How do you like the new “three batter” rule?

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

That's kind of what I was alluding to, it's not one thing.  But the thing they're picking on here doesn't happen in every game.  If they want to shave the time of the game down, they need to focus on repeatable things that happen in each game, not just something that might happen a couple times a week.

What's the pitch clock that they don't enforce, 20 seconds?  Shave it down to 15 and enforce it.  2 minutes and 30 seconds between innings and half innings instead of 3 minutes.  They won't do that because that eats into commercial time but if they REALLY wanted to make an impact they'd do something over the course of the entire game to shorten it.  

I've unfortunately watched Tony LaRussa games.  Good manager, yet still obnoxious about matchups.

I agree there are probably other things that could be done that would impact more games and have a greater effect than this change.    That said, sitting through two mid-inning pitching changes in one inning has to be one of the most boring experiences a fan can have, whether you are at the game or watching at home.    

I’m all in favor of enforcing the 20-second pitch clock and eliminating batter’s stalling tactics as well.    

By the way, the average pitcher pace has gone from 22.1 seconds in 2010 to 23.6 in 2014 to 24.9 last year.    Figure in the average game about 300 pitches are thrown.    300 * 2.8 seconds = 14 minutes added to the length of a game in less than a decade just because pitchers and batters are screwing around rather than getting on with it.   It’s absurd and unnecessary.   

 

[DrungoHazewood]

46 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’m all in favor of enforcing the 20-second pitch clock and eliminating batter’s stalling tactics as well.    

By the way, the average pitcher pace has gone from 22.1 seconds in 2010 to 23.6 in 2014 to 24.9 last year.    Figure in the average game about 300 pitches are thrown.    300 * 2.8 seconds = 14 minutes added to the length of a game in less than a decade just because pitchers and batters are screwing around rather than getting on with it.   It’s absurd and unnecessary.   

 

They need to brainstorm some ideas on how to better enforce the pitch clock and batter stepping out.  Like have a green light somewhere next to the pitch clock, and have several at various points around the stadium, and have a graphic on the TV and the MLB app that shows the pitch clock and the light.  Get people used to 17 seconds of green light, then at 18 it goes yellow, then at 20 it's red and the batter gets a ball.  Automatically.  If you can't figure out the signs, do better next time and you won't get a ball called.

If the batter steps out the ump doesn't move a finger.  You just don't get a timeout.  If you want to get "invisible dirt" out of your eye, or adjust your batting gloves like Nomar, step out.  But you're risking taking a called strike.  The pitcher is going to throw a pitch before 20 seconds.  If you didn't catch the third base coach's sign, then pay more attention. I'd probably be okay with a rule that says you get an automatic called strike if you step out of the batters box and your bat isn't broken.

The oldtimers who don't like this should spend more time watching footage of games from 50 or 75 years ago when all was right with the world and you could be driving home from a 7:00 MLB game at 9:15.  Then shake your fists at the youngins who can't finish nine innings in three hours and 10 minutes.

[Frobby]

13 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

The oldtimers who don't like this should spend more time watching footage of games from 50 or 75 years ago when all was right with the world and you could be driving home from a 7:00 MLB game at 9:15.  Then shake your fists at the youngins who can't finish nine innings in three hours and 10 minutes.

That’s the thing - the game was played that way for many decades.      Put shock collars on all the pitchers and batters.    Pitcher gets zapped if he doesn’t throw a pitch in 20 seconds, batter gets it if he steps out of the box following any pitch with which no contact was made.  No shock penalty for foul  balls since the batter should be running down the line on contact.    

[DrungoHazewood]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

That’s the thing - the game was played that way for many decades.      Put shock collars on all the pitchers and batters.    Pitcher gets zapped if he doesn’t throw a pitch in 20 seconds, batter gets it if he steps out of the box following any pitch with which no contact was made.  No shock penalty for foul  balls since the batter should be running down the line on contact.    

I thought of that, but then decided it was too crazy.  So I'll stick with Pavlovian lights.  Eventually pitchers will involuntarily throw a pitch when they see the yellow at an intersection in their car.  Have the red "too much time" light be accompanied by a buzzer.  Pitchers will awake in a sweat with the buzzer and the light in their nightmares.

And don't even tell anybody, but the 20 seconds goes down a fraction a second a year until somebody notices.  Make the clock run just a little fast.

[survivedc]

27 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

They need to brainstorm some ideas on how to better enforce the pitch clock and batter stepping out.  Like have a green light somewhere next to the pitch clock, and have several at various points around the stadium, and have a graphic on the TV and the MLB app that shows the pitch clock and the light.  Get people used to 17 seconds of green light, then at 18 it goes yellow, then at 20 it's red and the batter gets a ball.  Automatically.  If you can't figure out the signs, do better next time and you won't get a ball called.

If the batter steps out the ump doesn't move a finger.  You just don't get a timeout.  If you want to get "invisible dirt" out of your eye, or adjust your batting gloves like Nomar, step out.  But you're risking taking a called strike.  The pitcher is going to throw a pitch before 20 seconds.  If you didn't catch the third base coach's sign, then pay more attention. I'd probably be okay with a rule that says you get an automatic called strike if you step out of the batters box and your bat isn't broken.

The oldtimers who don't like this should spend more time watching footage of games from 50 or 75 years ago when all was right with the world and you could be driving home from a 7:00 MLB game at 9:15.  Then shake your fists at the youngins who can't finish nine innings in three hours and 10 minutes.

