Increase Home Field Advantage
| 12
|
by user Phoenix Superfan
As we head into the unofficial second half of baseball season a quick study of first half stats will tell you that home teams went 699-613 in the first half of the season, a .532 winning percentage. That's right folks, that is what your big home field advantage adds up to, a whopping .032 above 500. Clearly something needs to be done about this, the future of the game is at stake here. Shouldn't fans who spend their hard earned money on tickets get to see the home team win more than half the time? And think about the little children. If you went to your first game as a kid and the home team lost would you want to go back? This is baseball after all, where we "root, root, root, for the home team." Isn't it a shame that they only win 53% of the time?
It wasn't an easy task, but the Phoenix Superfan has taken it upon himself to save the game of baseball, and give real meaning to the words, HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE!
The solution is simple, and requires only one small rule change. Balls flying into the stands that previously would have been home runs become outs if caught on the fly by a fan.
Now I know what all of you are thinking right now. It's too crazy, it would never work, but can it??? Obviously some guidelines would need to be set, and here is what I came up with.
1. We can't make this too easy now so gloves are out. Only barehanded grabs count.
2. You must be wearing the team cap for the catch to count. So if I am a Diamondbacks fan in Arizona I have to be wearing a Diamondbacks cap to catch an opposing teams home run. Of course this works both ways, if the Yankees happen to be playing the Diamondbacks in Arizona, a Yankee fan can wear his Yankee cap to the ballpark and try and catch Diamondback home runs (not recommended in Philadelphia). This will penalize teams with weak fans bases and make teams more conscious of making sure the stadium is packed every night with their fans.
3. To avoid giving the Yankees and Red Sox a big advantage due to their large national following current home run rules will remain in effect at Fenway Park and Yankees Stadium. At Wrigley Field, where fans traditionally throw back opposing teams homers, they will be required to throw it back into the second baseman on no more than one hop in order to record the out.
There are a number of additional benefits too.
1. It would offset the increase in home run totals due to steroids and give meaning back to numbers like 50 and 500.
2. For the baseball purists out there it would give teams incentive to build teams the old fashioned way with speedy slap hitters playing small ball and manufacturing runs.
3. It would provide a fan experience unique to any other sport in a sense that purchasing a ticket actually gives you a chance to affect the outcome of the game. Isn't increased fan interest always the goal?
4. Hat sales would increase.
5. If nothing else, it would forever be known as Bud Selig's last ditch effort to prevent Barry Bonds from breaking the home run record.
6. Within weeks hundreds of ball dropping goats nationwide would rise to prominence allowing Steve Bartman to finally step out of the Witness Protection Program.
7. More fights would occur in the stands leading to more fan arrests and increased bail money profits for all Major League cities.
8. A sharp upswing in broken fingers would lead to increased business for orthopedic surgeons.
It seems as if the only question remaining is who doesn't benefit from this? Get the commissioners office on the line.
