Cincinnati Reds’ TV commentator Chris Welsh has come up with a very good idea for baseball fans.

Welsh, who annually emcees the presentation of our Harvey Haddix Memorial Sportsmanship Award at Great American Ball Park, has designed a way for fans to quickly interpret major league rules just by using their smart phones.

“There have been many occasions during my 25 years as Reds’ TV analyst where a quirky, rules-related play occurred on the field that caused broadcasters, writers, fans and even coaches, to reach for the Official Baseball Rules. Good luck with that,” said Welsh. “The OBR is a cumbersome collection of poorly-worded rules, ambiguous interpretations and cross-referenced confusion. Four years ago I started a project to help solve this problem with a solution we carry in our pocket: the smart phone.”

Welsh’s new website, baseballrulesacademy.com, allows users to search for any rule by entering a rule or phrase into the home page search box. Results include: official baseball rule, blog post specific to that rule, video clip(s), umpire interpretation language and a special Insider Report (case study) written by an MLB rules consultant.

“There is a lot more to the site, but the search box will probably be the first stop,” said Welsh.

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Trivia Time – Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo played college football at Eastern Illinois.

This week’s question – Which high school in Cincinnati did Chris Welsh attend?