COMMENTARY : Baseball Needs to Change to a Platoon System

Now that the 1990 major-league baseball season is finally under way, we can get on with the really serious business: How soon will baseball go in for a semi-free substitution setup somewhat akin to pro football’s platoon system?

The idea, of course, is to have the best hitters hitting, the best fielders fielding and the best baserunners running the bases as much as possible--producing the higher scores that American sports fans tend to favor without robbing baseball of its status as a game of strategy. All that’s needed are a couple of rule changes--and, of course, a fundamental rethinking of the national pastime. But before we look at how New Baseball might operate, let’s examine the numerous ways in which the game will be improved by more liberal substitution:

--The standard of play will be raised. One appeal of professional sports is that the games fans play, or played when they were younger, are taken to amazing and entertaining new levels of excellence. Major-league baseball today features too many batters who are virtual automatic outs, too many fielders with bad hands or erratic arms and too many baserunners who are slow afoot or lacking in quickness, instincts and timing.

A platoon system will allow players to showcase only the skills that make them special, while permitting teammates gifted in other areas to replace them at bat, in the field or (occasionally) on the bases. The result will be an immediate strengthening of every team’s offense and defense. Only the most stubborn purist would be against the resulting higher caliber of play.

--Offenses will be helped. Semi-free substitution will improve both components of team offense (hitting and baserunning) but will elevate only the fielding component of team defense (since pitching will be unaffected.) This help for the squad at bat is desirable because pitchers (especially relievers) continue to dominate the game to the detriment of the sport’s potential excitement level. No matter how tightly the umpires squeeze the strike zone (and the one being called today is but a fraction of the zone dictated by the rule book), pitchers routinely overpower hitters -- particularly in a game’s pivotal moments.

This happens because the pitching staff has been allowed to evolve into a group of specialists while the rest of the ballclub has not: 1) Although they occupy only one of the nine positions on the field, moundsmen fill about 40 percent of the roster slots. 2) Starting pitchers are no longer expected to finish games, so instead of pacing themselves they go as hard as they can for as long as they can. 3) Early-exiting starters give way to long relievers, setup men, lefty and righty closers and even ultraspecialists whose job is to retire a given hitter. The offense today has no real counter for such group tactics -- for such an assortment of speeds, styles and angles -- and the few hitters who could legitimately hurt the pitchers are walked or given nothing but junk to hit. Platoon baseball will challenge the pitchers with stronger lineups and more speed on the basepaths.

-- Games will be more action-packed and entertaining. With more potent batting attacks, pitchers will be forced to challenge the hitters. With faster runners on base, the men on the hill will be wary of walking potential runs. Thus, more balls will be put into play. Even though some of these will be handled by a superior defense, a faster-paced game and a more entertaining brand of ball is certain.

-- All-around players will stand out more than they do now. The player who excels on both offense and defense will continue to play full time. He will also take up only one roster spot while (in effect) filling two positions, creating a slot for an offensive ultraspecialist. Multi-talented stars also are likely to be the beneficiaries of a more equitable pay scale and more enlightened most-valuable-player and Hall of Fame balloting.

-- Better use will be made of the entire roster. Managers are constantly trying to find ways to keep their reserves from accumulating rust. Under a system permitting liberal substitution, staying sharp will be easy for starters and scrubs alike.

-- Strategy will still have its place in the game. It’s a canard that the designated-hitter rule has taken strategy out of the American League version of the sport. By far the most important decision a manager in either league has to make once the game begins is when to change pitchers.

In the National League, the decision is frequently determined by the need for a pinch-hitter with runners on base, and in a given situation nearly all field generals would make the same move; there are not many gray areas. Not so in the AL or in platoon baseball; since the pitcher never bats, the manager’s decision depends entirely on matters of strategy -- his judgment of the pitcher’s effectivenesss, the state of his bullpen, the potential opposing pinch-hitters. Similarly, the relaxation of restrictions on substitutions in the field and on the bases will confront managers with new and interesting choices come game time. If a way can be found to expand the roster, sufficient offensive ammunition will be available so that even more than the usual managerial wheels will be turning.

Very few rules need to be changed to order to implement this new system. Here they are: Any non-pitcher may man any defensive position at any time. Players may come out of and return to the “defensive lineup” without being disqualified. All current rules governing the “offensive lineup” (batting order) shall remain in effect with one exception: Up to five pinch-runners per contest may be used before a player being run for is pulled from the batting order. Each pinch-runner must still come from outside of the batting lineup and no pinch-runner may be used more than once. That’s it. All other tenets of the sport remain sacrosanct.

The key element in platoon baseball is roster size. Ideally, the roster should be: 1) big enough to allow for offensive and defensive specialists, but small enough to require a certain number of two-way players; 2) large enough to continue today’s platooning (such as lefty pitcher against righty hitter, though the new breed of better curve-ball hitters may make that ploy obsolete) but not so large that teams will be tempted to dramatically increase the number of pitchers on the squad; 3) considerable enough to allow full use of the baserunning changes while maintaining adequate firepower on the bench, yet not so unwieldy so as to take substitutional strategy out of the game.

Rosters currently consist of 24 players -- typically 10 pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders and five outfielders. Platoon baseball might work best at 30, with all but one of the six new slots going to non-pitchers. Since the owners are even now resisting a return to 25-man squads, the additional jobs might materialize in increments. As rookie salaries are adjusted to reflect a new pay scale favoring two-way players (perhaps with an NBA-like team salary cap), owners will become more amenable to bigger rosters. The point is that loosening the substitution restrictions will improve the sport no matter what the roster size, but there is a roster size at which the great game would thrive best.

Football players used to routinely play on both sides of the ball, yet fans came to accept that sport’s progression into an age of specialization. So, too, will followers of the game of summer embrace platoon baseball once the system kicks in and the pluses are evident.

Even traditionalists should come around in time, since the subtle delights of baseball they enjoy most will remain an integral part of the sport. Wily infielders will continue to creep slightly to the left or right just before the ball is pitched in order to be in perfect fielding position. Crafty hurlers will still throw hard and tight to set up an offspeed strikeout on the outside corner. Daring and instinctive baserunners will always play cat and mouse with opposing pitchers, catchers and infielders. Organizations adept at finding, developing and utilizing talent will prosper as they always have. (Deciding which athletes to fully develop as two-way players will be especially crucial.)

In the final analysis, if a team is receiving terrific play from what used to be a weak or mixed position in the lineup -- say, a shortstop-ninth-place hitter -- does it actually matter if the contribution is coming from a duo of a skilled batsman and a brilliant gloveman who substitute for each other when common sense dictates?

Play in basketball, soccer and hockey is continuous, making separate offensive and defensive units impractical. Some sports, though, have natural breaks as teams switch from offense to defense and back again. Football makes good use of those moments. The day is approaching when baseball will do likewise. That time between half innings is there for a purpose.