The invisible dirt in the eye trick is hilarious. I have never seen so many people completely incapacitated by a speck of dirt in such a specific and repeatable moment. If it were me, I would consider wearing goggles or something.

[Moshagge3]

Honestly, now that ballparks are increasingly giant malls with a baseball game in the middle, it's an open question whether owners actually want games to be shorter. Sure, they'll happily put in the extra-innings rule to eliminate those late nights where fans have stopped buying things or left altogether and they still have to pay ballpark staff, but what's their incentive to get to the seventh inning in under two hours? That only cuts into the amount of beer they can sell. The national networks like NBC or CBS that no longer want anything to do with baseball might object to games that last four hours, but now that the games are all on regional sports networks and the playoffs are on basic cable, what's the problem? I'm sure YES would rather have a Yankee game that goes 3:30 than a three hour game and 30 minutes of an old Tino Martinez interview.

 

[Moose Milligan]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

I agree there are probably other things that could be done that would impact more games and have a greater effect than this change.    That said, sitting through two mid-inning pitching changes in one inning has to be one of the most boring experiences a fan can have, whether you are at the game or watching at home.    

I’m all in favor of enforcing the 20-second pitch clock and eliminating batter’s stalling tactics as well.    
 

I agree it's boring, but I also don't mind it too much.  Makes me curious to see if whoever he's bringing in is going to get shelled and if it was the right move.

[BRobinsonfan]

On 11/20/2019 at 7:49 AM, DrungoHazewood said:

That should be the penalty for swapping pitchers.  The new one has to take a batter or two to figure out the slight nuances of the game mound.

Improving on the "hot swap" relief pitcher idea.  Perhaps the bullpen could be moved to an underground chamber directly underneath the infield/mound area.  When the starting pitcher is pulled, the mound would descend into the cavern and the relief pitcher, standing on the bullpen mound he's just warmed up on, would ascend via hydraulic lift, Phoenix-like, into position and ready to pitch.  

Crazy you say?  Or so crazy it just might work.  Think about it.  

[osfan83]

16 hours ago, Moshagge3 said:

Honestly, now that ballparks are increasingly giant malls with a baseball game in the middle, it's an open question whether owners actually want games to be shorter. Sure, they'll happily put in the extra-innings rule to eliminate those late nights where fans have stopped buying things or left altogether and they still have to pay ballpark staff, but what's their incentive to get to the seventh inning in under two hours? That only cuts into the amount of beer they can sell. The national networks like NBC or CBS that no longer want anything to do with baseball might object to games that last four hours, but now that the games are all on regional sports networks and the playoffs are on basic cable, what's the problem? I'm sure YES would rather have a Yankee game that goes 3:30 than a three hour game and 30 minutes of an old Tino Martinez interview.

 

It depends on how much the owners are concerned about attendance 10-20 years from now. The average age of a baseball fan is in the 50's. I have a 19 year old son, and none of his friends really care at all about baseball. 

I'm not sure that anything will save the game long term. We might just have a couple of thousand fans for each team in the future, with games being aired on small apps, that fans pay 5 or 6 hundred dollars a season to access. 

[DrungoHazewood]

18 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I agree it's boring, but I also don't mind it too much.  Makes me curious to see if whoever he's bringing in is going to get shelled and if it was the right move.

My Dad's reflex when they change pitchers is to say "Can't stand prosperity!  Must be looking for the pitcher who's having an off night!"  Unless the last guy was getting shelled, and then it's complaining about a slow hook.  He believes (or at least says) that everyone involved with high-level sports in any capacity is dumber than a fencepost.

[Can_of_corn]

Fangraphs piece on the Wieters at bat.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/what-lies-beyond-the-point-of-exhaustion/

Quote

Wieters took a little stroll, adjusting his gloves — maybe taking a breath, maybe pondering what Thielbar might have in store for him on the next pitch. He walked back into the box, cocked the bat, stared out to the mound. 

Another stroll for Wieters: inhale, exhale, the bat held out in front of his face.

Again, Wieters fouled it off, and again, he stepped away, out of the box, and took a breath.

The rest Wieters had to foul off, the effort showing in his ever more laborious swings and grimaces, the length of his walks outside the zone

By the seven-minute mark of the ordeal ... They returned to their positions; a pitch was thrown; Wieters fouled it off.

 

There is the problem, don't let them call time, don't let them step out.

The at bat was 10 minutes long. 

Don't tell me they can't do better than two pitches a minute.

[DrungoHazewood]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Fangraphs piece on the Wieters at bat.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/what-lies-beyond-the-point-of-exhaustion/

There is the problem, don't let them call time, don't let them step out.

The at bat was 10 minutes long. 

Don't tell me they can't do better than two pitches a minute.

Go look at some old games on YouTube.  I have the '70 World Series game one on in the background.  Frank, Brooks, Elrod, Davey Johnson... they didn't even step out when they hit foul balls.  Brooks and Davey looked like their spikes didn't even come out of the same holes the entire at bat.  Stepping out just wasn't a thing.

I say if you step out of the box it's a strike.

Edit: as I type this Palmer is stepping out several times, but very briefly as Gary Nolan is shaking off Bench.  But he was always ahead of his time.

Blair, Buford, never stepped out at all.  Just stood in their spike holes, even when Nolan went to the rosin bag.  Boog stepped out momentarily a handful of times.

Frank's 2nd at bat he keeps a foot in the box while Bench goes out to talk to Nolan.  Today the batter would have gone back to the clubhouse for brunch.