PILOT SPIN
Spin Zone => Spin Zone => Topic started by: invflatspin on October 24, 2018, 05:46:10 PM
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OK, it's time. I'm watching the Oct classic the World Series. We need to fix baseball in the US. I'm going to just blurt out my fixes, and then all may attack, ridicule, and belittle my plans. But - know this. I am a long, long, long time fan of baseball here. Not some fair weather fan.
We have problems in baseball. Myriad problems that have crept into the game in the past forty years(a bit longer, but that's the relevant time). Changes that were supposed to solve some problems have actually made things worse. Other problems have been half way fixes. Some of my fixes are structural, some are rule related, and some are officiating(not the same as rule). Here we go.
1. The fences in any ball park shall be no nearer home plate than 365 linear feet. No lower than 12' from the playing surface. (fixing the shameful number of runs by homers)
2. Infield placement shall be two fielders on the first base side of 2nd, and two fielders on the 3rd base side of 2nd when the pitched ball crosses home plate. (I don't care how close to the centerline from home to 2nd, but no more shortstops way over on the far right, and no more 2nd basemen way over on the left) Any infielder may cross the centerline to field a ball in play, or to make an out at another base if they have the ball.
3. Pitchers mound is moved back from the current location a minimum of 6". (I'm talking to you Dodgers)
4. Pitchers mound shall be no higher than 12" from the elevation of the vector from the surface of home plate to the ground under 2nd base. (Again Dodgers, Drysdale is dead and buried)
5. On any ball hit in the field of play, a baserunner running on, or inside the white line to first is an immediate out. (can you tell I was a 1st baseman?)
6. The infield fly rule is applied ONLY to a ball hit into the infield. (risk, it's what we live for)
7. Batter may only call timeout if falls during the swing of the bat, or wants to change from batting left to right or vice versa. Umpire will determine if the batter has 'fallen' and can't get up. Batter must be prepared to bat as soon as he is in the box. Stepping out of the box does not constitute time out.
8. All ball and strike calls are done electronically, as determined by the entire ball crossing the entire white part of the plate, and from the batters knee to their shoulder, inclusive. (We have the technology)
9. No more challenge. No more video replay. Umpires may conference together on a call, but all fielding play calls are done on the field of play.
10. The 'balk' rule is revoked. Pitcher may pitch from the stretch at any time. Pitcher may halt in any motion during the windup and before delivery.
11. No more than 2 pitching changes until the 7th inning. No more than 2 pitching changes after the 7th complete inning. If a pitcher must come out and exceed the limit, that pitcher being replaced is out for min 8 games with IR status.
12. TWO warm up pitches for pitcher coming in to the game from the mound.
13. More than 4 pickoff throws to first base during an at bat will count as one ball counted to that batter.
14. More than 4 foul balls during an at bat will be called an out.
15. ONE and only one mound conference per pitcher per game. Second trip to the mound by catcher, coach or fielder will result in a pitching change(see rule 11).
16. Yankees may only field 8 players during the months of July and Sept. (hahahahahhahaaa!!!)
Whew, that's a good start. Getting the ball in play more, and fewer homers, and less wasted time should liven things up nicely. My goal(if you are not a BB fan) is to get more batters through the box and on to the bases. Also to speed up the game.
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AAA has a pitch clock. Twenty seconds.
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Those suggestions don’t water down the game any worse than the current moronic commissioner is doing. Every commissioner since Ford Frick has been less competent that one before him.
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Oh, I'm well aware of pitch clock in AAA. Could be used in MLB too.
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Those suggestions don’t water down the game any worse than the current moronic commissioner is doing. Every commissioner since Ford Frick has been less competent that one before him.
On the contrary, they will(should) put more batters in play on the field. More doubles to deep power alley. A few more triples maybe. No more shift for pull hitters, etc.
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On the contrary, they will(should) put more batters in play on the field. More doubles to deep power alley. A few more triples maybe. No more shift for pull hitters, etc.
Every single time that MLB has addressed any issue related tothe actual game played, they screw it up worse than a congressman at an all night orgy.
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Ayup. I HATE replay and challenge. Baseball was pure, after reply I feel violated when they put the headset on.
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So would these changes make it more exciting than watching paint dry?
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So would these changes make it more exciting than watching paint dry?
