College World Series mercy rule: Does the special provision hold any value in the NCAA rule book and the MCWS finals? 

The College World Series has seen some major scoring throughout the years with teams dominating one another. That these are eight of the best college baseball teams does not mean that they can avoid a major blowout.

There is no mercy rule to help avoid long games that are completely one-sided. This was on display in the 2023 College World Series finals where the Florida Gators picked up a 24-4 win over LSU.

The College World Series is the biggest point of the season where the most eyeballs are on the product. Having a game end via a mercy rule feels amateurish at best and is arguably more humiliating for the loser. They would be denied the chance to fight back, or at least put on a display.

Teams with a great bullpen, like the 2023 Florida Gators, have a distinct advantage as they can withstand a lopsided loss and eat innings. Looking at the 2023 CWS finals, the Gators won 24-4 in Game 2 and still were unable to win the championship.

Having a mercy rule hurts the team that is scoring and not the team that has gotten itself into that predicament. Why would a team want to tack on runs after destroying the starting pitcher early? The opposing bullpen would get taxed and the winning team uses its lesser bullpen pieces if they need to.

The College World Series should consider other measures instead of a mercy rule

Instead of a mercy rule, there is another thing that should be considered, which relates to position players pitching. In order to be on the pitcher's mound, the team should have players listed as a pitcher on the pre-game roster.

While players like Jac Caglianone can play a position as well as be a pitcher, they should be designated as a pitcher as well to the umpires before game time.

Watching other players pitch to an already-beaten team feels like poor sportsmanship and is not great for the game.