New Rules of Baseball: Ten to choose, five will survive
American philosopher Henry David Thoreau once said, "Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it."
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| If a player hits a Willy Mo Pena-ian shot, it could be worth more than just a run. (Getty Images) |
Fools we all are in this endeavor, and we're thrilled at the participation level from the CBSSports.com community.
So much so, it has us feeling like this bastardized quote from Rodney Dangerfield in Ladybugs:
"All I know is, I gotta lot of rules."
The amount of submissions was so great, we're going to abide by this rule from golfing legend and former CBS Sports commentator Ken Venturi:
"There are two great rules of life: never tell everything at once."
If I may get to the point, we dug a lot of the rules. We settled on 10 (as opposed to the originally stated five) to choose from for this week. If we are to categorize them, it would be:
- Four player rules
- Three fan experience rules
- Two general baseball rules
- One managerial rule
We've set up a poll, and the five rules with the highest percentages of the total vote will be engrained into CBSSports.com's (and the Internet's first) New Rules of Baseball. We'll close the voting Sunday night at 10 p.m. ET and we'll post the most popular rules, with analysis the following Monday. Remember, if your rule didn't make it this time, it might make it the next time, so don't stop sharing, even if you feel like you're sounding like a broken record.
Player rules
"After a whiff, any player wishing to be called a 'Power Hitter' must break the wooden bat. Over the head or thigh is optional, but we need to see splinters." -- All Star The Flaming Yak
The If It's Intentional, Why Waste Four Pitches Rule?
"If a pitcher is going to intentionally walk a batter, as soon as they stand at the plate, just have the pitcher point to the guy and point to first. Do not make us fans have to sit through four outside pitches with the catcher standing up ... WHY!" -- Top 1K member m31241
"Any pitcher entering the game while an inning is in progress must either pitch to a minimum 2 batters or the final batter of the inning." -- All Star GVSU1987
"Any home run hit 450 feet or more is worth an extra run." -- All Star blackman_jones
Fan Experience Rules
"Fans in the stands who are fortunate enough to be sitting within view of the TV cameras (e.g., behind home plate, or right behind the dugouts) will have exactly ONE opportunity to call their mother/friend/significant other and wave to them while on their cell phone. If the fan makes a second attempt, he or she will be blurred out of the broadcast for the remainder of the game. A further offense will result in revocation of the fan's cell phone and the fan's inclusion on the broadcast "black list." A fan on the black list will be blurred out of every future broadcast for the remainder of the season, and a picture of Bud Selig will be superimposed over their face." -- Top 1K member DBLG8R
| New Rules Rewind |
| Want to see the rules that have been submitted? Check out last week's story or skip right to the message board for perspective and ideas. |
The Obstruction That Causes a View Disruption
"No fan, vendor, or other employee of any baseball organization affiliated with Major League Baseball shall at any time, in any manner, disrupt the viewing pleasure of any fan who has properly paid for, and observed the rules of, his or her ticket. A disruption includes, but is not limited to, seating other fans at any time other than an inning break, leaving to purchase food or beverages at any time other than an inning break, arriving after the first inning and going to your seat at any time other than an inning break, wearing a mascot uniform and sitting in front of a fan thereby obstructing his or her view and any action or inaction that may be so interpreted. Any fan, vendor, or other employee who violates this rule shall purchase a new ticket for the next available home game for every fan subject to the aforementioned disruption." -- Superstar Lets_GO_Bucs!
The Bring Back Cheerleaders Rule*
"No cheerleaders?!?! I say YES to cheerleaders 100 percent of the time. Only stipulation: less is always more. I want the uniform to look like something out of a Christina Aguilera video." -- Superstar Berto92
Managerial Rules
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| No ump, I'm not out of here ... you're out of here! (Getty Images) |
"Each MLB manager will be issued one card that will overturn an umpire's ruling to eject them from a game in the event of an argument/tantrum/tirade (physical contact other than chest bumping is excluded). This card is non-renewable and may only be used once during a regular season. Unused cards do roll over into the next season. If a manager uses his card during the regular season and his team advances to the playoffs, the manager will be given a second card to use in the postseason." -- All Star sellpackfan
Addendum:
"How about an addendum to this ... the card can be used to throw out one umpire per year. The ump must be thrown out before the coach is tossed. Who wouldn't want to see Lou Piniella run on the field and throw out the ump. They should get five cards per year." -- Superstar Kegzilla
General Rules
"Move a team from the NL Central to the AL West to create even divisions." -- Top 1K member terpsCT909
The English Soccer League Rule
"Any team losing 100 or more games in a season will be demoted to Triple-A." -- Pro doc-man
*Indicates a rule that would overturn a current New Rule of Baseball