I have pretty much given up on baseball, but a lot of people I talk to about it like the inactivity as it allows them to think about strategy, players, and whatever move to be made, like a chess match. Again, nor really my cup of tea. I was a Lacrosse player my entire youth, college, and after, so while I did play baseball like most American boys, I didn't find it as much fun as other sports.
I doubt Millennials, and kids coming up will like baseball either as they need constant, and instant gratification more.
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I find baseball too slow of a game, yet like watching the PGA. Go figure...
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I find baseball too slow of a game, yet like watching the PGA. Go figure...
I’ll watch several final rounds of golf each year especially the majors and other big tournaments but I haven’t watched a single baseball game in over 30 years. Same with basketball. I lost all interest in it long ago. I still do watch some NFL but less and less each year and a major decrease in that over the past couple of years. My interest in NASCAR and Indy Car has even dropped off significantly in recent years. So basically I care far less about sports than do most Americans. I just don’t find sports as interesting or exciting as I did when I was younger.
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Dudes, this is what I'm trying to fix. The 1963 World Series was the wake up call for MLB. It's the whole reason that a "K" represents a strike out in the scoring(Koufax, strike out king). We need to move the game along, get the batters through the box, and on the bases, or out.
I watched a game back in June, and MN brought in a pitcher who literally pitched 3 pitches, recorded one out, and then a new pitcher was brought in! A few months later, there was a 12 or 13 pitch at-bat in another game. Complete with bat adjusting, glove tightening, cleat cleaning, spitting, staring the pitcher down, shaking off signs, a catcher visit, etc. I think it took 15 minutes to get through ONE batter.
So lets fix it and people might get interested again. There's no crying in baseball! C'mon, help out. It's the only thing boys in Costa Rica have left. lolz
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I agree with stop letting batters adjust their gloves, kiss their jewelry, cross themselves and point to the sky between every pitch. I like the 4 fouls and out, or at least make it a strike. I'm not sure about making the outfield wall 12 feet. I enjoy when the outfielder can make the jump and catch the ball right as it goes over the wall.
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I agree with stop letting batters adjust their gloves, kiss their jewelry, cross themselves and point to the sky between every pitch. I like the 4 fouls and out, or at least make it a strike. I'm not sure about making the outfield wall 12 feet. I enjoy when the outfielder can make the jump and catch the ball right as it goes over the wall.
There were two plays off the green monster last night. Both resulted in players on base, and one run scored(I think). I'm open to some changes to the wall, and some rules.
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I agree with most of this.
In 1968 the average length of an MLB game was 2:33. It was within 5 minutes of that for decades before and since. Now 50 years later it’s over 3:00 and not reversing trend.
Here’s a good table: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/misc.shtml
I’ve said it here before, but I think the batter stepping out of the batters box adjusting everything and building his social media picture time is a root cause of the problem. The specialized reliever is another part of the problem.
In addition to the good solutions above about the relievers, if the batter steps out of the bb willingly (not a brush back pitch or anything), it’s a called strike. It’s a box for a reason, people. Use it as such.
Unlimited timeouts is another problem. In the rare event someone makes it on base, they don’t get a timeout to remove more body armor than worn by our soldiers, handing it off to a 1st base or 3rd base coach. STAN’S RULE: what you wear in the batters box you wear on the base paths. And no time outs for dusting off your skirt if you slide into a base.
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Good one on time out on the base path. Not granted, the bat boy can pick up your helmet and deliver it to the base if needed, but that's it. Play resumes as soon as the ball is back to the pitcher.
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I agree with stop letting batters adjust their gloves, kiss their jewelry, cross themselves and point to the sky between every pitch. I like the 4 fouls and out, or at least make it a strike. I'm not sure about making the outfield wall 12 feet. I enjoy when the outfielder can make the jump and catch the ball right as it goes over the wall.
I LOVED watching Mickey Mantle hit. The fact that he semtimes stepped out to adjust things was a mind game he played with pitchers and lost on people without enough knowledge of the sport understand anything beyond instant gratification.
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I agree with most of this.
In 1968 the average length of an MLB game was 2:33. It was within 5 minutes of that for decades before and since. Now 50 years later it’s over 3:00 and not reversing trend.
Here’s a good table: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/misc.shtml
I’ve said it here before, but I think the batter stepping out of the batters box adjusting everything and building his social media picture time is a root cause of the problem. The specialized reliever is another part of the problem.
In addition to the good solutions above about the relievers, if the batter steps out of the bb willingly (not a brush back pitch or anything), it’s a called strike. It’s a box for a reason, people. Use it as such.
