What If Baseball Fell in Love with Three-Inning Games?

In Philadelphia, the Wednesday before Halloween, there was pandemonium among its baseball fan base.

The Philadelphia Phillies had just won its second World Series title in its 126-year history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays, four games to one.

Sure, there were teams with worse droughts, but not many. The Phillies also suffered the indignity of being the first Major League baseball teams to reach 10,000 losses two years ago.

It was the Phillies first title in 28 years and close to two million people lined Broad Street in Philadelphia on Friday to celebrate the championship. The procession led into a packed Lincoln Financial Field and more exuberant fans in Citizens Bank Park.

Perhaps All-Star Second baseman Chase Utley put it best, yet somewhat crass, as he was one of nine Phillies to address the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.

“World Champions,” Utley said, smiling and looking back at teammates. “World F****ng Champions.”

Yet in Major League baseball offices, the spirit was not as bright. Crass words were of the negative sort. The Phillies championship dimmed from memory as baseball executives prepared for the winter meetings in early November.

When assessing the season in general and the World Series in particular, one thing was apparent. The game needed a boost in revenue in general and television ratings in particular. The short Phils-Rays series drew an 8.4 rating and 14 share, said Fox television executives. The television ratings were down 17 percent from the previous low, a 10.1 for the five-game Cardinals-Tigers series in 2006.

There was one bright spot, however, the result of rather gloomy conditions.

Due to weather conditions, the Game Five on Oct. 27 was played into the middle of the sixth inning, postponed and concluded on Wednesday.

Worsening conditions made for the messy affair that Monday, as light rain turned into a heavy downpour by the fifth inning and the game was halted in the middle of the sixth inning and a 2-2 tie. Tuesday’s conditions were no better and the commissioners’ office said the game would be concluded Wednesday.

The final three-inning event was exciting for sure. Each at bat, each pitch mattered in the shortened affair.

With little fanfare and no National Anthem, the game started in the bottom of the sixth with the Phillies at bat. The game featured three lead changes, several pinch hitters and two managers who played the game like a chess match, with each pitch a move on the board, each hit a piece taken from the other's team. Phillies closer Brad Lidge finally captured the Rays’ king, striking out Eric Hinske to give the Phillies a 4-3 win for their first World Series title since 1980.

The final innings Wednesday earned an 11.9/18, and the entire game averaged a 9.6/14, the highest of the series, a noticeable increase in the television viewing audience.

A "Ray" of light suddenly appeared in the commissioner’s office. Bud Selig made another historic decision: He secretly named himself Baseball Czar for life and three-inning games would be played in May and August for a period of one week in each league. Owners approved the measure by one vote.

Czar Selig drew up the rules: The worst team in the league, the Washington Nationals would play the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese Baseball League to play a regular-season, three inning game on March 25, 2009 in Japan. The winner of the game would enter play in Major League baseball, while the loser stayed in Japan.

The game would start in the seventh inning. The inevitable happened and the Yomiuri Giants beat the Nationals, 3-2.

Officials from the Nationals were infuriated as they and America were told this would be an exhibition game held prior to the start of the 2009 season. Baseball, though, was lagging in third place behind football and NASCAR as the favorite sports in America, and Selig made the deal final.

What next, a Baseball reality show?

The Nationals got no satisfactory deal from Selig and officials contacted President Barack Obama, who promised a tax break to the team and worked out with Major League baseball that this Japanese relocation would only last for one year.

Not only were the Nationals upset, to say the least, the rest of baseball was perplexed with the decision.

The session in April worked fine, with no seventh-inning game lasting more than 13  innings. Single game prices were reduced slightly and there was a greater cost savings to fans if they bought all three games.

The one-week session in August, however, proved disastrous.

Sure some teams benefited. The Mets’ Johan Santana pitched three straight complete game shutouts against the Braves as the Mets gained ground against the suddenly floundering Phillies. Santana would not be available for another week, but three games put the Mets one game behind the Phillies in the National League East.

For one Western team, however, the three-game, three-inning set unraveled the team's season and one player's march toward a historic record.

The Colorado Rockies, who lost in the World Series in 2007, led the National League West by 10 games going into the 3 for 3 series and looked like a lock to return to post-season. Rockies manager Clint Hurdle seemed relaxed as the team faced off against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on August 15, 2009.

The opening three-inning game saw Colorado lead 5-2 going into the top of the ninth inning, when the Cubs scored three runs in the visitors’ half and sent the game into extra innings. The game played on and on, into the 22nd inning, and the already tired Colorado bullpen was taxed even more. Two pitchers pitched three innings and four other pitched two innings. The Rockies also lost their next two games.

Sure enough, the Rockies were also swept in Arizona and lost four more in Los Angeles. Not only that, but in the final game of the Cubs series, Matt Holiday’s 55-game hitting streak ended.

Czar Selig washed his hands of the matter, citing Major League Baseball rule 127.1 that states, “if a three-inning game goes past the 16^th inning, a team may call up pitcher from Double or Triple A or gather reputable players from beyond the field of play.”

“Yep,” said Hurdle. “Next time, I’ll bring in the ball girl to pitch. Humph!”

No rule about Holliday’s historic march of Joe DiMaggio’s seemingly untouchable 56-game hitting streak. Holliday only had nine innings to continue the march, rather than 27 innings under normal rules.

Abner Doubleday must have been rolling in his grave.

Needless to say, the 3-for-3 idea was scratched, a normal season returned in 2010, and well as baseball’s status as the third most-watched sport in America.

Czar Selig resigned from the Commissioner’s seat and bought back control of the Milwaukee Brewers, which he owned prior to becoming commissioner and stayed in the family, until his daughter sold the team in 2004.

The baseball Gods must have conspired to form another plan in 2010. Major League Baseball could not find a suitable baseball commissioner after the 2009 season, so it kept Selig as its commissioner for one more year.

Of course, the other shoe dropped and on Oct. 31, 2010; the Brewers won the World Series and Selig awarded the World Series trophy … to himself.

Once again, Chase Utley put the whole matter into proper perspective.

“What the **$$%% is the difference?” Utley said. “He had a vested interest in the team before all this **&&$%%% three-inning ((**%%@ started.”