Improving the game suggestions

[HowAboutThat]

The way to improve the game is NOT with stupid S—t like pitch clocks, banning the shift, or replays. It is to increase baserunners, because when guys are on base, more interesting things happen.

here’s a couple suggestions:

Allow steal of first: At any point in the count, a batter may break for first on a PB or WP.

Limit throws to first to keep a batter on first: this increases the chance of a successful steal and increases overall benefit of stealing.

Award first after a certain number of foul balls: the most. Boring. Outcome. In. Baseball. Is a foul ball.  But if the batter gets first after, say, ten fouls, it creates an element of drama that doesn’t exist.

Clone Mark Trumbo 30 times, and insist that every team play him in center.

[wildcard]

Baseball will become more interesting when the O's put a winning team on the field.

[ChipTait]

35 minutes ago, Philip said:

 

Allow steal of first: At any point in the count, a batter may break for first on a PB or WP.

 

The Atlantic League did this in 2019.  No idea how many times it occurred after the first time (which was well documented.)

[HowAboutThat]

46 minutes ago, ChipTait said:

The Atlantic League did this in 2019.  No idea how many times it occurred after the first time (which was well documented.)

I think it’s a great idea, and it would encourage more accurate throwing and better catching

Edited February 8, 2021 by Philip

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, Philip said:

I think it’s a great idea, and it would encourage more accurate throwing and better catching

No team is going to make personnel decisions based off of steals of first.

That's just ridiculous.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

No starting extra innings with a runner on second. 

Designate one player per game that can be pulled and substituted in one time. I get this wouldn't necessarily jive with shortening game times, but it would be an interesting from a strategy perspective. 

 

[HowAboutThat]

21 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

No starting extra innings with a runner on second. 

Designate one player per game that can be pulled and substituted in one time. I get this wouldn't necessarily jive with shortening game times, but it would be an interesting from a strategy perspective. 

 

I would be willing to give that a try.

[Sports Guy]

Fire Manfred

[jabba72]

Find out what balls they used during the 2014 season and go from there. Pretty sure scoring was way down that season. 

[DrungoHazewood]

15 hours ago, Philip said:

The way to improve the game is NOT with stupid S—t like pitch clocks, banning the shift, or replays. It is to increase baserunners, because when guys are on base, more interesting things happen.

here’s a couple suggestions:

Allow steal of first: At any point in the count, a batter may break for first on a PB or WP.

Limit throws to first to keep a batter on first: this increases the chance of a successful steal and increases overall benefit of stealing.

Award first after a certain number of foul balls: the most. Boring. Outcome. In. Baseball. Is a foul ball.  But if the batter gets first after, say, ten fouls, it creates an element of drama that doesn’t exist.

Clone Mark Trumbo 30 times, and insist that every team play him in center.

I don't know the numbers, but I'm going to guess that across the league players would steal first about twice a month.  @Can_of_corn, you have nothing to worry about.  Teams don't make roster decisions based on inside-the-park homers or balks or catchers interference or the likelihood of turning a triple play, which would be similar in frequency to this.

I think for throws to first I'd make the rule that each throw to first that doesn't pick off the runner, the pitcher is charged a ball on the batter.

I'm not going to automatically be against your foul ball rule, but 10 is an awful lot.  I don't think a typical batter has a single at bat all year with 10 foul balls.

Instead of cloning Mark Trumbo and playing him in center, I'd have a real, hard rule that all parks built after today have to have LF/RF/CF/RF/LF dimensions meeting a minimum standard significantly larger than the average park today.  I'd give teams freedom to build the park as they like, but something like the lines have to be at least 300', but otherwise those five dimensions have to add up to at least 1900'.  So 350-385-425-380-360 would do it.  So would 310-410-475-375-330.  Then we'd have similar coverage to Trumbo playing in a current field, but with really good fielders doing athletic things.

[Yossarian]

One pitch at-bats.  You either walk (or get HBP/catcher's interference, etc.), strike out, or put the ball in play.  A foul ball is a strikeout.  You get the pitcher's best pitch with every batter.  Games would last under an hour.

[Aristotelian]

Salary cap.

[TommyPickles]

I kinda like the foul ball idea. A guy deserves some kind of reward for ten foul balls in an at bat, besides the announcers complimenting him for "really battling out there."

[jabba72]

I think pitch clock and less commercials between innings are the easiest ways to speed up a game. But they also seem to be the hardest to implement. Im in favor of banning shifts that place a 4th OF in RF or SS beyond 2B and vice versa. I think shifting to the edge of 2B should be good enough. Also no more juiced balls. All those things added together I think would improve the game. 

[Yardball85]

21 hours ago, Philip said:

The way to improve the game is NOT with stupid S—t like pitch clocks, banning the shift, or replays. It is to increase baserunners, because when guys are on base, more interesting things happen.

here’s a couple suggestions:

Allow steal of first: At any point in the count, a batter may break for first on a PB or WP.

Limit throws to first to keep a batter on first: this increases the chance of a successful steal and increases overall benefit of stealing.

Award first after a certain number of foul balls: the most. Boring. Outcome. In. Baseball. Is a foul ball.  But if the batter gets first after, say, ten fouls, it creates an element of drama that doesn’t exist.

Clone Mark Trumbo 30 times, and insist that every team play him in center.

I would do none of these things. Sorry.