Call it Strike 1 -- my 2018 email to Tyler Kepner, national baseball writer at the New York Times. I didn't hear back, but now that even he is writing about improving baseball's rules, maybe he'll warm to my proposed Run On Third Out (ROTO) rule. I've been pushing it since the 1970s. Is the time finally right in the 2020s?
Here's the email I sent to Kepner today after reading his Q&A piece under the headline More Steals, No Shifts and Robot Umps: 'Our Fans Want the Action'
I’m no genius, but I think my suggested rule change has potential. The “Run On Third Out” (ROTO) rule allows men on base to tag up and attempt to score after an outfielder catches a fly ball for the third out in an inning.
A man on third with two outs waits for the fly ball to be caught, tags up, then races for home. The outfielder throws home, and the catcher makes the catch and touches the plate with his foot to record the out — just as first base outs are routinely recorded. The no-tag element at home avoids collisions and injuries. Inning over.
Imagine men on second and third with two outs and a long fly ball to the deepest reaches of a ballpark, like Triples Alley in San Francisco. Both men tag up and run when the outfielder makes an over the shoulder catch, whirls, and throws to the cut-off man near second base. The man on third makes it home easily, but whether the man running from second scores is still in doubt depending on how the bang-bang play at home turns out. If it’s the bottom of the 9th with the home team trailing by a run or two, the game’s outcome hangs on the quality of the two throws. (ROTO would emphasize the importance of developing outfielders with accurate and strong arms.)
This is a rough approximation of ROTO, which I conceived in the 1970s and submitted to Charlie Finley when the Oakland A’s owner asked fans to send him their suggestions to improve baseball. Nothing came of it, but I’ve written occasionally about ROTO at my baseball blog a few times, each time making refinements. ROTO is a work in progress.
The subhead under the More Steals piece: Raul Ibanez, Michael Hill and Morgan Sword discuss the changes baseball is implementing in the minors in hopes of spicing up things in the majors.
Even baseball purists wed to the "traditional game" with no changes would have to admit ROTO would spice up baseball. I believe the younger generations would love it.
One more thing is certain: I don't give up easily. ROTO deserves serious consideration, and I'll keep looking for somebody or some group to give it.
