How to make baseball more interesting

[DrungoHazewood]

1 minute ago, SurhoffRules said:

I just don't see the game contracting by 30 minutes, let alone an hour. At about 6 minutes an inning, almost 1/3 of the broadcast is made up of commercials anyway, which MLB could do something about, but probably isn't going to.  You're point about times changing is well met, I don't think having games end at or after 10 pm works these days. If they can't shorten the game, they should find other ways to adjust the product.

I know there are folks that would have trouble getting off work for first pitch, but attendance is down in general and more and more revenue is coming from the TV/Internet market. I wonder how much turnstyle sales would drop adjusting the start time a bit forward and it would draw in more viewers. Shrug, just a musing.

I'm kind of kidding with the next remark, but I'd make a rule that the lights go off at 9:30 or 10:00.  Most of the reason that games were so short 75 or 100 years ago was that they started as late as they could so people could cut work but not too much, but then they had to get the game in before the sun went down.  The players and umps had an incentive to move things along.  I know it's hard to fake that, but it got us to 2:00 games. 

There has to be an incentive to make the games faster.  Right now there's no real incentive to not go slow.  Disrupting timing by slowing down is a positive for players.  More commercial time is a positive for teams (although it doesn't have to be - few commercials could be sold at higher prices).  Delaying to allow pitcher warm-ups is an advantage.  Stepping out of the box is an advantage.  Arguing can be an advantage.  Replays can't go away now, not at the expense of letting knowingly wrong calls stand.

I fear that the only thing that will drive change is a crisis.  And that crisis is year-over-year attendance falling.  Which is hard to counteract with little changes here and there.

[osfan83]

43 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

In 1950 baseball had been established as a professional team sport for 80 years.  Football was about where baseball was in 1900, Basketball still in it's 19th century baseball phase, hockey was played in about 4-5 cities, and soccer was 3000 miles away.  TV was just becoming a thing, 500 channels was 40 years off, the internet was also 40+ years off.  It's no wonder everyone was into baseball.

Many people still like baseball, probably more than ever.  But it's 10% of the population instead of 50%.  That's just the way it's going to be, baseball needs to do things to grow the game in that context.

I think this is dead-on. In 1950 there just was not a lot of choices. When I was a kid in the 1970's I watched Columbo on TV, not because I liked Columbo, but because it was the best of 3 choices at the time. 

The popularity of Madden football probably helped the NFL over the past 20 years. Baseball needs to keep pushing their video game version to be better...that might be the gateway drug for generation Z.

[DrungoHazewood]

11 minutes ago, osfan83 said:

The popularity of Madden football probably helped the NFL over the past 20 years. Baseball needs to keep pushing their video game version to be better...that might be the gateway drug for generation Z.

Since my kids play soccer this isn't an unbiased sample, but it seems like a lot of kids play FIFA.  A lot.  It's the only sports video game my kids have.

edit: 10-year-old (who's home sick today) informs me that yes, kids play FIFA and Madden, but that's dwarfed by Fortnight.

edit #2: He knows this one kid who plays NBA2K19, but nobody who plays MLB video games.

[SurhoffRules]

6 minutes ago, osfan83 said:

The popularity of Madden football probably helped the NFL over the past 20 years. Baseball needs to keep pushing their video game version to be better...that might be the gateway drug for generation Z.

I mean, I know Madden may have created an NFL fan or TWO, but the real credit for the video game to real life fan pipeline clearly goes to:

 

[BohKnowsBmore]

On 10/3/2018 at 10:07 AM, atomic said:

Other leagues like the NFL and NHL are constantly changing the rules

You do realize that a large portion of the NFL fanbase absolutely HATES the tinkering with the rules, right?

[BohKnowsBmore]

1 hour ago, SurhoffRules said:

Personally, I would love it it games were closer to 2.5 hours than 3.  However, being in my mid-30s, I don't really have any firm memories of games being that short.

In 1991, the average length of a game was 2:54. This year it was 3:04.  In the last 25 years the average baseball game has been 3 hours, plus or minus about 8 minutes.

From the 50s through the end of the 70s it was very similar, games were right on 2:30.  The big jump in game length came from in the decade and a half from about '77 to '91.

I'd love to buy into the length of game/pace-of-play arguments as it points to something that can be fundamentally tweaked about the game to draw fans back in, but I'm not 100% convinced.  Baseball was plenty popular in the 90s when games were just about as long and strikeouts, walks, and HRs were increasing.  I'm probably a product of my upbringing, but I actually find all those things super interesting parts of the game.  I literally can't remember a time without them.  My 2 cents.

