MLB Officially Announces Rule Changes

[Enjoy Terror]

My observation of fans of both leagues is that AL and NL fans outspokenly prefer their current league's stance on the DH. If that's the case, then I see no reason to change.

I've never heard an argument where the NL felt like they were being shortchanged by batting a pitcher instead of a person paid to specialize in hitting the baseball.

[mdbdotcom]

6 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Sure, don't see why not.   That has nothing to do with any of the rule changes.

In the American League, pitchers don't usually run the bases. It could be against the rules for an American League pitcher to serve as a pinch runner.

[SteveA]

1 minute ago, mdbdotcom said:

In the American League, pitchers don't usually run the bases. It could be against the rules for an American League pitcher to serve as a pinch runner.

It isn't.   Pitchers can run the bases, they can pinch hit, they can play the field.   Even the DH is technically optional, an AL manager COULD legally start the game without a DH and the pitcher batting for himself if he wanted to.   When the DH moves to the field, the team loses the DH and the pitcher has to hit for himself.   That happens many times a year in AL games.   There is no restriction in the AL as to what a pitcher can do.

[Enjoy Terror]

4 minutes ago, mdbdotcom said:

In the American League, pitchers don't usually run the bases. It could be against the rules for an American League pitcher to serve as a pinch runner.

Definitely not. The Orioles used Jeremy Guthrie to run a couple times.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Redskins Rick said:

I thought he was moved to pitcher as his skillset for position player and bat, wasnt going to play out at the major league level?

I believe if my memory is correct, they scouted him and drafted him with the intention of making him a pitcher from the get go.

Well, he was drafted as an infielder and did that exclusively for 3 years before they gave up on him as a position player.    He did pitch in high school so there was always the thought that they could try that as a back-up plan if he didn’t pan out as a position player.     And it’s correct that it was his lack of offense that caused the switch; his glove wasn’t bad.    In fact, he’s an extremely able fielder as a pitcher.

[Redskins Rick]

1 hour ago, Enjoy Terror said:

Definitely not. The Orioles used Jeremy Guthrie to run a couple times.

No, its been done on the occasion, but most managers dont like to, unless they are desperate, and I seam to recall a pitcher or two hurt while pinch running.

[JMU_Birdfan]

With the Orioles signing Leblanc and Milone, I would assume the absolute best case scenario is one of them pitching well enough to garner some trade value at the trade deadline. In the past, there was always teams looking for LHP to round out there staff/bullpen. With this new "3 batter minimum" I wonder how it will affect left handed pitchers trade value?

[mdbdotcom]

1 hour ago, Enjoy Terror said:

Definitely not. The Orioles used Jeremy Guthrie to run a couple times.

That was before teams had to designate players' roles as part of the 26-man roster.

[atomic]

2 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Yikes, if anything, adding the DH to the NL is the smarter way to go. The National League is the only major baseball league, including college and high school that does not allow a DH. Watching teams use "strategy" to pitch around the 8th batter with an open base and runner in scoring position to face a .123 hitter is not strategy, it's boring. 

I think it makes it more interesting.  You have the heart of the line-up you have to get through and then you have an easier section with 8th and 9th hitter.   

Also, I don't think players who can't field a position belong in the game. 

[SteveA]

22 minutes ago, mdbdotcom said:

That was before teams had to designate players' roles as part of the 26-man roster.

Doesn't matter.   There has never been any rule about pitchers pinch running, hitting, playing the field.   And you can see all the new rules above that don't mention one.  So they haven't added one.   So stop trying to make one up!

[SteveA]

42 minutes ago, JMU_Birdfan said:

With the Orioles signing Leblanc and Milone, I would assume the absolute best case scenario is one of them pitching well enough to garner some trade value at the trade deadline. In the past, there was always teams looking for LHP to round out there staff/bullpen. With this new "3 batter minimum" I wonder how it will affect left handed pitchers trade value?

Milone and Leblanc are starters or former starters who likely pitch in long relief.   It's LH short relievers like Fry, Bleier, etc., that would be more affected by the rule.

[mdbdotcom]

3 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Doesn't matter.   There has never been any rule about pitchers pinch running, hitting, playing the field.   And you can see all the new rules above that don't mention one.  So they haven't added one.   So stop trying to make one up!

There's never been a rule about limiting the number of pitchers on an active roster before, either. Now there is. I didn't make up anything, I just asked a question because I wanted to know the answer. No need for you to be a dick about it.

[SteveA]

1 minute ago, mdbdotcom said:

There's never been a rule about limiting the number of pitchers on an active roster before, either. Now there is. I didn't make up anything, I just asked a question because I wanted to know the answer. No need for you to be a dick about it.

Sorry if I came across that way.   But none of the rule changes say anything about pitchers playing the field, batting, running, etc.   It's not a problem they are trying to fix.   

[mdbdotcom]

1 minute ago, SteveA said:

Sorry if I came across that way.   But none of the rule changes say anything about pitchers playing the field, batting, running, etc.   It's not a problem they are trying to fix.   

Appreciate that. So, what I don't understand then is why players have to meet certain criteria to be 2-way players.

[SteveA]

Just now, mdbdotcom said:

Appreciate that. So, what I don't understand then is why players have to meet certain criteria to be 2-way players.

They want to stop the trend of ever-increasing bullpens and smaller benches, which kind of reached ridiculousness on the O's in recent years when we sometimes had 13 pitchers and 12 hitters, which  means a backup C, a backup IF, and a backup OF was our whole bench.

Hence the 13 pitcher limit on a 26 man roster.

And the 3 batter rule will force you to have fewer super specialists who only pitch to one LH or RH batter, instead maybe you'll go with one guy who is OK against both sides rather than a LOOGY and a ROOGY.

They also added a rule that pitchers have to stay on the DL for at least 15 days, or stay in the minors when optioned for at least 15 days, before coming back up.   It was 10 for eveyrone last year, and is still 10 for position players.   That's to stop the Norfolk shuttle type shenanigans that Buck and Duquette used to do where we'd be shuttling pitchers up and down so no only would we have an 8 man pen in the majors, but if one got tired he would go down and we could bring someone fresh up so it was almost like having 9 or 10 relievers, and the guy that went down could be back up 10 days later.

And they wanted to limit the use of emergency pitchers like Wilkerson to blowouts (7+ runs down or more) or extra innings to save arms.   So now you can't use a position player in a non-blowout in regulation.

So they added all these new rules that, for the first time ever, differentiate between Ps and position players.   Before this there were no rules governing what pitchers or position players could do.   They were all just players.   But now we have these rules that split them into two categories:   Ps have a longer DL, PPs can't pitch except in emergency situations, etc.   Limit on the # of Ps on the roster.  Now that these rules exist, they want to come up with a way to handle guys who LEGITIMATELY are both a P and a PP like Ohtani, not just a Wilkerson type.     So they came up a way that if someone legitimately does both (at least 20 innings as a P and at least 20 starts as a non-P with 3 plate appearances), they can be designated a 2 way player.   They won't count against the pitcher limit because they perform a legitimate position player/DH function.   But they still have a 15 day DL and 15 days in the minors because they are also Ps.   And the rule about PPs only pitching in blowouts/extra innigns doesn't apply to them.