Update: Here is the link to the International Baseball Federation’s website: IBAF Website. Take a look if you are curious who changed the rules.
Not sure how I feel about this: The Associated Press: IBAF changes rules for extra innings. Basically, starting during the 11th inning each team will begin with runners on first and second with no outs. Further, the will pick where in the order those runner will come, and the next person up in that order will be the first batter. Seems like the innings could be the same for each beyond 101 I would think this possible repetition would actually make the game worse for spectators to watch. Who wants to see the same batters every inning? Baseball is an un-timed sport, and I’m not sure what the purpose of the rule change is, besides to ensure long games are decided more by luck than sport. Personally, I don’t think the change is necessary.
This makes me wonder: Who should have the power to change sports rules for the Olympics? Should the rules be changed during the Olympics solely to make them more spectator friendly? Personally, I enjoy a baseball game that goes 11+ innings, because of the increased amount of strategy involved. Finally, by changing the rules, aren’t the Olympics really changing the ‘sport’ at its most basic (or abstract) level?
What are people’s thoughts about this: Who should have the power to change the rules? The administators, the inventors of the game, or the most prominent league (MLB, NFL, Champions League)?
- In the 11th the manager elects to put the 1 and 2 batters on base and the third batter is up. If there is another inning, most manager will elect to put up their best players again, which will result in the same order as the 11th. ↩