Fun video.

I'm torn about Europe ever catching on to baseball. On one hand, I like the see the game globalized. On the other, they would do more #### like this to it:

HAVANA (AP)-The International Baseball Federation plans to upgrade the sport in Europe.

"Our tentative plans also include the launch of a professional baseball league in Europe in 2010 and beyond," Federation president Harvey Schiller said Wednesday as he finished a visit to Cuba.

Baseball's World Cup in September 2009 is being shifted from Cuba to seven European nations in an effort to bolster the sport's bid to get back into the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee eliminated baseball and softball from the 2012 London Olympics during a vote in 2005. Baseball hopes to rejoin the Olympics for 2016.

Schiller also mentioned a rule change being considered in an effort to save time on games that go into extra innings.

"When the game enters the 10th inning, the next players on the roster are placed on first and second base and each team starts with one out," he said. "We feel that this proposal will help bring the game to an end in a timely manner."

Link

Temple, international meddling in American sports is always ridiculous. Just take a look at the trapezoid lane in international basketball or the ridiculous end zones in the CFL. We should pay them back by butchering soccer. AND insisting that it only be called soccer and not "futbol".

It's entirely possible I'm reading the data wrong, but according to this site, the suggested rule change actually makes it less likely for the team to score. It's .520 winning percentage with bases empty and no outs vs. .426 winning percentage with first and second, one out.

I kinda dig the proposal. Baseball rules are far too often treated as sacred cows.

You're reading the data wrong. The site lists the winning percentage for the home team, not the visitors.

or the ridiculous end zones in the CFL

Canadian Football actually developed on its own. It was not adapted from American Football. Thus, many of the rules are different, and so is the field.

From Wikipedia: "Football was introduced to North America in Canada, by the British Army garrison in Montreal, which played a series of games with McGill University. In 1874, Harvard hosted McGill to play the new game derived from Rugby football in a home and home series. Many of the similarities and differences between the Canadian and American games indeed came out of this original home and home series where each home team set the rules. For instance, Harvard, because of a lack of campus space did not have a full-sized rugby pitch. Their pitch was only 100 yards long by 50 yards wide with undersized endzones (slightly less than the 53⅓-yard width of the current regulation size for American Football). Because of the reduced field, the Harvard team opted for 11 players per side, four less than the regulation 15 of Rugby Union. To generate more offence, the number of downs was also increased by Harvard to 4 from 3 as set by McGill."

For more, see : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Canadian_and_American_football

Temple, international meddling in American sports is always ridiculous.

Am I wrong to blame America for hockey shootouts?

"When the game enters the 10th inning, the next players on the roster are placed on first and second base and each team starts with one out," he said. "We feel that this proposal will help bring the game to an end in a timely manner."

Sounds like our softball tie-breaker rules. Except we only get 1 pitch. You either hit it, walk, or strikeout. The rules suck.

Heaven is where the English greet you, the French do the cooking, the Germans organize things and the Italians provide the entertainment.

Hell is where the French greet you, the English do the cooking, the Italians organize things and the Germans provide the entertainment and then you go to a baseball game and try to explain it to all of them.

We should pay them back by butchering soccer

Good idea. Perhaps you could start with an "offside line" or introducing shootouts?


The video didn't mae any effort to explain force plays or tagging up. I play softball in the UK and new players typically come along to the team with no experience at all of baseball-like games - these are the two things it takes forever to get into people's heads. Typically, if anyone in their first season understands them they're doing very well.