On Opening Day, MLB has the biggest joke of all

Today is not only April Fools' Day, but it's also my one of my favorite days of the year. MLB Opening Day! What an interesting day for the start of baseball season to land on.

In a day filled with pranks, shenanigans and jokes, the only joke today belongs to MLB.

There's been a lot of changes to baseball in the last few years, like the three-batter minimum, use of instant replay and challenges, doubleheaders games are now limited to 7 innings each. But the biggest rule change in my opinion, is the extra-innings rule.

For those who don't know, this rule basically states that every extra inning, a runner will start on second-base. Call me a baseball purist if you want, say that I'm crying foul, but that rule is stupid. It's a joke. I understand MLB's reasoning for implementing it and wanting to speed up the pace of the game, but for crying out loud, this is a dumb rule.

Yes, there's more pressure on both teams to strand that runner and it'll take more strategy to win, but in my opinion it takes away the drama and suspense that an extra-inning game has to offer. You can argue that this actually creates more drama, but all I see here is a cheap opportunity to push a run across, end the game quickly and send the fans home.

The New York Yankees were the first ones this season to fall victim to this rule, and lost their season opener to Blue Jays, 3-2. Not making any excuses here, but Yankees' RHP Nick Nelson had a solid outing, striking out the side. His only blemish was that lead off double that scored the runner on second. Sure the Yankees had the same opportunity but failed to capitalize in their half of the tenth, but you cannot say that's how baseball works. Having a rule like this breaks the very tradition of the sport. You don't see football breaking tradition or basketball adjusting rules to speed things up.

I understand MLB wants to engage the fans more and keep them interest, but this is not it. Yes baseball should evolve and change when necessary, but this is not it. The fact that they decided to keep this silly rule and not implement a more beneficial one like a universal DH baffles me.

Regardless of how I feel, I'll still watch baseball because I love the sport. But I'm always going to have a bitter feeling whenever I see a MLB game go to extra innings.

CAPTION INFO: New York Yankees' Aaron Judge (99) walks away after striking out and stranding two runners during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays on opening day at Yankee Stadium, Thursday, April 1, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)