The Penalty Box
October 14, 2020 at 12:27 a.m.
The Penalty Box
By Roger Grossman-
I have watching and playing sports for as long as I can remember.
I consider sports my first love, and we have been together for about 50 years.
But no relationship is ever perfect, and there are always things that can be improved.
So I offer you a new installment of rules changes in various sports that I would like to see implemented for the betterment of that sport, in the order I would change them.
Baseball’s extra innings: The rule implemented in this virus-shortened year that started every half inning in extra innings with a runner at second base should become a permanent rule. The players seem to like it, and the managers really liked it. Skippers would rather lose one game in 10 innings than go on a long losing streak because their bullpen is shot from a 17 inning game they actually won.
Football’s defensive holding: Have you ever watched a football game, and on third down and 12 an official throws his flag for defensive holding. It’s a five yard penalty and an automatic first down.
Why?
Offensive holding is a 10 yard penalty, right.
I am proposing that defensive holding be a 10-yard penalty but not an automatic first down.
With that, I would also like to eliminate the automatic first down portion of defensive pass interference.
In both cases, an offense that is facing third-and-20, for example, and throws an eight yard slant that has no real chance to get them a first down, but it ultimately does because of the penalty.
That’s bogus.
Basketball’s double-bonus: Currently, when a high school basketball team commits their seventh foul in a half, their opponent shoots one-and-one. When the tenth foul happens, it’s automatically two shots.
I am proposing that team fouls go by quarters.
In my vision, the one-and-one would begin on the fifth foul each quarter. At the end of the first and third quarters, the fouls would reset two zero.
In the fourth quarter, when fouling to create more possessions happens, a double-bonus (or penalty as I like to call it) would kick in starting with the seventh foul that would be two shots automatically.
Baseball’s ‘checked swing’: I have been crying out for mercy on this for a long time, and since my cries have gone unanswered to this point I will come up with my own solution.
If the batter’s bat passes the corner of the plate that is closest to the catcher, it counts as a swing.
My thinking is this—if the batter stops his bat just before that point and makes contact with the ball, it would likely go foul. If the bat goes just beyond that, it’s likely to be fair.
Now, it’s still up to the umpires at first and third bases to determine whether or not the bat crossed that point and it’s still a really tough thing for an umpire to judge. But if you ask 100 umpires how they go about calling the check swing a strike or not, you’d be stunned how many answers you’d get. And by the way, that’s not the umpires’ fault.
Hockey goalies: It doesn’t happen a lot, which is why it’s at the bottom of my list, but goalies will drift away from their nets to play the puck, but do so with the full protection from being hit by opposing players.
I am proposing that an arc be added to the ice surface 20 feet from the center of the goal line. The goalie would not be allowed outside that arc except for when he is going to the bench for an extra skater at the end of the game.
If he does, it would be a two-minute minor penalty just like when the goalie goes behind the net outside of the trapezoid.
With COVID dominating sports, and everything else, in 2020, I have had plenty of time to consider all of this.
As a matter of fact, I always run out of space before I run out of ideas.
Latest News
E-Editions
I have watching and playing sports for as long as I can remember.
I consider sports my first love, and we have been together for about 50 years.
But no relationship is ever perfect, and there are always things that can be improved.
So I offer you a new installment of rules changes in various sports that I would like to see implemented for the betterment of that sport, in the order I would change them.
Baseball’s extra innings: The rule implemented in this virus-shortened year that started every half inning in extra innings with a runner at second base should become a permanent rule. The players seem to like it, and the managers really liked it. Skippers would rather lose one game in 10 innings than go on a long losing streak because their bullpen is shot from a 17 inning game they actually won.
Football’s defensive holding: Have you ever watched a football game, and on third down and 12 an official throws his flag for defensive holding. It’s a five yard penalty and an automatic first down.
Why?
Offensive holding is a 10 yard penalty, right.
I am proposing that defensive holding be a 10-yard penalty but not an automatic first down.
With that, I would also like to eliminate the automatic first down portion of defensive pass interference.
In both cases, an offense that is facing third-and-20, for example, and throws an eight yard slant that has no real chance to get them a first down, but it ultimately does because of the penalty.
That’s bogus.
Basketball’s double-bonus: Currently, when a high school basketball team commits their seventh foul in a half, their opponent shoots one-and-one. When the tenth foul happens, it’s automatically two shots.
I am proposing that team fouls go by quarters.
In my vision, the one-and-one would begin on the fifth foul each quarter. At the end of the first and third quarters, the fouls would reset two zero.
In the fourth quarter, when fouling to create more possessions happens, a double-bonus (or penalty as I like to call it) would kick in starting with the seventh foul that would be two shots automatically.
Baseball’s ‘checked swing’: I have been crying out for mercy on this for a long time, and since my cries have gone unanswered to this point I will come up with my own solution.
If the batter’s bat passes the corner of the plate that is closest to the catcher, it counts as a swing.
My thinking is this—if the batter stops his bat just before that point and makes contact with the ball, it would likely go foul. If the bat goes just beyond that, it’s likely to be fair.
Now, it’s still up to the umpires at first and third bases to determine whether or not the bat crossed that point and it’s still a really tough thing for an umpire to judge. But if you ask 100 umpires how they go about calling the check swing a strike or not, you’d be stunned how many answers you’d get. And by the way, that’s not the umpires’ fault.
Hockey goalies: It doesn’t happen a lot, which is why it’s at the bottom of my list, but goalies will drift away from their nets to play the puck, but do so with the full protection from being hit by opposing players.
I am proposing that an arc be added to the ice surface 20 feet from the center of the goal line. The goalie would not be allowed outside that arc except for when he is going to the bench for an extra skater at the end of the game.
If he does, it would be a two-minute minor penalty just like when the goalie goes behind the net outside of the trapezoid.
With COVID dominating sports, and everything else, in 2020, I have had plenty of time to consider all of this.
As a matter of fact, I always run out of space before I run out of ideas.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092