Updates Badly Needed in Baseball

If you have been watching the MLB playoffs this season, it is obvious that changes are needed in baseball. The first thing that jumps to everyone's mind is instant replay. How many bad calls have we seen so far this post season? Everytime that happens, the umpire comes out after the game and apologizes for the bad call. How does the umpire know he made a bad call? He watched it on instant replay. Many people worry that instant replay will make baseball drag, but there are obvious solutions to fix that including limiting challenges by managers, limiting time for reviews, etc. You've heard all the complaints and all the reasons for instant replay already. The issue I want to talk about is players getting hit by pitches. I have always hated this tactic in baseball and I think it needs to go.

Watching the pregame show for game 5 of the World Series, I watched as the analysts laughed about Alex Rodriguez getting hit three times in the Series. They went on to say that while the World Series was too important to risk retaliating, they expected that the Phillies would be "playing dodge ball" come spring training. Doesn't this bother anyone else? I know mothers out there and people who have always thought that sports are barbaric will agree, but doesn't this bother some of you sports fans too?

While aiming for a player is technically "against the rules" it is actually a strategy used by managers showing you just how much the rule actually means. Saying that pitchers don't aim for the head or that they throw slower pitches is not an excuse. Pitchers frequently miss the mark every game. They can throw outside the strike zone or even a wild pitch. If you were hit in the head by a pitch, would you take any solace in the fact that the pitcher was aiming for your back? How many baseball players have been injured by pitches when the pitcher wasn't aiming at him? Allowing pitchers to throw at other players allows for unnecessary injuries. I'm not saying you shouldn't be able to throw inside if a batter's crowding the plate, but just not at him.

Think about the worst, most shameful moments to happen in baseball. Bench clearing brawls always seem to start when pitchers go head hunting. Many of you will disagree with the need to crack down and beanballs citing years of baseball tradition or that many other sports allow for players to go after each other. Players headhunt in football and fights are even somewhat legal in hockey. How is hitting players with a soft pitch that bad? The major difference is that hockey and football are contact sports. A hockey player that is hit on the ice has the ability to hit the opponent right back. There is very little contact in baseball unless you're a catcher waiting at home plate. Batters are utterly defenseless against pitchers. Your choices are to duck or brace yourself. Even football and hockey have rules protecting defenseless players. You can't hit quarterbacks without the ball, punters, kickers, etc. Hockey players who check others from behind are subject to severe suspensions and fines. In baseball, you get a warning.

While baseball looks poised to update its rules soon, I hope that they will eventually see the inherent danger in allowing this to remain a part of the game. Everytime a player is hit by a pitch they run the risk of serious injury. This risk is high enough without a pitcher aiming for the batter. It needs to end before some one is seriously hurt by a pitcher that is just trying to make a point.