MLB has a way of “improving” the game that doesn’t. Changing the intentional walk procedure is an example.
In 2017, in its continual effort to speed up the game, MLB took away the need for a pitcher to throw four intentional balls outside the strike zone for a walk. Instead, the manager can signal to the umpire for an intentional base on balls. As with other modern-day MLB changes, that took a lot of fun out of the game.
Believe it or not, some pitchers who can paint a 95-mile-per-hour fastball on the outside black of home plate get the yips when they have to toss an intentional ball soft. This can lead to some embarrassing moments. Consider the September 2016 game between the Tigers and Twins.
With Tigers’ pinch hitter Erick Aybar at the plate in the top of the ninth and runners on second and third — after they had advanced on a wild pitch earlier in the inning — Twins pitcher Pat Light uncorked ball four over the head of catcher Juan Centeno. Justin Upton scored from third, opening up the floodgates for the Tigers, who scored six runs in the inning.
At other times, the pitcher seems unable to throw the ball far enough outside the strike zone. On June 22, 2006, the Marlins’ Miguel Cabrera was being walked intentionally by the Orioles’ Todd Williams when he took a surprise swing at the first pitch, just off the plate outside, and came through with an RBI single, knocking in the go-ahead run and sparking the Marlins to an 8–5, ten-inning victory.
Said Cabrera, “I looked at it and saw it was too close to the plate. And I decided to swing at it. It wasn’t planned. They gave me time to wait and get ready to hit it. I’ve never done that before.”
In September 2016, with runners on second and third, the Rays decided to intentionally walk formidable Yankee rookie Gary Sanchez and pitch to struggling shortstop Didi Gregorius. But when Enny Romero left a pitch close enough to the plate, Sanchez decided to swing and drove the pitch to the centerfield wall for a sacrifice fly, scoring Brett Gardner.
Spoiler alert: if you’ve never seen the 1976 movie, The Bad News Bears. In the last inning of the championship game, the Bears’ Kelly Leak is up with the bases loaded and his team down four runs to the Yankees. The Yankees’ coach doesn’t want to take any chances and tells the pitcher to walk Leak. But Bears’ coach Buttermaker tells Kelly to swing away on a 3-0 count. Kelly bombs one into right-center field. The three runners score, and Kelly heads home. The Yankees’ relay the ball to the catcher as Kelly slides. Unfortunately, the ump calls him out, and the Bears lose by one run.
Then there was the intentional walk ruse, in which the pitcher and catcher appear to be throwing an intentional ball, then try to slip a strike by the batter. The most famous successful deployment of this technique was in the 1972 World Series, when the Oakland A’s Rollie Fingers nailed a called third strike past the Reds’ Johnny Bench after appearing ready to put him on base. Oakland manager Dick Williams played his part perfectly, coming out to the mound to talk with Fingers and pointing to the on-deck circle and first base, making it seem certain that they intended to walk Bench.
Similarly, back in July 1996, Cleveland’s Dennis Martinez was on the mound and Tony Pena behind the plate. With a 3-2 count on Toronto’s John Olerud, Pena walked out in front of home plate to signal for an intentional ball four. Pena returned behind the dish, signaled again, and Olerud relaxed just enough to allow Martinez to slip a called third strike by him.
The traditional intentional walk resulted in some comical moments. In 1976, the Twins’ Rod Carew was being walked with a runner on second in the 11th inning. Carew had hit .350 or better in each of the last three seasons, so the strategy made sense. But Carew swung at the first two pitches to get the two strikes on him and encourage the other team to go after him. But they went ahead with the intentional walk.
I will also miss the home crowd booing the manager of the other team when the opposition decides to walk their player intentionally. The crowd is accusing the opposing team of being chicken. What San Francisco Giants fan wants to see Barry Bonds being intentionally walked? The booing was a lot of fun.
Speaking of the intentional walk, we must mention the two times since the end of World War II when the manager elected to issue a free pass with the bases loaded. The first was to Barry Bonds in 1998 and then to Josh Hamilton a decade later. Both cases were late in games, with the pitching team ahead by two and four runs, respectively. The strategy succeeded in both cases, with the next batter making the final out of the game.
There’s at least one other aspect of the game that the new intentional walk has eliminated. Did you ever notice the box behind home plate? It’s wider than the plate itself, but the catcher is supposed to remain within it. Here’s the associated MLB rule:
5.02 (4.03) Fielding Positions: (a) The catcher shall station himself directly back of the plate. He may leave his position at any time to catch a pitch or make a play, except that when the batter is being given an intentional base on balls, the catcher must stand with both feet within the lines of the catcher’s box until the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand. PENALTY: Balk.
If you go back and watch intentional walks on YouTube, you will see that the catcher regularly steps out of the catcher’s box before the pitcher releases the ball. But the umpires rarely called it.
That curious rule is no longer needed. But nobody will miss that one.
