Baseball the way it should be

 Well, then. I guess baseball really is serious about this pitch clock deal.

This after a spring training baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves ended in a 6-6 tie yesterday because Cal Conley of the Braves horsed around too long during his at-bat. 

The bases were loaded and Conley thought he'd just drawn a game-winning walk when, oops, the shot clock buzzer went off. Or, you know, something like that.

Actually, the ump called him out on a third strike because Conley wasn't set in the batter's box when the pitch clock wound down below eight seconds. Under the new rules, that's the designated time for the batter to be set between pitches.

Conley couldn't believe it. The fans booed. But you know what?

I love it.

Oh, I don't love that it ended the game, but then again, it was only a spring training game, so who cares? No one, which is why it ended in a tie. Had it had been a regular season game, only the inning would have been over.

The relevant point here is baseball is finally, finally doing something to return the sport to its roots -- i.e., make it the fast-paced, no-futzing-around game it was when it became the National Pastime. The Braves and Red Sox managed to play nine innings of baseball, including an astounding 17 pitching changes, in just under two hours and 40 minutes. 

Now that, folks, is baseball the way it should be. Hoorah.