Homers and strikeouts are way up, but MLB action is way down
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By DERON SNYDER
Like bombs and long runs in football, and dunks and three-pointers in basketball, everyone loves home runs and strikeouts in baseball.
Regarding the latter, you better love them. The game is offering little else these days, all or nothing.
The Steroids Era is long gone, but major-league hitters just set a record for homers in June. They went deep 1,101 times, topping the mark of 1,069 taters set in May 2000. The season mark for home runs is on pace to be broken, too, with just under two-and-a-half being hit on average per game.
Whiffs are occurring at an unprecedented pace as well. Major-league pitchers have combined to set strikeout records for nine consecutive seasons, from an average 6.30 per team per game in 2007 to 8.02 last year. This season’s average is an all-time high of 8.23 per team per game.
The question for baseball is how much is too much? At what point does all that power hitting and power pitching become humdrum? Because the rest of the “action” is dwindling and what’s left too often mimics a sleep aid.
Sports Illustrated outlined the problem perfectly by dissecting the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory in 12 innings against the Brewers last month. The game featured a National League-record 42 strikeouts. Three solo homers accounted for the scoring. The ball was put in play just once every six minutes and the contest nearly four hours (3:57).
I could be wrong, but that’s not a recipe for a long-term success.
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