MLB Making Changes to the Baseball

[dlk9s]

They should just use the balls that have been used for years in practice and have become a little mushy.

[Thurston Fluff]

There are games that require intense watching while other games where a more casual approach to viewing is warranted. Baseball is the latter. Which probably explains all the stuff minor league teams do not related to the actual game to keep fans entertained. Instead of making the games shorter it would be better to make the experience more than just what happens on the field. Finding the tv equivalent of minor league entertainers would go a long way to making the ratings better. One would think it would be easier to create an interactive tv viewing experience these days with access to phones and smart tvs.

 

Anyway I don't think how many runs are scored are the problem. It's the lack of balance within the league. Why follow a game that's so rigged in a small number of team's favor? Which is why I'm more interested in what this means for the Brewers this season than I am how it effects the popularity of the game.

[markedman5]

Not related to changing the ball but looks like video will be available this season

[sveumrules]

Which is why I'm more interested in what this means for the Brewers this season

 

Yeah, on the one hand our pitching staff is already the clear strength of the team. They finished 11th by ERA- (93), 5th by FIP- (86) & tied for 1st in xFIP- (84) during 2020. BPro projects them for the 4th best run prevention in 2021. FanGraphs depth charts has the starters projected 9th & relievers 8th for 2021.

 

On the other hand, our offense will probably need all the help they can get to be a league average unit.

 

If this sounds somewhat familiar at all it might be because from 2017-20 the Brewers have combined above average run prevention (94 ERA-, 9th) & defense (+111 DRS, 7th) with average-ish offense (101 wRC+, 14th) en route to winning the 10th most games in MLB.

[SomewhereInTime]

Wonder how much value that could add to a contact hitter (like say Kolten Wong)

 

Not sure making the ball more difficult to hit hard is going to help a hitter who already has trouble hitting the ball hard.

 

The idea is that Kolten Wong has been successful despite not hitting many homeruns and if he continues to not hit homeruns he may continue to be successful. On the other hand, power hitters who hit a lot of flyballs will now have more flyouts in place of homeruns.

[jerichoholicninja]

There are games that require intense watching while other games where a more casual approach to viewing is warranted. Baseball is the latter. Which probably explains all the stuff minor league teams do not related to the actual game to keep fans entertained. Instead of making the games shorter it would be better to make the experience more than just what happens on the field. Finding the tv equivalent of minor league entertainers would go a long way to making the ratings better. One would think it would be easier to create an interactive tv viewing experience these days with access to phones and smart tvs.

 

So basically to make baseball more popular we need to find ways to make people forget they're watching a baseball game? I don't disagree with you but right there is the problem. And doing anything to address that issue is most certainly going to drive more people away ("purists") than it's going to attract.

[Thurston Fluff]

There are games that require intense watching while other games where a more casual approach to viewing is warranted. Baseball is the latter. Which probably explains all the stuff minor league teams do not related to the actual game to keep fans entertained. Instead of making the games shorter it would be better to make the experience more than just what happens on the field. Finding the tv equivalent of minor league entertainers would go a long way to making the ratings better. One would think it would be easier to create an interactive tv viewing experience these days with access to phones and smart tvs.

 

So basically to make baseball more popular we need to find ways to make people forget they're watching a baseball game? I don't disagree with you but right there is the problem. And doing anything to address that issue is most certainly going to drive more people away ("purists") than it's going to attract.

 

I don't think people will forget there's a game going on as much as they'll have more reason to tune in or stay tuned in. Not sure why the purists would care since they don't have to participate. It's just something the more casual/new fan might like.

[JosephC]

Anyway I don't think how many runs are scored are the problem. It's the lack of balance within the league. Why follow a game that's so rigged in a small number of team's favor? Which is why I'm more interested in what this means for the Brewers this season than I am how it effects the popularity of the game.

