Offical rule changes - faster play and safer slides

[MadScientist]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/165429062/pace-of-game-changes-new-slide-rule-adopted

 

Just touching second is no longer enough, runners have to make a legitimate slide. On the flip side the neighbothood play is also gone as well.

 

Shorter commercial breaks and mound visits should make for more watchable games. If Cal McLish were still around, the 30 second visit rule would bee a problem.

[Baldkin]

Love it. Love it. Love it.

 

To put in the info here:

 

 

 

 

Also, love how they came up with the rules for the new slide rule. They had umps watch 20 questionable slide and then built the rule from there.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm totally ok with this.

 

I know some old school guys will hate it, as going into second base with the intention of breaking a shin bone is the "way the game is meant to be played"

 

I just disagree. I don't think a play like this

 

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view5/20151010/5257493/dirty-slide-o.gif

 

needs to be in baseball. Utley never so much as even attempted to secure the base. I'm totally ok with hard-nosed baseball if in the way you play it, you're actually making a baseball play (attempting to secure a base). There's none of that going on in that particular play.

[1992casey]

I'm all for breaking up the double play, but there's a limit. Sliding nowhere near the base and making contact above the knees are well beyond what's reasonable. The rule seems to be fair and clear without being unreasonably restrictive.

 

I'll withhold judgment on visits to the mound until I see the rule in action. I'm fine with the general concept of a time limit; it'll be interesting to see how the details work out.

[MrTPlush]

A take out....you aren't trying to secure the base. I don't think the Utley slide was really that bad. If anything it was a little late, but even an earlier slide would have nailed him pretty hard. I have seen much much worse quite often.

 

I am just not really sure how this rule is going to be interpreted and supposably it is reviewable? I don't know it seems like a rule destined for strange calls/decisions.

 

It should interesting to see how it plays out. Hopefully it won't end up like the collision rule at home.

[Ennder]

It should interesting to see how it plays out. Hopefully it won't end up like the collision rule at home.

 

In what way? I thought the collision rule at home was a major success last year. The players adapted to it very quickly and we got rid of something that was hurting the game.

 

I mean if we have to live with 'old school' baseball why do they get to use gloves and wear protective gear. That is how baseball "is supposed" to be played.

[MadScientist]

My one minor concern for the rule changes is that shortening the time between innings may lead to more missed plays at the start of innings. If the TV production is tight, it will all be fine, but a little off, and we will miss some of the action.

[jerichoholicninja]

It should interesting to see how it plays out. Hopefully it won't end up like the collision rule at home.

 

In what way? I thought the collision rule at home was a major success last year. The players adapted to it very quickly and we got rid of something that was hurting the game.

 

I mean if we have to live with 'old school' baseball why do they get to use gloves and wear protective gear. That is how baseball "is supposed" to be played.

 

You forgot the blue on that right? Umpires randomly calling runners safe when they were out by 20 feet and every play at the plate being challenged because neither the umpires nor the reviewers have any consistent interpretation of the rule. I would agree that the players have done a good job of "playing safer" but those who enforce the rules don't have a clue what they're doing. I expect the same thing with these plays at second.

[trwi7]

The takeout slide rules are much more clearly defined than the home plate rules. That needs a complete overhaul, these rules are obvious and should be easily implemented.

[MrTPlush]

No this is confusing in its own way. What the heck is "making contact with the ground"? Is that like the runners knee? Butt? Arm? What is it? I am also concerned how "changing direction" will be interpreted.

 

I am just not sure what this really prevents. Slides into second will still be very dangerous. You can easily do a hard/dangerous slide while following those rules. Also what is attempting to stay on the base? What exactly is an attempt? One can make a pretty poor attempt to stay on the base...but hey it is an attempt.

 

Hopefully it doesn't create as much confusion as the home plate rule. I don't think it will, but you can bet some weird calls will be made and games will be decided by some of them.

[brewerfan82]

Put me in the camp of liking the sliding rule change/clarification. For a situation where you're trying to discourage an "intention" by the runner, I think they did a pretty good job of defining what physical actions need to be controlled in the process of sliding. If you think of what runners do when they aren't actually trying to slide safely into 2nd base (ie. going in late so they hit the fielder harder or sliding way past the bag because they know they're already out and aren't concerned about getting tagged out after the fact), I think this covers it pretty well.

 

I don't see the confusion in what "making contact with the ground" means in relation to starting a slide before reaching the base. When you start the sliding motion, the leading part of your body is bound to be off the ground for at least a small amount of time. Make sure you land and actually slide into the base before you get there. Otherwise, you probably aren't trying to stop there. Basically, just try to slide safely into the base and you're fine. They even say you can still slide hard, just make sure your first priority is to actually end up on the base.

 

The impressive thing about that Utley "slide" is that he managed to violate every single aspect of the new rule, lol.

[dlk9s]

I don't think the Utley slide was really that bad. If anything it was a little late, but even an earlier slide would have nailed him pretty hard. I have seen much much worse quite often.

http://i.imgur.com/BG2b4.gif

[Outlander]

Not looking forward to all the replay reviews of the neighborhood play this year.

[Ennder]

It should interesting to see how it plays out. Hopefully it won't end up like the collision rule at home.

 

In what way? I thought the collision rule at home was a major success last year. The players adapted to it very quickly and we got rid of something that was hurting the game.

 

I mean if we have to live with 'old school' baseball why do they get to use gloves and wear protective gear. That is how baseball "is supposed" to be played.