Unlimited timeouts is another problem. In the rare event someone makes it on base, they don’t get a timeout to remove more body armor than worn by our soldiers, handing it off to a 1st base or 3rd base coach. STAN’S RULE: what you wear in the batters box you wear on the base paths. And no time outs for dusting off your skirt if you slide into a base.
The reason games are longer is neither specialization, nor wasted time. Baseball sold out to the advertising gods a long time ago and longer games equals additional commercial revenue.
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The reason games are longer is neither specialization, nor wasted time. Baseball sold out to the advertising gods a long time ago and longer games equals additional commercial revenue.
Yes, and no. If you take out the time for commercials, the actual game time has gone up an extra 33-41 min since 1963. Hard to get advertisers out of the game, unless we want to break the union completely, and go back down on salary in a big way.
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Yes, and no. If you take out the time for commercials, the actual game time has gone up an extra 33-41 min since 1963. Hard to get advertisers out of the game, unless we want to break the union completely, and go back down on salary in a big way.
You forget that most of those inordinate delays often just happen to have the camera pointed at an advertisement....
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So get rid of the game delays. Batter up, no time out. Whether the camera is on an ad in the background or not, I can't control, but I can control the time out delays. Just get rid of them.
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The reason games are longer is neither specialization, nor wasted time. Baseball sold out to the advertising gods a long time ago and longer games equals additional commercial revenue.
I disagree. I watched baseball in the 1960s. My dad was a vendor at a Wrigley Field before WWII, and he watched every game possible after the war. There is no way the time wasters that I cited existed 40 years ago. It simply didn’t. There wasn’t enough to fidget with. No jewelry. No batting gloves. Only dirt on the cleats. You didn’t need to step out of the box to knock the dirt off.
Sent from my iPad . Squirrel!!
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I have been going to BB games for 60 years. I never went for the action. I went then and still do for the company. Bunch of buddies or several couples just enjoying each others company for a couple of hours in a relaxed atmosphere. Try that at a NHL, NFL, or NBA game. It can't be done. So it takes three hours...BFD. It is just a lazy laid back day at the ballpark.
Noah W
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I have been going to BB games for 60 years. I never went for the action. I went then and still do for the company. Bunch of buddies or several couples just enjoying each others company for a couple of hours in a relaxed atmosphere. Try that at a NHL, NFL, or NBA game. It can't be done. So it takes three hours...BFD. It is just a lazy laid back day at the ballpark.
Noah W
That's nice and all, but the rest of the world might want to watch some action. While I appreciate that BB is a good way to relax with friends, there's no reason 9 innings of ball should take more than 3 hours. My last game was Sept 13, and we were out of contention for months already. So I was able to look around more. Kids were buried in their phone or PDA. The women were mostly chatting and not watching anything from the 4th inning on. The guys were watching sporadically, and that's fine - not every moment of the game is exciting. But seems the passion for the play has diminished. When was the last suicide squeeze anyone saw? I was at a game with a triple play this year, and there hasn't been much of that because there are fewer players on base. All the little things that add up to make BB interesting are on the way out.
One more thing. Moneyball. I know, it made the field more level for everyone, but I have to say, Moneyball(advanced statistical analysis of players, and situations) took something out of the game. Way fewer bunts. Less steals of second, steals of third are gone the way of the dodo bird. more pitches per inning, but fewer hits. It's been good for the clubs that follow it, but tough on fans.
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I have been going to BB games for 60 years. I never went for the action. I went then and still do for the company. Bunch of buddies or several couples just enjoying each others company for a couple of hours in a relaxed atmosphere. Try that at a NHL, NFL, or NBA game. It can't be done. So it takes three hours...BFD. It is just a lazy laid back day at the ballpark.
Noah W
In many ways, Baseball has become just a back drop for socializing. Look at ballparks today. They are big entertainment centers where people can eat, drink, and socialize. My cousin has a super box at Citizens Bank Park which is a clone of Coors Field which I also used to go to when I lived in Denver. When he invites me for a game, we hang out, eat, drink and socialize with the game on the monitor at the bar there. If we want to watch we go out and sit, but most of the people hang out at the bar.
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Longest WS game in history. At 6 hours and still going in the 14th.
Two horrific late mistake calls has cost Boston a win so far.
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:)
https://gab.com/AnnCoulterTweets/posts/39984386