 game.
It was a pretty funny game, and I think that you have to agree with me.
Best game ever.
Pace of Game: What Makes Baseball so Incredibly “Boring”?
A look at the pace of the game of baseball, and what can be done to fix it.
1955 was the Golden Age of baseball. Everyone HAD to watch it, and it was just starting to be publicly televised. But there is a reason why everyone liked it, and they COULD watch it.
2019 is a year that baseball is the third American sport. It is no longer number 1 in most fan’s heads. There is also a reason behind this.
I am going to do my best to try to explain why.
In 1955 there was an average pace of game of 2:31. This kept fan’s interest, and it really wasn’t boring to watch a game of baseball. It was pretty fast paced, and you wouldn’t see many pitching changes. In 1978 there was an average pace of game of 2:30. I think that baseball was still the number 1 sport in America, and many to many fans it was the best sport. In 2012 the average time hit 3:00, up a whole 30 minutes from 1978. How could a game, where the rules and the base game stay pretty much the same, have increased so much in time?
In 1955 there was an average of 2.41 pitchers per game. There weren’t many pitching changes, and the starter often pitched a complete game. If you didn’t let up 5 runs, you were in for the rest of the game. The thing is, even when there was 5 runs against you, you often still stayed in the game. That was just how it is.
In 2019 there is an average of 4.41 pitchers per game. Now only 2 pitchers completed 3 games. Lucas Giolito and Shane Beiber completed 3 games, and 1 of Lucas Giolito’s games was a rain shortened game! Now, pitchers often go 6 innings before being taken out, sometimes 4 or 5 innings. And that’s if you only let up 2 runs!
Let me take the complete game thing, and compare it to the 1955 season. Robin Roberts led the league with 26 complete games, and there were 748 complete games compared to 2019’s 45. That’s crazy. This is only 1 of the points that makes a game go slower, and I will explain why everything happened at the end of the article.
Another reason is home runs. Home runs take up more time than a regular at bat, and a home run is 1 or more runs. Runs equals pitching changes, and well, you get the point. In 1955 there were 0.90 home runs per game, and now there’s 1.39. While this is a small point, it leads up to the next one.
In 1955 there was 4.38 strikeouts per game, and now there’s 8.81 strikeouts per game. It’s just not worth it to swing big, especially when there isn’t much difference relative to home runs. The runs have gone up from 4.48 to 4.83, but I think that strikeouts are the main reason that the game is slowing down.
For a strikeout to happen, there has to be at least 3 pitches. It’s logic, but normally it’s not going to take 3 pitches. Yeah, sometimes it will happen, but it’s not a lot. When you get a hit, the most common count is a 2-1. That is 4 pitches, 3 pitches + 1. A strikeout makes the game seem to go slow. A hit, on the other hand, is interesting, ad the fans want to see that. Fans also like home runs, but they’re just not rare like they used to be.
Baseball is boring. The game is slow. It’s just not interesting.
How can we fix this? To me, it’s nit limiting the number of mound visits. It’s not putting in that stupid 3 batters rule. It’s not the pitch clock with no penalty. It’s not a rule change. It lies inside the team.
To me, we need to change this by heavily discouraging strikeouts. Teams need to make it known that contrary to popular belief, a strikeout is not okay. It’s nothing to cry about, but it’s not okay.
This lies not in the MLB’s hands, but in the team’s hands.
This is my way of fixing this problem. With this, we can bring another golden age.
As some of you may have noticed, a new page has come onto the site. I hope to get full info on there by 3/26/2020. Thanks, and check out the preview!