YES. Electric! As someone who used to work for a college-baseball summer league (shout out Wisconsin Woodchucks), this is the PERFECT ‘summer college baseball league’ rule. There’s nothing on the line, there’s no major league affiliation, these are just college stand-outs looking to get some at-bats with a wood bat and increase their draft stock.
Those leagues are always looking to get the crowd involved in-between innings, but this takes it to a new level. Typically a foul ball is a nothing burger. Sure you take a look and see if someone in the vicinity catches it or gets smoked with it, but beyond that you never think too much about it as a fan.
But not with this rule. Every foul ball becomes an event. Could you imagine some 12 year old kid on vacation with his/her family catching a foul ball for the third out in the 9th inning to secure a Bananas win?? LEGEND. That kid would never come down from that high. Might change the course of their whole life. Instead of becoming an internet blogger who does pro-bono work on Cameo, maybe they gain the confidence to be a professional athlete or a doctor or an engineer. Not thinking of anyone in particular, just spit ballin’.
Anyway, I don’t suspect this would ever play at the Major League level, but if MLB really wanted to speed up their games, this would help.
PS: I guess I didn’t consider the alternative to the 12-year old scenario I presented above. 2 outs in the 9th inning, a ball hit into the stands, and the kids muffs a can of corn. Crowd groans. Confidence shot. But let’s not consider that! What can I say, I’m a glass is half full kind of guy.
Double PS: ^Speaking of which, Keston Hiura is RAKING in spring training. He’s calmed that gigantic leg kick down and is starting to look like the hitter we saw in 2019. Granted he almost always looks good in spring training. Nevertheless I am ready to buy in until he’s inevitably hitting .178 by Memorial Day.
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