The Steering Committee of World Baseball Classic, Inc., has approved a controversial rule to help break a potential tie in a long extra-inning game during next month's WBC tournament, and it does not sit well with at least one Italian fan.
According to a WBC news release, "A variant of the IBAF extra-inning rule, used in the 2008 Olympics, will be utilized. Beginning with the 13th inning, each half-inning will begin with runners on first and second base, with the batting order intact. The applicability of the rule to the championship game of the tournament is under review by the Rules and Regulations Committee."
In an e-mail, Vincenzo Russo wrote in response: "I'm a fan of the game from Italy. These days I'm looking for a way to express all my disappointment with the approval of the extra-inning rule by the WBC Committee on a proposal of IBAF President Harvey Schiller. I really can't believe such an absurd, asinine rule has been passed. It seems just like a Sepp Blatter-type rule for European football purposes.