 

You forgot the blue on that right? Umpires randomly calling runners safe when they were out by 20 feet and every play at the plate being challenged because neither the umpires nor the reviewers have any consistent interpretation of the rule. I would agree that the players have done a good job of "playing safer" but those who enforce the rules don't have a clue what they're doing. I expect the same thing with these plays at second.

 

No it wasn't meant to be in blue. I watch a lot of baseball and a lot of sports shows and it was not a major topic of conversation. It seemed to go way better than it was expected to. It certainly wasn't as bad as say was it a catch in the NFL.

[trwi7]

Saying it's not as bad as another super convoluted rule in another sport isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

[bacon06]

If MLB wants to speed up play they should do away with replay. Any sort of gain by shortening between inning and mound visit times is negated by a three minute replay which is an unnatural stoppage of play. I don't care if the call was "right" or "wrong", let's make a decision and move on with life.

[dlk9s]

Any sort of gain by shortening between inning and mound visit times is negated by a three minute replay which is an unnatural stoppage of play.

The entire sport of baseball is an unnatural stoppage of play.

[QuevedosTongue]

If MLB wants to speed up play they should do away with replay. Any sort of gain by shortening between inning and mound visit times is negated by a three minute replay which is an unnatural stoppage of play. I don't care if the call was "right" or "wrong", let's make a decision and move on with life.

 

In the day and age of super slow-mo in HD, and endless GIFs and embedded video, it's important to get the call right or become a joke of a league. And if hitters would stay in the box and pitchers would just get the ball, get the sign, and pitch the pace of game would be fine.

[1992casey]

Brian Anderson's position is that if you can't get clear and convincing evidence in a reasonable amount of time, the call on the field should stand. Most replays are decided in short order and aren't a problem, but some are unbearably long. The videos in the broadcasts are the same as the ones used in New York. I don't think a call that isn't straightforward and fairly quick would become a joke.

[502 to Right]

MLB has put together an excellent 30 second video that explains the new rule.

 

https://twitter.com/CJNitkowski/status/703042446956077060

[Ennder]

Saying it's not as bad as another super convoluted rule in another sport isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

not exactly my point. I can count on one hand how many times I saw sport shows discuss the slide at home rule after April last year. It just wasn't a big issue in the game. MLB adapted to it very quickly with almost no controversy.

 

If this rule does as well as that one everyone will be happy. I'm guessing this one won't be quite as seemless.

[Beast Light]

I have no problem with the new rules. However, if you shorten the time between innings by 20 seconds, you are essentially reducing in-game commercial time by about 14%. I wonder what the impact on TV revenue will be.

[FVBrewerFan]

I'm definitely old school, but I have no issue with this new slide rule. In fact, I think they could have really simplified things by leaving it up to the ump's decision on whether the sliding player "took it too far." Whenever MLB (or any sport) tries too hard to define the rule, it always seems to have a negative effect. Because so many things are not anticipated, and trying to define them precisely in the rule book is difficult at best. Just keep it simple. Definition of a catch in the NFL for example.

 

As far as pace of play, I don't care how long the game lasts. Baseball has never been a game on the clock, and that's one of the things I like about it. Gives us, as fans, time to think about the situation between each pitch, each AB, etc. Every player has their own tempo, and if they're not comfortable it isn't going to make it a better game by speeding it up.

 

Just start the games earlier, that would make a big difference. The feeling that it's 10:30 and the game is not over yet is the biggest problem.

 

Also, replay takes way longer than it should. No reason all umps have to wander over to the dugout, talk while they're waiting, talk again, wander back out to their positions, etc. Some are very close calls, but many should be done almost immediately from the replay center. Call the crew chief, and keep playing. MLB's system isn't horrible, but it could be easily improved.

[jerichoholicninja]

I'm definitely old school, but I have no issue with this new slide rule. In fact, I think they could have really simplified things by leaving it up to the ump's decision on whether the sliding player "took it too far." Whenever MLB (or any sport) tries too hard to define the rule, it always seems to have a negative effect. Because so many things are not anticipated, and trying to define them precisely in the rule book is difficult at best. Just keep it simple. Definition of a catch in the NFL for example.

 

That's what I was thinking. Trying to define it makes it too confusing, if that makes sense. It should be up to the ump, was the runner trying to make a legitimate slide into the base or take out the fielder? Most of the time its obvious. Same as the catch rule. There are way too many variables involved in the NFL catch rule. A catch is a catch. You know it when you see it.

 

One thing about this slide rule I don't really see addresses is the late slide. The way I read it as long as the runner doesn't slide through the base he can slide as late as he wants. Those can be just as dangerous as sliding to one side to take out a fielder. Also, does what the fielder does have anything to do with how the rule is enforced? I'm thinking that Tejada slide from last year. Utley's slide was certainly questionable but Tejada was put in a weird position from the circumstances of the play.

[brewerfan82]

One thing about this slide rule I don't really see addresses is the late slide. The way I read it as long as the runner doesn't slide through the base he can slide as late as he wants.

 

I think the combination of:

 

(1) begins his slide (i.e., makes contact with the ground) before reaching the base;

and

(3) is able and attempts to remain on the base (except home plate) after completion of the slide;

 

covers this pretty well. If the runner is sliding on the ground before reaching the base and isn't going so fast that they can't remain on the base, that should take care of most flagrant hard slides. Also, with the need to actually go for the base and not the fielder, there should be a smaller danger zone even on a hard slide, so the fielder should have a better chance to rely on that and get out of the way. Sometimes things will all come together at the same time still, but I think this is an improvement.