90 years of walks. Enough already.

MLB Network Clubhouse Confidential was recently celebrating how certain catchers have apparently developed a skill for fooling umpires into calling more strikes than their peers.  Isn't that cheating?  Think before you provide some proverbial knee-jerk answer.

Some Radical Baseball thoughts on this from the past.

Saturday, August 8, 2009 Imaginary strike zone.

There are no physical limits to the strike zone. It is an imaginary three dimensional area hovering above ground. To make it even more elusive, it's size varies with each batter.
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010 Send in the midgets!

the stupidity of the MLB walk rule, which should have been changed radically after Babe Ruth walked 170 times in 1923
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Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Ah, the elusive strike zone

even the basic definition is ambiguous. Which knee?
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Until Babe Ruth came along 100 walks in a season for a batter was pretty random.  Many of the 25 or so times it occurred from 1903 through 1923 the batter did not seem worthy of fear.  The Babe instilled fear and hence he was walked.

The Major Baseball League (MBL) has descended so far in those 90 years since the Babe was walked a whopping 170 times that deception is praised.

We want the batter to hit the ball.  There is often little merit and no entertainment in a batter walking.   If we exhumed the Babe, eventually his remains could draw a walk.  There is no other event in baseball, much less in football or basketball, which provides reward to a corpse.  And yet we watch such inactivity and pretend that it is essential.

Walks and strike outs are boring.  They are ruining baseball.  Eliminate them.