As the Boston Red Sox takes a 3-2 lead into the decisive game of the World Series, look for old baseball norms to dictate a winner just as much as the players on either team.
Discrepancies in league rules and field dimensions are too big a factor during the World Series, and it is absolutely absurd a major sport’s championship comes down to something as obscure as Pesky’s Pole.
Baseball’s two leagues, the American and National, operate under a key difference. In the American League, the pitcher does not go up to bat; instead the AL line up uses a designated hitter that won’t go out in the field. In the National League, the pitcher bats in the line up.
This causes a huge issue during the World Series when the series shifts between NL stadiums and AL stadiums. When the game is played in an AL stadium, both teams will use a designated hitter and when the game is in an NL stadium the pitchers will bat.
So with the series going back to Boston (an AL stadium) the Cardinals will now have to use a DH and change their entire line up. Same for past games in St. Louis—the Red Sox pitchers haven’t batted all year until these three World Series games.
Imagine this: The NBA finals are shifting from a Western Conference arena to an Eastern Conference arena. Let’s say Miami and San Antonio. What if the NBA’s Eastern Conference rules said there would be no 3-point line. How would San Antonio change their line-up in reaction to this?
Or what if in the NFL, AFC teams said that tight ends wouldn’t be allowed in the game. How would an NFC team change their lineup knowing that the Super Bowl is in an AFC stadium?
These previous examples seem ridiculous but it is exactly what is happening right now in the World Series.
This rule change can easily be tossed up to home field advantage; it happens in every sport, that’s why all seven World Series games aren’t played in one stadium. But I think 40,000 fans are enough to swing a game, let alone a rule change.
But here’s the real issue, home field advantage in the World Series isn’t decided by which team has the better record like the NBA. The winner of baseball’s All Star Game decides which league gets home field advantage in the World Series. How stupid is that?
As preposterous as this sounds, it’s not that surprising. Baseball doesn’t even have regulated field dimensions.
Yes it’s 90 feet to first but every outfield in MLB is different. Look at Fenway Park, the left field wall is 310 feet from home, but the left field wall is also 37 feet high. On the other end of the stadium, the right field wall is only 302 feet away and the wall is incredibly short.
Busch Stadium in St. Louis on the other hand has a perfectly symmetrical outfield with the center field wall being 400 feet from home and the corners being 335 feet respectively.
This causes huge lineup and pitching decisions for each team.
Imagine if the field at Camp Randall Stadium was 103 yards long and the endzones were shaped like triangles? How would BYU prepare their line up knowing that Camp Randall is different than BYU’s stadium?
These bizarre rule discrepancies from AL to NL need to be reconciled or baseball will continue to lose its fan base to the NBA and NFL.
