Minor league rule change experiments

[Frobby]

Not specifically Orioles-related, but the minors are trying out a series of  rule changes this year that I thought deserved discussion here:

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2021/03/experimental-rules-coming-to-the-farm-during-2021-season.html

[Can_of_corn]

28 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Not specifically Orioles-related, but the minors are trying out a series of  rule changes this year that I thought deserved discussion here:

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2021/03/experimental-rules-coming-to-the-farm-during-2021-season.html

I am not at all sure the line " Another impact of shifts is we see fewer great defensive plays in the infield." is accurate.  They aren't the same play, but I'm not sure the overall number goes down.  

Has anyone noticed a decline in highlight infield plays since teams started shifting more?

[Beef Supreme]

Love the larger bases and the step off rule. Hate the two pick off limitation.

[Can_of_corn]

8 minutes ago, Beef Supreme said:

Love the larger bases and the step off rule. Hate the two pick off limitation.

The bases is interesting, the step off rule seems forced.

 "We heard you guys figured out how math works so we are going to make it super easy to steal because we decided that's interesting." .

[jabba72]

Im in favor of many of these rules for the reasons they are being tried out. I dont like 4 hour games so anything to increase pace of play is good for me. 

[Beef Supreme]

46 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

Im in favor of many of these rules for the reasons they are being tried out. I dont like 4 hour games so anything to increase pace of play is good for me. 

Anything, huh?

[Legend_Of_Joey]

Saw the larger bases in the Atlantic League a few seasons ago. It was good. Noticeable form the stands (probably tv too) and gave the first baseman and pitcher plenty of room on close plays at first.

[Frobby]

6 hours ago, jabba72 said:

Im in favor of many of these rules for the reasons they are being tried out. I dont like 4 hour games so anything to increase pace of play is good for me. 

I like the idea of using the minor leagues to experiment with tweaks in the rules.    I don’t necessarily like any of these tweaks, but maybe I’ll be convinced otherwise depending how they play out in the minors.    

[jabba72]

3 hours ago, Frobby said:

I like the idea of using the minor leagues to experiment with tweaks in the rules.    I don’t necessarily like any of these tweaks, but maybe I’ll be convinced otherwise depending how they play out in the minors.    

Well I guess I should say im in favor of them being implemented in the minors so they can analyze what works and what doesn't. but in general anything that can shave a few minutes off a game I would seriously take a look at.  

[survivedc]

I have loved seeing a team (mostly the Rays) put a 4th true outfielder or a 5th true infielder in for an at bat. It always seems like a way more ballsy move than the exaggerated shift. 
 

I appreciate the spirit behind all these rule changes. It’s almost surprising that the MLB has identified the same problem most casual fans have and are attempting to find some fixes.

[Morgan423]

15 hours ago, Beef Supreme said:

Love the larger bases and the step off rule. Hate the two pick off limitation.

Agreed. 

I actually do feel like there should be a pick off limitation, but the focus shouldn't be saving 20 seconds per game as it seems MLB's motivation is.

It should be "Mr. Pitcher, you're being ridiculous and we all want to go home sometime tonight."  Make it five or six attempts instead.

Other impressions...

Still working on dialing in an electronic strike zone:  awesome MLB... keep it up.

Limiting defensive shifting: I like it because the offensive side of the game primarily evolved to three-outcomes to counter it, rather than the hitting-to-all-fields approach that I'd hope for.  I think the three outcome focus is detrimental for the game, so if we have to reduce defensive shifting to get away from it, then so be it.
 

[Beef Supreme]

4 hours ago, jabba72 said:

Well I guess I should say im in favor of them being implemented in the minors so they can analyze what works and what doesn't. but in general anything that can shave a few minutes off a game I would seriously take a look at.  

You want to shorten the game to five innings?

 

14 hours ago, jabba72 said:

Im in favor of many of these rules for the reasons they are being tried out. I dont like 4 hour games so anything to increase pace of play is good for me. 

Five inning games.

Two strikes and you're out. 

120 foot basepaths

Deaden the ball to 1915 standards

Bring back the spitball and allow all foreign substances by pitchers.

Prohibit batting helmets

Pretty easy to shorten the game to the length of commercials plus one hour. If you think whatever fans that remain will prefer mostly 1-0 games to what we have had the past century, I think you would be disappointed. Because it won't be baseball anymore if you would do anything  to shorten the length of games or speed up the game. Pace of play is secondary to providing entertainment that captivates viewers. While I support certain rule changes, I also support testing all of them out first at the minor league level. MLB shouldn't be locked into ideas. Just because they test something in the minors doesn't mean they should commit to adopting them at the major league level in advance. Like any sport, league decision makers need to tread lightly so as not to fundamentally change the viewers' experience of watching the game.

[Beef Supreme]

By the way, not all of these suggested changes would shorten games, e.g. bigger bases.

[jabba72]

No im fine with the rules of baseball like 9 innings and 3 strikes. I would like pace of play increased like it was in the 70's and 80's. The game was the same back then, but took much less time to play. I would like a pitch clock implemented because I think it works. I think deadening the ball to 2014 standards would be good enough for me. Definitely dont like the 2019-20 baseballs used. 

[OFFNY]

19 hours ago, Frobby said:

 

Not specifically Orioles-related, but the Minors are trying out a series of rule-changes this year that I thought deserved discussion here:

 

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2021/03/experimental-rules-coming-to-the-farm-during-2021-season.html

 

o

 

If nothing else, this will likely provoke many debates/arguments.

 

o