According to the internet, which is never wrong, the average Major League Baseball game is about 2 hours and 36 minutes.  The average Minor League Baseball game, again according to the almighty and wise internet, is also about 2 hours and 39 minutes.  Pitch clocks have created an accelerated game, and I actually don’t mind it one bit.  You don’t have the pomp and circumstance batter who takes his batting gloves off and on, does three pirouettes, then looks up at the sky and counts the stars in his favorite constellation before stepping into the batter’s box.  You have a focused pitcher with a focused catcher opposing a focused hitter.  Pitcher and batter need to engage in a short amount of time, and for the most part they do.  Add in the fact that pitchers receive signals through an earpiece or buzzer in their hats, thus no more lengthy and complicated signs by the catcher (2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 1, 4, 3, 4 = curveball), and you really speed the pace of play up.  Sure, balls get hit out, and runners trot around the bases at varying speeds.  And there are still some long at bats and long innings and those classic 9-hour, 9 inning battles between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees which skew the numbers a bit.  Overall, the various methods by MLB and MILB, the players’ unions, and the new collective bargaining agreement to reduce the overall time of a regular 9 inning baseball game are working.

So, can we please shelve the ghost runner situation at 2nd base, which goes into effect in the top of the 10th inning in a tie game?  The games are shorter, let them play out as Ruth, Williams, Aaron, Mays, Jeter, Rose played them.  Let the game continue to be quick and efficient, and the pitch clock is controlled until a true winner is crowned.  Extra inning games need to end in the 10th?  Most of the ones I have watched do, in fact, end in the 10th.  If the visiting team gets the ghost runner over to third base and that runner scores with less than 2 outs, well, most of the visiting teams end up winning.  At least the ones I have watched.  It’s demoralizing to have the home team come back from an 8 run deficit, scratching and clawing their way back into the game. A bloop single produces that all-important tying run in 9th inning.  And then we go to extra innings, where the fastest guy on the visitor’s team (always works out this way) ends up being the ghost runner.   He swipes third with ease, then scores on a wild pitch.  Balloon inside the home team’s dugout and bullpen – De-Flated!!!

For those of you unclear of the rule, here it is from MLB.com – https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/designated-runner

Powers that be – Please let’s consider shelving this extra inning, ghost runner rule for 2025 and beyond.  Baseball has achieved what the owners and the Players Association bargained for – a shorter, crisper baseball game at the MLB and MILB levels.  The games are really fun to watch, they are fast-paced, and the athleticism in the modern game is just off the charts.  Baseball is fun and exciting without the ghost runner, so let’s send that rule to the chopping block and send this ghost back to the place where it came from after the 2024 season!  Who is with me on this???