THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Some much needed fixes in store for baseball in 2023

TODAY: Life-saving surgery for baseball

Yep, it’s right there in the “Sports Columnist Bible of Unbreakable Laws.”

Sometime this week – that is, the final week of every calendar year – we opinion typists are obliged to hammer out a list of the greatest moments of the previous 12 months.

Or …

The silliest baseball plays.

Or …

The most memorable things you missed while wandering off for a fish taco.

Or …

The events you had to record on TV because a neighbor was having his house remodeled by a crew of hundreds during the live broadcast.

Or …

(Well, you get the picture.)

We columnists have to come up with some sort of arbitrary list – something that will fire up readers enough to email angry disagreements – and then we’re allowed to bumble into January.

But, of course …

If you know me at all (and you ARE reading my stuff), surely you can guess that I don’t always follow the rules. At least, not precisely as they’re written.

So, hey …

Why start now?

Instead of the standard “10 Worst Pass Interference Calls of 2022,” or some other nonsense, I’m only going to touch on a couple of things.

If someone objects to that sort of year-end musing, we’ll just call it “The List of Two.”

IN CASE you’re taking that introduction to mean this will be a few hundred words of more poor comedy, however, I’m actually going to address two massive and serious changes in sports.

Both, by the way, will have a huge impact here in the Northwest.

As you saw in the title, the subject today is Major League Baseball – which brings smiles to a lot of local households, given that the young and exciting Mariners finally made the playoffs, won a postseason series and played the World Series champion Astros tougher than anyone.

Barring injuries or other freak breakdowns, the Mariners are going to be VERY good for quite a while – not to mention that Julio Rodriguez may become the best player in the game, like …

Soon.

Last season was dramatic (think Cal Raleigh’s ninth-inning blast to break the playoff drought), and the future is bright to some glaring megawatt level.

However …

One thing that the Mariners and everyone else will be dealing with in 2023 is an avalanche of change to the game.

Interest in baseball has been dipping over the past few seasons, especially among younger generations – and MLB has decided on radical surgery to speed up play, to force an increase in action, and to cut back on the dreaded “Three True Outcomes” (strikeout, walk, home run).

Analytics nerds somehow decided that increasing the launch angle of your swing will produce more fly balls – some of which will leave the premises.

It’s also pretty obvious, unfortunately, that thousands more swings-and-misses must accompany that all-out whiff (which was intended for contact, and a landing spot in that parking lot beyond the center field fence).

Pitchers fearing the occasional moon shot throw harder (and often much wilder) these days, so the always-thrilling base on balls keeps increasing, too.

People who find baseball boring -- and taking four to five hours they’ll never get back – eventually noticed that none of those breathtaking “Three True Outcomes” requires more than a stroll.

In fact, they can often lead to a FOURTH true outcome …

Anyone for a nap?

IT’S TAKEN far longer than true baseball fans were hoping, but MLB finally has seen the light.

The game’s overseers also take a financial hit with smaller crowds and less money from TV deals.

And money, as we know, ALWAYS sparks the suits into action.

After experimenting with minor league games, MLB has decided that now is the time to crank up the gas pedal on its product.

The National Pastime will be, ah, goosed in 2023.

Among other things, there will be a pitch clock – forcing crafty left-handers to throw the damn ball instead of waiting for a long-distance phone call.

Batters must force the action, too, with a time limit for being set in the box.

Bases will be bigger, shortening the distance from the traditional 90 feet and making it easier to steal – and get from first to third on a single to center.

Then we get to the change that makes me happy enough to create a flood of tears …

That awful, awful shift – you know, with the second baseman playing in right field against left-handed hitters (along with 25 other defenders, including a ball boy, the bullpen catcher and two clubhouse attendants stationed between first and second) is going to disappear.

Finished.

Done.

The shift will be consigned to history, as dust-covered as the notion of a pitcher throwing more than seven innings.

All four infielders, if you can imagine it, can no longer play any deeper than the edge of the dirt – and no more than two can be on either side of second base.

There is NO WAY, none at all, that these changes (radical as they sound) won’t help the game.

They will increase action, shorten games and give teams some incentive to spark a rally – something besides a walk and a two-run homer.

I am so ready for opening day.

So, SO doggone ready.

FRIDAY: The end of college athletics?

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”