 

Yes, I agree completely. It's pretty annoying to see MLB make rule changes seemingly to get in step with the NFL and the NBA, and meanwhile they ignore that the other major sports have true revenue sharing that puts all markets in the same boat and also seems to be a structure that does a much better job in promoting labor peace. I would love to see to see Manfred have a townhall with a bunch of 16-year old kids from western Pennsylvania and see him try to convince them that watching the Pirates will be a rewarding use of their time.

[owbc]

It’s amazing how clueless the people in charge are. Everybody knows the pendulum has swung in favor of the pitchers/defense so the solution is to make another change that benefits the pitchers/defense? LOL.

 

I actually agree with deadening the baseball in theory but it only works if you make other changes in tandem. Hitters literally can not put the bat on the baseball because everyone is throwing 90 mph sliders to go with their 97 mph fastballs with movement. Where is the corresponding change to help hitters? Lowering the mound? Shortening the distance between the bases?

 

This stuff isn’t that hard. Every other league is constantly tinkering the rules to keep up with trends in the sport. MLB knows exactly what the product should look like to be interesting and popular and there are a number of ways to achieve that. Instead they have allowed the pace of play to slow to a crawl, fundamental components of the game (bunting, stolen bases) have almost entirely disappeared, and yet nothing is done. Deadening the baseball isn’t even a rule change.

 

You know, steroid-era baseball at Coors Field was actually quite interesting, most of the action was because of the huge outfield allowing more singles/doubles/triples and the hitters can square up pitches better because they don’t move as much. It’s not because of home runs. The game might be better served by keeping the baseball that flies better and moving the fences back, which would increase the number of singles, doubles, and triples. While making speed more valuable on both offense and defense.

 

A 7-inning slow pace, 3TO game sounds just as awful as a 9 inning one. I mean think about the messaging here—our product sucks so we need to shorten the games? Let’s make NFL games 3 quarters because people hate watching them so much while we’re at it.

 

I also don’t buy the minor league comparison. The players aren’t as good in the minor leagues. Did anyone watch an XFL game and find the game as enjoyable to watch as the NFL? Is Joel Stave as fun to watch as Aaron Rodgers?

 

Don’t sell baseball short! Professional baseball at the top level IS interesting to watch. Anyone can be entertained by it for 2-2 1/2 hours as they have been for over a century. If modern MLB isn’t entertaining it’s because it’s no longer the same game as it was even 10 or 20 years ago.

 

Anyway, to end this rant I’ll note that the rot at the core is the distrust between MLB and MLBPA. Good luck fixing anything with that going on.

[rickh150]

MLB doesn't want to speed up games. If they did there would be a pitch clock. They'd actually enforce the "No stepping out of the box" rule.

 

The inordinate amount of time between a pitch where nothing happened (called ball or strike) and the next pitch is what is destroying the game. Watch a game where Suter pitches and see how much more enjoyable it is, then go watch a game where any other pitcher is pitching (let alone some of the worst offenders like Darvish or Greinke)

 

The lack of balls-in-play is way, way, way down the list of things that are causing problems.

 

There would be less dead time between pitches with less pitches and more contact, right?

[Thurston Fluff]

It’s amazing how clueless the people in charge are. Everybody knows the pendulum has swung in favor of the pitchers/defense so the solution is to make another change that benefits the pitchers/defense? LOL.

 

I actually agree with deadening the baseball in theory but it only works if you make other changes in tandem. Hitters literally can not put the bat on the baseball because everyone is throwing 90 mph sliders to go with their 97 mph fastballs with movement. Where is the corresponding change to help hitters? Lowering the mound? Shortening the distance between the bases?

