Baseball season is here

It’s been a month into baseball season. Way to start the professional baseball season with new rule changes in pitching and fielding! As with any changes that occur, there’s always going to be some grumbling and complaining. In fact, we’ve already seen it happen in spring training and into the season where players and coaches are arguing with umpires for breaking of enforced rules. Nevertheless, it’s fascinating to see how some of the players are dealing with the new rule changes, finding ways to use it to their advantage. Shohei Ohtani, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, is one of them. He’s now using a device called Pitchcom, approved for MLB usage, to help decide on which pitches to throw. In the past, the catchers would relay the message using their fingers and the pitcher would nod or shake his head in response. A pitchcom device would eliminate this, resulting in decreased timing between pitches hoping to throw the batter off pace.

Dentistry has been changing over recent years especially with how we work with insurance companies. Rule changes have been implemented resulting in changes to reimbursement rates and contracted fee schedules. We complain about the changes. Many have decided to no longer work with the insurance companies. As a result, they accept payment out of the insurance network or simply accept payment straight from the patient. That’s probably the easier way out. I sometimes wonder whether professional baseball players could do the same. Could you leave major league baseball and start your own league with your own rules?

How about using the changes to your advantage? I’m definitely inspired by professional athletes who deal with the rule changes. It helps to know we’re not alone.