MLB will be going to a three-batter minimum rule in 2020 that should make it especially difficult for lefties who struggle versus righties to find work.

[atomic]

4 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

That's a really poor analogy because baseball was never and will never be an action flow game like basketball was designed. 

Forcing a manager to not change his pitcher is ridiculous because there are a ton of reasons it might not be best for the player, team or game. When you add in that manager can still pinch hit, that is completely ridiculous. If you are going to tie a managers hand a his bullpen management, then he should have his pinch hitting tied down as well during those two batters he must face.

Anything is else is unfair. 

 

Why?  That makes no sense.  One is a delay to the game the other add interest to the game.  We can let the game die by making the game needlessly long with 7 pitchers in every game or we can get it back to its roots and make it more interesting.  

The game is being destroyed by baseball managers.   Changes need to be made.  I think this is just a start but a good one.  Pitch clock should come next.  I would also like them to deaden the ball so the players trying to elevate the ball would end.  Really the game has become pretty unwatchable at Camden Yards.  All it is home run after home run.  

[atomic]

4 hours ago, Enjoy Terror said:

I’m not against this rule because I’m steadfastly against change, I’m against it because it won’t accomplish what the MLB thinks it will.

What do you think would work?  Six batter minimum? 

[BRobinsonfan]

2 hours ago, Hallas said:

I thought that LOOGYs were the cause of world war and famine too, tbh.

That would be Lew Ford.  

[HowAboutThat]

6 hours ago, Hallas said:

 

Is it only 2 minutes?  If you're reducing the average number of mid-inning pitching changes per game by 3, that will shave around 10-12 minutes from the game.  (assuming 3-4 minutes in between changes) That's about 1/3 of difference in average game time from the good ol' days to now. You could save a few more minutes by reducing the commercial breaks to 1:45 instead of 2:05.  That would save another 5-6 minutes.

On the topic of 8pm game starts. the NFL has no problem starting games at 8 or 8:30, for games that regularly take 3 and a half hours.

The length of the game is a myth, nobody cares how long the game is if the game is interesting. Saving two minutes a game is not going to change anything the problem is nothing to do with the length of the game.

manfred Is an idiot, he’s on this stupid campaign to  have a lot of rules that have nothing to do with improving the game. This pitching rule is incredibly stupid. It will accomplish nothing. Banning the shift is stupid, it will accomplish nothing. As I said, a highlight of a homerun is the most boring highlight in all of sports. We need fewer homeruns, because then they will Regain their importance, and we need more base runners. There’s a tremendous amount of drama when there’s a runner on third, there’s drama when there’s bases-loaded, or one guy who runs really fast on second.

This rule is stupid. It’s not just stupid in itself, it’s stupid because it will accomplish nothing towards making the game more enjoyable, and if the game is enjoyable, it doesn’t matter how long it is.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

4 minutes ago, Philip said:

The length of the game is a myth, nobody cares how long the game is if the game is interesting. Saving two minutes a game is not going to change anything the problem is nothing to do with the length of the game.

manfred Is an idiot, he’s on this stupid campaign to  have a lot of rules that have nothing to do with improving the game. This pitching rule is incredibly stupid. It will accomplish nothing. Banning the shift is stupid, it will accomplish nothing. As I said, a highlight of a homerun is the most boring highlight in all of sports. We need fewer homeruns, because then they will Regain their importance, and we need more base runners. There’s a tremendous amount of drama when there’s a runner on third, there’s drama when there’s bases-loaded, or one guy who runs really fast on second.

This rule is stupid. It’s not just stupid in itself, it’s stupid because it will accomplish nothing towards making the game more enjoyable, and if the game is enjoyable, it doesn’t matter how long it is.

Hit the nail on the head. If game times were guaranteed to jump from three hours to two hours per game, I would at least have to consider the proposal. This is going to have zero affect on average game time. Like you said saving 5 minutes from a three hour game isn't going to make a difference or be noticeable.  

[ChuckS]

The main thing that would speed the game up would be a pitch clock and batters stepping out at their own risk. No calling time except for after a foul ball off the leg. 

That could knock 20-30 minutes off a game although I think pitchers would have to get used to working faster starting in the minors. 

Three batter minimum won’t shave off a bunch of time but it will still improve my personal enjoyment of the game. I don’t know anyone who enjoys constant pitching changes and commercials. 

[mdbdotcom]

11 hours ago, Hallas said:

3 batters hitting home runs takes up way less time than bringing in 3 pitchers to face 3 batters.

Not if they foul off nine pitches before they hit the home runs.

[sportsfan8703]

This definitely hurts the smaller market clubs. 

I guess rule changes happen when TB, Minn, and Oak make the playoffs. We need more Red Sox/Yanks every year. 

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

This definitely hurts the smaller market clubs. 

I guess rule changes happen when TB, Minn, and Oak make the playoffs. We need more Red Sox/Yanks every year. 

I don't think any correlation between payroll and short relief appearances exist.

If anything I would expect the opposite.

[Enjoy Terror]

11 hours ago, atomic said:

What do you think would work?  Six batter minimum? 

I liked my idea of a two minute bullpen clock for changes less than three batters (ie not between innings). Starts when the manager comes out to the mound to make a switch. Pitchers have two minutes to get from the bullpen to a set position. If that means having them in the dugout ahead of the change, whatever makes the transition quicker. Might convince a manager not to make mid inning switches if they can’t warm up faster. Penalty could be a called ball for every 10 seconds wasted after the clock timer is up.

[interloper]

Should be interesting to watch. 

[Frobby]

So, I wasted an hour of my life figuring out how many times in 2019 the O’s used a pitcher in a way that would be prohibited under the new “3 batter” rule.    Remember, using a pitcher for 1-2 batters is OK so long as the inning ends and the pitcher is replaced between innings.    
 

So, I thought I’d entertain guesses as to:

1.    How many times the O’s used a pitcher in a way that would violate the new rule.

2.    Which pitcher got used this way the most often, and how many times?

3.   How many different pitchers got used this way?

I’ll hold the polls open until 10 a.m. in case anyone wants to guess.    And no fair looking it up, though I expect nobody else here is crazy enough to go to the time and trouble to do that.  

[mdbdotcom]

There are two rules I would like to see MLB institute.

1. Extend the first base bag into foul territory to end all of the arguments about running out of the lane in foul territory. Right now all of the bag is in fair territory and a runner cannot safely fun through the bag without veering back into fair territory.
2. Eliminate the two extra umpires in the post-season. They bring nothing to the game and frequently screw it up - like with the bogus infield fly rule a few years ago, because the umpire forgot that he was in the outfield. I'd rather let replay decide disputed calls in the outfield.

Let's get those implemented before we do any more tinkering with the game.

[Enjoy Terror]

18 minutes ago, Frobby said:

1.    How many times the O’s used a pitcher in a way that would violate the new rule.

2.    Which pitcher got used this way the most often, and how many times?

3.   How many different pitchers got used this way?

1. 87 times

2. Dick Bleier

3. 6

[interloper]

9 minutes ago, Enjoy Terror said:

1. 87 times

2. Dick Bleier

3. 6

1. 12

2. Yacabonis

3. 4