 

I think the change to a more exciting game will come when teams realize the 3TO type hitters are not longer the best way to produce runs. Deadening the baseball may be part of that. Getting less homeruns from an all or nothing approach means the value of contact hitters will increase. Being able to field your position may become more important. Personally I think great defensive plays are more exciting than homeruns. But most teams would rather have an average defensive shortstop who has some power than a great shortstop who can only hit singles because the value of that power outweighs the value of great defense. Reduce that power difference by even a little and the scale tips in favor of the singles hitter. Having less offense doesn't have to mean fewer great plays. IT also would bring back the value of stealing bases and hitting behind runners and such. If we move from needing to steal bases at a 75% clip to score more runs than station to station baseball to 70% then the value of basestealers goes up. Then every time some gets on base there's more chances of something happening on a pitch. That assumes of coarse they keep the deadened ball long enough for those natural forces to change.

[owbc]

It’s amazing how clueless the people in charge are. Everybody knows the pendulum has swung in favor of the pitchers/defense so the solution is to make another change that benefits the pitchers/defense? LOL.

 

I actually agree with deadening the baseball in theory but it only works if you make other changes in tandem. Hitters literally can not put the bat on the baseball because everyone is throwing 90 mph sliders to go with their 97 mph fastballs with movement. Where is the corresponding change to help hitters? Lowering the mound? Shortening the distance between the bases?

 

I think the change to a more exciting game will come when teams realize the 3TO type hitters are not longer the best way to produce runs. Deadening the baseball may be part of that. Getting less homeruns from an all or nothing approach means the value of contact hitters will increase. Being able to field your position may become more important. Personally I think great defensive plays are more exciting than homeruns. But most teams would rather have an average defensive shortstop who has some power than a great shortstop who can only hit singles because the value of that power outweighs the value of great defense. Reduce that power difference by even a little and the scale tips in favor of the singles hitter. Having less offense doesn't have to mean fewer great plays. IT also would bring back the value of stealing bases and hitting behind runners and such. If we move from needing to steal bases at a 75% clip to score more runs than station to station baseball to 70% then the value of basestealers goes up. Then every time some gets on base there's more chances of something happening on a pitch. That assumes of coarse they keep the deadened ball long enough for those natural forces to change.

 

In my view deadening the baseball will not fix the high K rate, at least not to the extent needed. Contact hitting is like bunting, it’s so hard to do that it would take ages to raise a whole new generation of baseball players to be better at it. And even that might not be enough. That’s why MLB needs to be constantly tinkering the rules like every other sport and responding to trends. They let it swing so far in one direction that sometime simple like a dead baseball is not enough to fix things.

[danzig6767]

NFL games now routinely stretch to the 3 1/2 hour mark...

The commercial breaks have become unbarerable.

That's why i DVR pretty much every Brewers, Bucks, Packers, and Badgers game i watch.

 

I watch something else which i have recorded and then turn the game on about an hour after each game starts so i can fast forward through the numerous commercials. That hour is just around the perfect amount of time to get to the end of each sporting event without having to watch any commercials.

 

When i do have to sit through a game live and watch all of the commercials, especially one Gruber law offices commercials after another, it's pure torture. I can't imagine TV viewing anymore without a DVR.

[KeithStone53151]

 

In my view deadening the baseball will not fix the high K rate, at least not to the extent needed. Contact hitting is like bunting, it’s so hard to do that it would take ages to raise a whole new generation of baseball players to be better at it. And even that might not be enough. That’s why MLB needs to be constantly tinkering the rules like every other sport and responding to trends. They let it swing so far in one direction that sometime simple like a dead baseball is not enough to fix things.

 

I was going to post something to this effect. You hear the 40-50 year old ex-players talk all the time about the massive cuts dudes take today in 2 strike counts. There would be less strikeouts if guys shortened up with 2 strikes like they should. Deadening the baseball a little bit might make it a bit more likely that people shorten up on 2 strike counts because hitting a hr is harder.

 

I'd also like to see them go back to calling more low strikes and less high strikes. Low strikes can turn into ground balls that have some level of action, where as a high strike is more likely to be missed.

[jerichoholicninja]

Until pitchers stop routinely throwing 95 and up K-rate isn't going to change much. And I think that's your biggest culprit right there.

[homer]

My only question about this is what impact does it have on Randy Arozarena's fantasy draft status?