Bifocals

I recently needed to get a pair of bifocals . It is the first time in my life I have needed them and I guess a sign that I am getting older. The bifocals are not the kind that my father wore, with the line in the middle, these are no line bifocals.

Still, I am not going to discuss how umpires may need glasses or how glasses help improve the way certain players see, and ultimately hit, the ball. For me, the bifocals represent all the changes I have seen in baseball over the years. Just like bifocals have changed from when my dad wore them to the present day, the game of baseball has changed.

Some of these changes have been for the better, some for the worse and some are changes it has taken time for me to get used to, just like it is taking time for me to get use to the bifocals. Among the key changes are the addition of a wild card, expanding one round of playoffs to seven games, home field advantage to the winner of the All-Star game and the designated hitter.

I will probably talk about some of those in subsequent posts, but this one will focus on one change that I just have never gotten used to. I do not like the designated hitter rule. I still enjoy a well pitched game. I enjoy the strategy of managers deciding if they should leave a starting pitcher in who is pitching well or take him out for a pinch hitter. Of course, with the way managers have changed the game in terms of going to relief pitchers, that is no longer as much of a concern.

I enjoy watching pitchers hit. I like see which ones take it seriously. The fact that Tom Seaver broke up some no hitters being pitched against the Mets and the fact that some one-hitters pitched by the Mets have been as the result of the opposing pitcher, makes the game more fun.

A couple of season ago, it was fun to see a Met pitcher (I believe his name was Koo), who had only been up to the plate once or twice, and was a left-handed hitter, come up against Randy Johnson and hit a double off of him. These are the things I really enjoy.

I will admit, it is stupid to have the National League play with one set of rules and the American League play with the other. I do not know how we fix that. I am not big on following the rules of the home team. I think we need a universal set of rules, but for me, that set of rules should be to let the pitcher hit.