Tennessee Vols' Tony Vitello has a thoughtful response to question about an often-debated aspect of college sports
Some people actually want less sports. I can't make it make sense, but some do, for some reason. I'm referring particularly to the complaints about sporting events being too long, particularly college ones. It's been a supposed complaint that, honestly, not many people around me have made. Not too many people I've read online have […]
Some people actually want less sports. I can't make it make sense, but some do, for some reason.
I'm referring particularly to the complaints about sporting events being too long, particularly college ones. It's been a supposed complaint that, honestly, not many people around me have made. Not too many people I've read online have whined about it.
Yet, the NCAA – in its infinite wisdom – approved a rule change eliminating one of the most distinguishing features between college and pro football – the clock stopping on first downs. God forbid they cut down on commercials or in-game advertising opportunities. Instead, the sport is now inferior to what it used to be.
Fortunately, college baseball isn't there – yet. Yes, the pitch clock has been implemented, but that's actually seemed to be a good thing. The game has a good pace about it but doesn't feel rushed.
With that being said, someone asked Tennessee Vols head coach Tony Vitello after the Vols' 9-5 loss to Texas A&M in game one of the College World Series championship series about the length of college baseball games amid the ever-shortening attention spans in today's society, and Vitello had a thoughtful response.
"I get it, and I think the 20 second clock has been productive, but I'm not so sure people wouldn't come to the park anyway. Heck, everyone's attention span is brutal because of what we hold in our hands all day long with our phones, but, man, this thing has turned into a monster. The draft is shorter. There are fewer minor league teams. There's more resources that these kids see, and I'm not – I don't wany any scouts to slash my tires – but it certainly makes sense for a lot of guys now to go on to school. I mean (Texas A&M's Graham) Grahovac is the size of probably some of the trucks that on that campus down there, and the guy behind him is bigger. And you look at our infield. Not one of those four guys looks like an infielder other than Blake Burke kind of looks like a big first baseman.
"So, man, these little kids but also these adults have these guys that you could go pay a ton of money and watch the Braves play, but you can get right up close to these guys, and they're the next guy on the Braves or the Phillies or whatever it might be. And then you sprinkle in the constant drama all season long that you kind of only get in MLB playoffs. So, like I said, it's turned into a monster and a lot of it is because of the celebrities that I get to throw [batting practice] to, or that we get to stress about getting Charlie Condon out or whoever it might be.
"So I think you could make it two and a half hours, four hours. If it's a big game, it's probably going to be four hours with all the commercials and all that BS. But I think you show up, and you have your hot dog, and if you want to have a beverage, you have a beverage. You yell stuff at me if you're wearing maroon, and the orange people yell crazy stuff at the other team, and I don't know that you'd want it any other way. Obviously, we'd like to win tonight, but pretty damned good stuff. Unfortunately, we don't get to enjoy it like you guys do. We've got to try and do our jobs, and we certainly need to do it better than we did tonight. At least I do."
Vitello is right in that opportunities for exposure for players showcasing themselves to major league scouts has shrunk substantially from what it used to be in prior years. And it's also, as he alludes to, a place where baseball's best in the years to come are going to be seen. Georgia's Charlie Condon, Florida's Jac Caglione, and a handful of Tennessee Vols should all see themselves in major league lineups down the road. Where minor league baseball has dipped, college baseball has risen, and it should be celebrated and enjoyed regardless of how much some of our brains have been re-wired by our phones.
With any luck, the NCAA will heed Vitello's words and will leave their grubby hands off at least one of their sports. After all, the only ones complaining about the length of games probably already have one eyeball on their cell phones anyways.
