MLB toying with rule changes to end boredom

[PinaMadness]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-10-11/mlb-rule-changes-atlantic-league-tests-tweaks-meant-to-save-baseball

 

I'm not sure this will do any good. The changes they made a couple years ago did nothing to shorten games.

[645]

If moving the mound gets more offence that isn't Home Runs, I'm all for it and who cure if it shorten the game or not.

[jerichoholicninja]

Velocity is the problem. Moving the mound back is pretty much the only thing that fixes that. I doubt 1 foot will make much of a difference. Make it 2 or more and then you may have something.

[Devinep]

Please actually enforce a pitch clock. Especially in the playoffs, there is a crazy amount of time between pitches

[gebc1997]

I think a lot of the time taken in between pitches lately can be attributed to the Astros cheating scandal. Pitchers and teams seem to be afraid of having their signs stolen in unconventional ways that they spend extra time with sign cards under the bills of their caps and multiple sign sequences.

 

I’m a believer that more of a hammer needed to be handed down on the Astros to assure that that kind of thing doesn’t happen again. Punishment like player suspensions and postseason bans should have been the route the league took.

 

In the grand scheme of things, the team wasn’t actually punished in any significant way.

[MoreTrife]

I get "the purists" not caring about shortening game time, but 5, 10 years from now, if the game doesn't adapt, attendance will drop precipitously. Because teen brains are basically scrambled eggs these day with the attention spans of newts. Pitch clocks PLEASE. Gotta keep the action moving. I'm 42 and have only been subjected to the smartphone's corrupting force for 10 years or so and my brain is addled.

[rickh150]

Playing nine innings of 3 out kickball takes about 35 minutes with a small group. Action all the time. Fast paced. Granted, we play a foul is an out, but it is so much different and largely better than playing/watching baseball. A pitch clock, limited throws to pick off, and stepping out of the box rules would help speed the game up and get more action on the field.

[NievesNoNO]

I think there are 3 separate challenges that need addressing:

1. Pace of play

2. On field action

3. Appealing to / attracting younger audiences

 

1. My answer to the pace of play would be to add a pitch clock. There's no reason for the slow pace in between pitches and the timeouts from the batters. I don't think it's unrealistic to shave 15-20 seconds off every AB. Get rid of replay, it's been largely useless.

 

2. Honestly strikeouts are here to stay... until teams stop accepting it from their hitters. Moving the fences back would be my suggestion to try to discourage some of the all out HR swings. I don't think messing with the mound distance will do much nor do I like that proposed solution.

 

I wish teams would embrace contact and speed more as a way to change the outcome of games. The Royals teams of 2014-15 proved you can still win (still in this era) with contact, base running and defense. I thought more organizations would've tried to duplicate their success. I personally just don't see the value in guys hitting .225ish and 20-25 HRs and nothing else. Organizations should stop accepting this as a professional approach/ normal stat line for non-star players.

 

3. I'm not overly convinced the increase in HRs and Ks necessarily makes the game unappealing to young people. Imo, MLB doesn't market it's product/players like it needs to. They lag behind in marking athletes. Make it easier to watch your local teams. Work to get games on more streaming services. Explore opportunity to add technology to the viewing/ interacting with the live games.

 

I often see references to, 'how football and basketball changed rules to accommodate' more offense and attract more fans. I don't think either of those products is better after their changes. Football has the grand marketing tool of Fantasy football. They wanted more scoring for that alone. So in that way I guess it was successful. Without fantasy football, I think the NFL is largely less popular. The NBA changed some of it's defensive rules. Great, now I get to watch 3-point contests and one-on-one isolation plays all game. I don't find it all that entertaining, however they do market wwaaayyyy better than MLB. MLB could take notes there.

 

Just my 3 cents

[nate82]

I think there are 3 separate challenges that need addressing:

1. Pace of play

2. On field action

3. Appealing to / attracting younger audiences

 

1. My answer to the pace of play would be to add a pitch clock. There's no reason for the slow pace in between pitches and the timeouts from the batters. I don't think it's unrealistic to shave 15-20 seconds off every AB. Get rid of replay, it's been largely useless.

 

2. Honestly strikeouts are here to stay... until teams stop accepting it from their hitters. Moving the fences back would be my suggestion to try to discourage some of the all out HR swings. I don't think messing with the mound distance will do much nor do I like that proposed solution.

 

I wish teams would embrace contact and speed more as a way to change the outcome of games. The Royals teams of 2014-15 proved you can still win (still in this era) with contact, base running and defense. I thought more organizations would've tried to duplicate their success. I personally just don't see the value in guys hitting .225ish and 20-25 HRs and nothing else. Organizations should stop accepting this as a professional approach/ normal stat line for non-star players.

 

3. I'm not overly convinced the increase in HRs and Ks necessarily makes the game unappealing to young people. Imo, MLB doesn't market it's product/players like it needs to. They lag behind in marking athletes. Make it easier to watch your local teams. Work to get games on more streaming services. Explore opportunity to add technology to the viewing/ interacting with the live games.

 

I often see references to, 'how football and basketball changed rules to accommodate' more offense and attract more fans. I don't think either of those products is better after their changes. Football has the grand marketing tool of Fantasy football. They wanted more scoring for that alone. So in that way I guess it was successful. Without fantasy football, I think the NFL is largely less popular. The NBA changed some of it's defensive rules. Great, now I get to watch 3-point contests and one-on-one isolation plays all game. I don't find it all that entertaining, however they do market wwaaayyyy better than MLB. MLB could take notes there.

