Baseless Ball

I like baseball. It is a complex sport but I, on a very rudimentary level, understand it. Football is nice but there are positions I still don't get and rules which baffle me. Basketball is dumb. My official position is that if you score 100 points in any game, you should win. Even golf. Did I mention I hate golf. Maybe I should have started with that.

Anyway, while I am not an expert in the arcane rules of baseball (balks, interference, no beer after the 7th inning) I like the game and so when I come up with an idea I think will help a team, I feel the obligation to pass it along.

My goal is to increase the efficacy of the pitching staff and reduce costs. I start with the position that a team carries anywhere from 11 to 13 pitchers, between starters and relievers, and that starters, because they are expected to pitch more innings, get paid more than a middle reliever. But I also posit that the middle reliever is getting paid to come in in the middle of things and stop the opposing team for 3 outs.

So here's my thought. Drop all the starters and carry 13 relief pitchers. Assign each one an inning, and every night, that pitcher will pitch that inning -- still responsible only for 3 outs and still getting paid as a middle reliever. The other team will be constantly shuffling its lineup to deal with ever changing pitchers, and my team can play with its lineup during the game as a new pitcher will be inserted each inning.

If the pitchers do their job, then they will keep the other team quiet for 3 outs and that's it. Then hand the ball off to the next guy. No one burns out an arm. No one stays in for too long. If a guy really seems to be doing well, he MIGHT be allowed to stay in for another inning in a close game -- with only 13 pitchers, extra inning games have to be avoided. Maybe keep 1 starter on staff who can be given the ball in the 10th inning of every extra inning game -- he would be expected to pitch for 5 or six innings at that point unless there is a game winning hitting opportunity so he is taken out for a pinch hitter.

I think that this is the future of baseball.