19 Innings: Can NHL-style shootout eliminate extra-inning games?

Philadelphia, PA--The Phils and Cincinnati Reds battled for 19 innings (over six hours) last Wednesday night (and Thursday morning), the longest game of the MLB season. By the time the game concluded at 1:19 a.m., few fans remained and many of those still occupying the blue, plastic seats were counting sheep, not innings or runs. Could an NHL-like shootout--a series of goalie versus player one-on-one breakaways--be the answer to such comic book-long baseball games?

"I've long called for baseball games to be timed, but that will never happen," said Mike Beverly, a sports columnist for the New York Times. "So, how about if the game is tied after nine innings of play, then you move to a shootout. I wrote my plan for this nearly three years ago."

Beverly is referring to his article that appeared in the Times on May 2, 2008, where he explained his innovative MLB shootout concept. With a tie score and nine innings in the book, teams clear the field and a hockey net is positioned behind home plate for the catcher to defend.

The opposing team's pitcher is then given one attempt to throw the ball from the mound--directly or by bouncing in the dirt--past the catcher and into the net. When a ball enters the goal the team is given one run. Each team picks four pitchers to go against the opponent's catcher, and, like hockey, alternate turns. Home plate umpires stand at the side of the net and essentially become line judges.

"Do we really want 19-inning games?" asked Beverly rhetorically. "The answer is no. Emphatically, no. It totally screws up the manager's pitching options for days. Let's do the shootout and add some flare to baseball. Listen, I'm a baseball purist, but I think this would be great for the game."

Beverly also wrote that if the game was still tied after a shootout, then the same four pitchers from each team would be given a breakaway using a bat and a ball. The ball would have to remain on the ground as the pitcher runs from the mound towards the plate and the net using the bat like a field hockey stick. The opposing team's catcher still defends the goal.

"Would this mean that everyone on the bench would have to jump over the dugout railing to celebrate a win like hockey players jump over the boards?" said a smiling Roy Halladay.