Major League Baseball, heeding pressure to pick up the pace of games that sometimes last longer than an Oscars telecast, has eliminated the four-pitch intentional walk.
Relying on automatic intentional walks to shave a minute off a marathon is like announcing the first step of an ambitious diet plan will begin by passing up the radish slices on the second trip through the buffet. But at least the players and the commissioner have agreed to agree about something.
On hold is a more substantial rules change that would reframe the strike zone from the “hollow beneath the kneecap” to the top of the hitter’s knees.