It will still be about 45 minutes until Coral F makes our way to the chute. Once on the bus I heard from Tara that she was on the way herself.Īt 6:00 AM, the first waves of Corral A start crossing the start line at 2 minute intervals. After texting for a while the previous night, we made up to meet before getting into Corral F.
I passed along the advice that I had received and told Kim that her friend, Tara, could text me directly, and perhaps we could meet and support each other. I should take a moment here to mention that Wednesday night at Disney Springs, another RADPer, Kim Fajerski, that she had a colleague/friend who was also running her first 5K and wanted to know if I had any advice for her. Just before 4 AM we board the bus and at the stroke of 4 the bus pulls out. One thing that I have noticed is the sense of community among those participating, and this morning is no exception. I get on line and start chatting with the folks in front of me. There is already a significant line waiting to get on. Transportation begins at 4:00 and a bus is waiting there when I arrive at the pick-up location. I grab a Powerade to take with me to get the bus to the starting line in the EPCOT parking lot. My stomach is confused and wants to know what's happening, but grudgingly accepts the nutrition. do not bring the designated hitter to the National League!!!Īfter the shower (and the usual morning routine) it's time for a 3:15 AM snack - otherwise known as breakfast. I am finally on board with it - and realize that baseball needs to evolve to survive! This year will see a number of changes to speed up the game and keep in competitive in the late part of the season. Instant replay would have assured that it was. Sorry Johan Santana, but Carlos Beltran's ball should have been called fair. If instant replay had been in play on June 1, 2012, my team which has been playing major league baseball since 1962 would still not have had a no-hitter. Instant replay has come to MLB in the past few years and it has prevented more than a few incorrect calls from changing games. In principle, I am not in favor of wild card teams, but I have to admit, it has made a big difference in keeping baseball exciting for longer in more cities than would have been involved in the pennant race without them. After resisting drastic change over the years, I have finally come around and realize that change is indeed needed. And baseball is addressing the issue to try to bring back some of the lost gleam of the game. Games that used to take 2 hours or less when I was a kid often approach 4 hours today. Today's generations don't seem to have the patience for the game. And there is a clock that is used between innings and pitcher changes.īaseball used to be the undisputed National Game, but over the years it has lost that distinction. The mound is now lower than it was in the pre-1969 era. Want to issue an intentional walk to an opposing player? No longer do four pitches have to be thrown, with the possibility of a wild pitch occurring, but now you simply tell the batter to take first.
The fifth best team can now represent its league.
they have to play a series of playoffs to get there. Each league now has 3 divisions and Wild Cards vie for a spot in the World Series - no longer are the best teams in each league guaranteed a spot in the World Series. But the leagues now are both under the administration of Major League Baseball and not a League President, and there is interleague play. More recently the leagues have lost most of their distinction as separate entities - only being differentiated today by the use of the Designated Hitter in the American League. Of course, these rule changes themselves go back more than 100 years. Fielders no longer get runners out by hitting them with a thrown ball and balls that bounce over the fence are no longer homeruns. Pitchers are no longer required to pitch underhand and batters are no longer allowed to instruct pitchers as to where they want the pitch. But that's not to say that baseball hasn't changed over the more than 100 years that it has been played. I am old school!Īll sports have changed over the years, but baseball fans tend to be very conservative and resist change more than fans of the other sports. the Brooklyn Dodgers! I remember two distinct 8 team leagues, the best team in each league going directly to the World Series. The first team I rooted for was the Dodgers.