Is this a good thing? The Arizona Diamondbacks are doing it. They’re the first and they will be the model for the rest of major league baseball to see if it catches on.
In a leisurely April game this should be fine. It may speed up the game initially. Although I thought the players running to the mound was better for a few reasons. I thought it was a good look for the sport. It showed off some more athleticism rather than hitching a ride. I’m not against the bullpen car. I loved them.
The car has to be offered to the home and visiting team. If the pitcher gets to the mound early he won’t get any extra warm up pitches. But what happens in a game where the manager keeps going rightly/lefty? Will this slow down the game? I think in September it might.
The last time a cart was used was 22 years ago. A lot has changed since then. An entire generation of players have grown up without them and may shun them as a result. They may consider this their dad’s thing and not theirs.
When Joe Maddon was managing Tampa, he once used nine pitchers in a postseason game against the Red Sox back in 2013. That tied the modern-day record for a nine-inning game. John Farrell was the Red Sox manager at the time and he used just four pitchers. If every pitcher decided to use the bullpen cart there’s no doubt in my mind that the game would have gone longer than the 3 hours, 49 minutes game that was played that night.
Other teams are “looking into this” and doing studies. That’s funny. I can’t wait to see bullpen cart analytics! Welcome back bullpen cart, let’s see if you’re ready for the 21st century.