 

Just my 3 cents

 

Moving the mound back would be huge IMO and if you increase the size of the ball and the weight slightly that should help also. Adding more weight to the ball should also help with protecting the pitchers arm along with the increase in size of the ball. I don't want to see something the size of a softball but something a little bit bigger than what it is currently where there is more drag on the ball which would actually be the same as moving the fences back.

 

I don't see MLB moving the fences back as that would be a big cost to most teams along with some teams probably not being able to do it like the Rays, Red Sox, Cubs and Brewers (LF wall wouldn't be able to be pushed back any further than it is right now). If MLB wants more action I think making the ball slightly bigger and heavier should do the trick.

 

A couple of rules I would like to see MLB bring in would be the pitcher and batter clock along with a new hit by pitch rule. If you have armor on your elbow or arm and you are actively sticking said arm or elbow into the strike zone and you are hit by the pitch it is no longer a HBP and is instead functions as a fall ball and if the catcher catches that foul ball for strike three it is like a foul tip and will be an out.

 

I would also like to see a maximum throw over and step off implemented per PA. A runner can only get a certain distance away from 1B before they are considered an active runner and the pitcher can throw over without it counting as a throw over or step off. This should help in bringing back more steals and action to the game and should also decrease the down time.

 

If baseball wanted to do something more drastic they could shorten the game to 7-innings. I kind of like the 7-inning double header games I wish MLB would actually keep those maybe schedule two games on Saturday's one in the morning and then one in the evening. This would allow for families to go without the drunks on Saturday games during the day.

[DuWayne Steurer]

kenley Jansen pitching to Eddie Rosario with a man on 2nd throws a pitch. no swing. no time called. no step off, no shake off of the sign, no step out of the batters box, and it took 42 seconds between pitches.

 

that's a lot, I mean a LOT of inaction when nothing is even going on.

[Simba2020]

kenley Jansen pitching to Eddie Rosario with a man on 2nd throws a pitch. no swing. no time called. no step off, no shake off of the sign, no step out of the batters box, and it took 42 seconds between pitches.

 

that's a lot, I mean a LOT of inaction when nothing is even going on.

I agree it has gotten so ridiculous. They just have to adopt a pitch clock and I sure hope sooner than later, the robo umps. Baseball would be instantly better in my mind and I think most fans minds as well.

[torts]

Know what rule I have liked? 3 batter minimum for relief pitchers.

[djoctagone]

 

[folly412]

I'm glad they're still thinking about the double hook.  I'd rather it be a straight double hook and not this modified stuff.  Already dreading the AL-type games this year where entire games see no bench players utilized.

 

[JackNicholson1974]

I liked the idea of the DH coming out when the starting pitcher is removed.

I do not like this rule of being able to go to first on ANY pitch that hits the dirt.  Seems a bit unfair if the catcher gets crossed up in a 0-0 count and the pitch goes to the backstop and the guy is on first base now with a "hit"

Also, what happens when the runner "flinches" and makes a move to first base instinctively but then realizes almost immediately its a bad idea and doesnt go?

[DuWayne Steurer]

I like the double hook rule.  Maybe it could use some tweaking but in general, I like the idea.  I don't like the other one.  That seems dumb.  

[NBBrewFan]

I really think the double-hook makes too much sense for MLB to implement it at the major league level.  I hate the 3 pitcher minimum crap.  I've come to accept that the DH will eventually/has come, but as an old guy I just am disgusted at all this crappy tampering with the game to speed it up when none of them address the issue.  Bigger bases?  really!?  why not just turn the 15 inch base 45 degrees?  How about a base that moves towards home plate if a pitcher throws over too often. Just stop with the silly crap.  I'm not so set in my ways that I would be fine with them altering the ball or moving back the mound to balance offense/pitching, but this other stuff just makes no sense, hence mlb will double down.

[jerichoholicninja]

Double hook and passed ball hit or whatever are just dumb. Rules that have a whole bunch of "if, then's" are just stupid.

[endaround]

The NL finally getting strategy back in the game with the DH only to kill it again with the double hook would be a Manfred move of the first order.

[djoctagone]

 

[jerichoholicninja]

Can we stop calling it a ghost runner? Ghosties are when you don't have enough players for a full team and you use imaginary runners on the bases. They are using real people on the bases.

[yourout]

20 hours ago, jerichoholicninja said:

Can we stop calling it a ghost runner? Ghosties are when you don't have enough players for a full team and you use imaginary runners on the bases. They are using real people on the bases.

How' about...guest runner?

[Samurai Bucky]

On 3/18/2022 at 9:09 AM, jerichoholicninja said:

Can we stop calling it a ghost runner? Ghosties are when you don't have enough players for a full team and you use imaginary runners on the bases. They are using real people on the bases.

With the changes in shift rules, do you think they will need to call a field?  Or... was I the only one who called a field when I was a kid?

[pitchleague]

Samurai Bucky, you are not the only one.  I loved it because I always baffled everyone by calling the opposite field instead of the pull side and constantly hit it the other way.

good memories….

[JackNicholson1974]

I think zombie runner is the better name. Oh you think you killed that rally last inning by getting that last guy out? Think again, he’s back from the dead on second base with an appetite for a Home Plate full of catcher brains.