Washington Post Examines Effects of Increased Pitch Velocity on Baseball

[Cumberbundy]

Working 1980s style in the 80s.

 

 

 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Would be a lot more seamless to just deaden the ball.  

Deadening the ball doesn’t cut down on strikeouts.   

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Deadening the ball doesn’t cut down on strikeouts.   

Sure it does.

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Deadening the ball doesn’t cut down on strikeouts.   

 

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

Sure it does.

Strikes me as an extremely marginal effect.   Some HR and doubles will become fly outs, so fewer at bats = fewer strikeouts, is that your point?    I don’t think that would be the change fans are looking for.    

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

 

Strikes me as an extremely marginal effect.   Some HR and doubles will become fly outs, so fewer at bats = fewer strikeouts, is that your point?    I don’t think that would be the change fans are looking for.    

Players will adjust their approach when their former strategy is inefficient.

[DrungoHazewood]

49 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Players will adjust their approach when their former strategy is inefficient.

How much are you deadening the ball?  My first thought is that you'd have to turn it into a lumpy, wet, tobacco-stained 1914-era ball before modern ballplayers stop trying to hit home runs and swinging from the heels.  If you just knock homers down from 1.3/game to 1.0 (roughly 25% reduction)... my guess is that strikeouts barely budge, and they might actually keep going up because hitter changes are overwhelmed by the continued march of the pitchers.

Second problem with just deadening the ball is that the immediate effect (prior to any strategic shifts) would be a game with 10 K/9, but with .220 batting averages and fewer homers.  At least in the short term it would just be a continuation of 2019 baseball, but trading homers and other hits for outs.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, DrungoHazewood said:

How much are you deadening the ball?  My first thought is that you'd have to turn it into a lumpy, wet, tobacco-stained 1914-era ball before modern ballplayers stop trying to hit home runs and swinging from the heels.  If you just knock homers down from 1.3/game to 1.0 (roughly 25% reduction)... my guess is that strikeouts barely budge, and they might actually keep going up because hitter changes are overwhelmed by the continued march of the pitchers.

I was thinking 33% but they can start at 15% and go 5% more each year.

[DrungoHazewood]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I was thinking 33% but they can start at 15% and go 5% more each year.

So... 1980s baseball, just lopping off 20 points of batting average and replacing it with Ks.  Oh, and about half as many stolen bases.  Would probably be under 4.0 runs/game for the first time since '76, and the first sub-.300 OBP since '68.

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

So... 1980s baseball, just lopping off 20 points of batting average and replacing it with Ks.  Oh, and about half as many stolen bases.  Would probably be under 4.0 runs/game for the first time since '76, and the first sub-.300 OBP since '68.

Yep, until about five years have passed and by then the next group of players who have adapted to the game will be in the majors. 

Sure beats moving the mound back and messing with pitchers command, control and the movement on their pitches.

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Yep, until about five years have passed and by then the next group of players who have adapted to the game will be in the majors. 

Sure beats moving the mound back and messing with pitchers command, control and the movement on their pitches.

I’m fascinated to see how that experiment next year in the Atlantic League will work, especially implementing it at mid-season, when the pitchers have had no time to adjust.    I expect the results to be fairly ridiculous.   

[DrungoHazewood]

21 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’m fascinated to see how that experiment next year in the Atlantic League will work, especially implementing it at mid-season, when the pitchers have had no time to adjust.    I expect the results to be fairly ridiculous.   

There will be some pretty comical results.  Or at least I hope so.  I love the concept of Indy Leagues, but the reality is they're just like the majors with zero fan interest and no talent.  They need a huge injection of ridiculous.

Edit: Isn't it this year?

27 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Yep, until about five years have passed and by then the next group of players who have adapted to the game will be in the majors. 

Sure beats moving the mound back and messing with pitchers command, control and the movement on their pitches.

Do both!  Just in small increments.  Move the mound back 6" or a foot a year and they'll never really notice.  At the same time move the tension setting on the ball winder from 100 to 98.  If you moved it 6" a year you wouldn't even have to tell anybody except the grounds crew.  Make them sign NDAs, and they're sent to a Siberian work colony if they slip anything to Wikileaks.

[Frobby]

Another interesting Post article today, this one about Driveline Baseball.   https://www.google.com/amp/s/beta.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/05/23/velocity-is-number-one-thing-this-high-tech-biomechanics-lab-is-changing-baseball/%3foutputType=amp

[Can_of_corn]

14 minutes ago, Cy Bundy said:

 

It doesn't work that way.