MLB competition committee to vote on rule changes Friday

[oh-wee-ohs]

Ghost runner rule should activate in the 11th or 12th, then I wouldn't mind it as much. 

Wondering how many free balls and strikes first year of the clock we're going to see? 5% seems like a lot. Maybe that high the first week then it'll settle down. Should be interesting. 

 

[backwardsk]

I like the pitch clock rules and the shift change.  Didn’t think I would, but keeping games under 3 hours is nice.

[Frobby]

52 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

I like the pitch clock rules and the shift change.  Didn’t think I would, but keeping games under 3 hours is nice.

A game ended in a tie today when the ump called a violation on the batter on a 3-2 count, bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 9th.  Imagine that happening during the regular season!

[Can_of_corn]

15 minutes ago, Frobby said:

A game ended in a tie today when the ump called a violation on the batter on a 3-2 count, bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 9th.  Imagine that happening during the regular season!

Sure is a bad look for the player that let his teammates down over something so simple.

[backwardsk]

15 hours ago, Frobby said:

A game ended in a tie today when the ump called a violation on the batter on a 3-2 count, bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 9th.  Imagine that happening during the regular season!

For the first several ST games it seems like it’s getting called less than 1% of the time. It’s good to see the umpires enforce it consistently instead of whenever they feel like it like the previous rules to keep the batters in the batter box. 
 

In the Braves/Red Sox game, did the batter use his timeout? 

[Frobby]

From David Laurila:

”Hearing earlier this week that reporters at New York Mets camp were told to leave the field because the team was about to do a proprietary drill got me thinking about a Buck Showalter stratagem from a few years back. When he was skippering the Orioles, Showalter would sometimes position his first baseman off the bag with a runner on first base — not because he was slow-footed, but rather as a way of holding him on. The idea was that the runner could see the first baseman out of the corner of his eye, and if the first baseman feinted back toward the bag as the pitcher was preparing to deliver, the runner would instinctually think pickoff possibility and shift his weight in a backward direction. Given the new limited-pickoff rule that will be in play this year, this is something we may see teams trying.”

[Frobby]

“Per MLB, the average time of the first 19 spring training games was 2:36. The average time of spring training games in 2022 was 3:01 — or 25 minutes slower. MLB officials laughed when they saw that last number Saturday: When they tested the pitch clock in the minors last year, the average game time dropped by ... 25 minutes, a number MLB representatives trumpeted when selling the rule this winter.

“Overall, there were 34 violations in the first 19 games, or 1.79 per game. When MLB tested the pitch clock in the minors, the number of violations began at 1.73 per game. By the end of the year, the average was less than one.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/02/25/pitch-clock-spring-training-braves-red-sox/

[Can_of_corn]

 

[backwardsk]

3 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

 

Haha. Came in here just to post that.  Shoulda known.

[yark14]

Looking through the history of rule changes throughout history is fascinating: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/rulechng.shtml

They are currently changing significant rules at a faster pace than anytime since the early decades.  Many of the changes throughout the second half of the 1900's largely had to do with scoring and small adjustments.

It will be an interesting season. 

[Fiver6565]

I don’t see any way the pitch clock isn’t a positive change. The players will get used to it fairly quickly, and shaving that much time (or anywhere close) from each game is awesome. As someone (like presumably most of you) who watches almost every game, I very much welcome a shorter version. 

[Frobby]

The pitch clock is fantastic.  Listening to the games on radio, they just move so much faster.  

I haven’t noticed the bigger bases and new pickoff rules having much effect on stolen bases so far. 

 

[Just Regular]

For your friends and family, a Joe Posnanski digest of this year's changes geared to the Esquire magazine audience.

https://www.esquire.com/sports/a43098257/fix-major-league-baseball-mlb/

[Frobby]

The last 3 O’s games each were played in about 2:20.   Coupled with the 6:30 start time in April/May, we could see some games over by 9 pm.  

[Bird Is The Word]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

The last 3 O’s games each were played in about 2:20.   Coupled with the 6:30 start time in April/May, we could see some games over by 9 pm.  

I sincerely hope that is the case. Love watching the O's play, but having games take absolutely forever gets me burned out quickly and I don't want that.