Edit to say I agree with Drungo, I suspect baseball might just be finding a new normal engagement level.

One question I have... People keep bringing up increasing strikeouts as a reason that the game isn't as interesting, but people simultaneously love strikeout pitchers, typically preferring to watch them over groundball heavy guys.  Kind of hard to square that circle.

[BohKnowsBmore]

27 minutes ago, osfan83 said:

I think this is dead-on. In 1950 there just was not a lot of choices. When I was a kid in the 1970's I watched Columbo on TV, not because I liked Columbo, but because it was the best of 3 choices at the time. 

The popularity of Madden football probably helped the NFL over the past 20 years. Baseball needs to keep pushing their video game version to be better...that might be the gateway drug for generation Z.

[Can_of_corn]

3 hours ago, wildbillhiccup said:

You're coming dangerously close to "trolling" territory so I'm tapping out. I'm not in the mind, nor do I have the time, to argue just for the sake of arguing. 

It wasn't trolling.

I figured everyone knew that NFL games run ~3 hours, the same length that is considered too long for baseball.

I figured everyone knew that NBA playoff games last forever.

And yet you don't see folks complaining as much about them.  Baseball is held to a different standard.

[Can_of_corn]

1 hour ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

One question I have... People keep bringing up increasing strikeouts as a reason that the game isn't as interesting, but people simultaneously love strikeout pitchers, typically preferring to watch them over groundball heavy guys.  Kind of hard to square that circle.

Guys love their pitchers to strike out guys.

[scbalt52]

FIFA video game is definitely a big factor for youth and the growing of soccer in the US. For me personally, I was not a soccer fan at all growing up. Became a big FIFA player in college. Now am a pretty big Liverpool and soccer fan in general, it is actually one of my favorite sports to watch now. I prefer it over american football, something that I would've hysterically laughed at you about if you told me I would say that 10 years ago.

[Redskins Rick]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

It wasn't trolling.

I figured everyone knew that NFL games run ~3 hours, the same length that is considered too long for baseball.

I figured everyone knew that NBA playoff games last forever.

And yet you don't see folks complaining as much about them.  Baseball is held to a different standard.

The way I see it, Football is 1 game a week and 16 game season, vice 6 games a week.

BTW, 3+ hours for football is a bit much too.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, Redskins Rick said:

The way I see it, Football is 1 game a week and 16 game season, vice 6 games a week.

BTW, 3+ hours for football is a bit much too.

You don't watch MNF?  You don't watch the Thursday game?  You only watch one game on Sunday?

Lots of folks I know watch. at least three games a week.

[Redskins Rick]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

You don't watch MNF?  You don't watch the Thursday game?  You only watch one game on Sunday?

Lots of folks I know watch. at least three games a week.

No, I really don't. Only so many hours in the week, and I dont spend all my off time watching sports.

Usually, I try and get some Redskins time, but, I haven't seen the first game this season of theirs. They pissed me off with that kneeling crap. I had friends die supporting this country. Sorry, trying not to political and get this thing locked down.

But, I am told, the kneeling crap is mostly over, and i get watch about 2 hours of the redzone with this weekend with my son and nephew.

[Dipper9]

7 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

You don't watch MNF?  You don't watch the Thursday game?  You only watch one game on Sunday?

Lots of folks I know watch. at least three games a week.

Mark me down for 5 games a week.  Thursday, Monday, and three on Sundays.  And on Thanksgiving week its Monday, 3 on Thursday, and 3 on Sunday.  

I guess I'm in the minority when it comes to this topic.  I like baseball the way it is.  I don't mind 3 hour football games.  And I don't care if a round of golf takes up an entire Saturday.  Normally these things are events or days that I plan out for that purpose.  If my intention is to rush through a game so I can go do something else, well, I guess the game isn't really the priority for those folks. 

[Redskins Rick]

Just now, Dipper9 said:

Mark me down for 5 games a week.

I guess I'm in the minority when it comes to this topic.  I like baseball the way it is.  I don't mind 3 hour football games.  And I don't care if a round of golf takes up an entire Saturday.  Normally these things are events or days that I plan out for that purpose.  If my intention is to rush through a game so I can go do something else, well, I guess the game isn't really the priority for those folks. 

Im old school and hate thursday night game (except for turkey day).

Football is a bruising game, and these guys dont need to be playing on thursday. IMO