MLB Announces Rule Experiments in the Minors for 2021
Tabe
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in Sports Talk
MLB will be implementing a bunch of rule experiments at different levels of minor leagues this year:
The experiments include, which will be spread out among the various levels, not all at one level:
1) 18x18 bases instead of 15x15
2) Robot umpires for balls/strikes
3) Requiring all infielders to have their feet in the infield dirt (no lining up in the outfield). This will be reviewed at mid-season to determine if they will require keeping 2 infielders on each side of 2B.
4) Limit of two pickoff attempts. Third is a balk.
5) Requiring pitchers to fully step off before pickoff attempts. No more balk moves from lefties.
6) Pitch clocks
What do you think? I like all of them.
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Comments
Neutral on 1,2,5. Favor #6. Against 3,4.
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Ralph
Only 6 might make BB watchable again, and that's only if they set it to three on both the batter and pitcher.
what do I think?? I think MLB has made changes in the recent past in an attempt to help the game and they have only hurt and distorted it. the changes listed above all strike me as pure POP TARTS.
Weren't they testing the robot umps last year for a bit?
3 is f'n stupid.
Baseball already has positions that are much more set than any other sport. Restricting how or where someone can play is silly, if the defense thinks it gives them an advantage, it is up to the offense to figure out how to counteract that advantage.
The three batter rule is already turning out to be terrible.
I don't like 4.
Not sure about 2, but if they can make it work, fine. I always hated it when umpires expanded or diminished the strike zone.
I REALLY LIKE 6.
The pitch clock is the only thing that might have a big impact on the game.
Go to youtube and watch an old baseball game when they didn't screw around (both batter and pitcher) and you will see how much more enjoyable baseball can be.
Don't like any of that chit, particularly the robot umps which is just plain silly.
I dont understand making the bases larger.
install a pitch clock. please. i don't know why they wont just install it in MLB right away. i think the first time the robot ump calls a ball for a pitcher holding for too long would make the transition go rather smoothly.
the only down side to a pitch clock I can see is in the running game. if there was a 12 second clock and the runner can see it ticking down to 1 he would be able to take off and get a huge advantage on the pitcher/catcher on the stolen base.
I like 5 and 6
give us robot umps calling balls and strikes. fair for both sides. keep humans manning the bases.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
4 and 5 are silly so are the other options too,
I don't like all these changes, so after 2 pick off attempts the runner already knows he can get a huge lead and basically walk to second after the pitcher delivers to home, if they are trying to speed up the game simple do not let the batter step out of the box after every pitch, cut down on commercials ,
Baseball is supposed to be a timeless game.
Keep it that way.
They already have rules restricting where guys can play.
I once watched Don Larsen's perfect game on the MLB Network. It was incredible how fast the pace of play was. If a guy grounded out, the next guy was in the box waiting by the time the pitcher got the ball back after it went around the horn. Nowadays, games feel like a contest between two guys who DON'T want the next pitch to actually happen.
there are already so few outcomes in the modern game (strikeout, walk, HR). at least they could make them happen more quickly for us
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
You know I did envision a technology where if the ball touches the computer generated strike zone, it'll flash the "rectangle" easily indicating the ball did touch the strike zone.
As for the 18x18 bases thing, seriously? We've had 15x15 inch bases since what, the late 1800s? It's weird enough they changed the max bat diameter to 2.61 inches when we had the 2.75 inches limit since '95...1895.
As for 3, 4, 5...again, you can't just dramatically change things like that that have been in place for well over 100 years.
D's: 54S,53P,50P,49S,45D+S,44S,43D,41S,40D+S,39D+S,38D+S,37D+S,36S,35D+S,all 16-34's
Q's: 52S,47S,46S,40S,39S,38S,37D+S,36D+S,35D,34D,32D+S
74T: 37,38,47,151,193,241,435,570,610,654,655 97 Finest silver: 115,135,139,145,310
73T:31,55,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,80,152,165,189,213,235,237,257,341,344,377,379,390,422,433,453,480,497,545,554,563,580,606,613,630
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Well now wait a sec, are you counting all the TV commercials/sponsor plugs? I mean I'm presuming they did televise the WS back then right?
D's: 54S,53P,50P,49S,45D+S,44S,43D,41S,40D+S,39D+S,38D+S,37D+S,36S,35D+S,all 16-34's
Q's: 52S,47S,46S,40S,39S,38S,37D+S,36D+S,35D,34D,32D+S
74T: 37,38,47,151,193,241,435,570,610,654,655 97 Finest silver: 115,135,139,145,310
73T:31,55,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,80,152,165,189,213,235,237,257,341,344,377,379,390,422,433,453,480,497,545,554,563,580,606,613,630
95 Ultra GM Sets: Golden Prospects,HR Kings,On-Base Leaders,Power Plus,RBI Kings,Rising Stars
Just talking about during innings. An identical inning in 1956 - same pitch sequence, same outcome of every pitch - would take significantly less time than one in 2020/21.
The commercial breaks are a definite problem. In the 1970s and 1980s, breaks were 30-45 seconds shorter. Doesn't sound like much but adds up to 15+ minutes per game.
One of the last 2 regular season games in 1967 between the Twins and Red Sox is/was on youtube. UNBELIEVABLE how much faster the pace of the game was back then. Added bonus was not a bunch of crapola scrolling across the screen about a bunch of junk I am not interested in.
Baseball used to be beautiful to watch, not so much anymore. :-(
There's that, too. There's a lot of stuff covering a bunch of the screen when watching games anymore. Can be kind of annoying.
This sequence starting at 18:00 highlights what I'm talking about - a base hit to center and the next guy is at the plate as soon as the pitcher gets the ball back:
Some very good hitters for Minnesota!
High salaries and big profits for owners = more commercials and screen crawls
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
In my case, one less viewer.
anyone in favor of anything to "speed up the game" isn't a true baseball fan and should probably watch soccer. they'll be happy there because once the clock starts it never stops. MLB is intended to be relaxing and rather sedentary, all the "speed up the game" talk is a result of societal changes and the mentality of the "now" crowd. everyone is too impatient to sit still for three hours.
do you really think it's an accident that as the push to speed things up has gained momentum that the game has slowed?? forcing pitchers to hurry up, batters to hurry up, starting extra innings with runners on base, forcing relief pitchers to face multiple batters: all that stuff distorts the game.
so players of today have some magical sense of proper baseball pace from the 1950's in their DNA?
Forcing pitchers to hurry up? 45 seconds to throw one pitch? thats just stupid .
Its too boring at the 3 and a half hour length and that will hurt the sport financially. No new fans means the game dies. Its a spectator sport ! when nothing is actually happening spectators get bored taking dollars with them. Name some area where vast amounts of time spent doing nothing is in demand?
Go out to eat and wait 30 minutes for a waitress to ask for your drink order, just sit there doing nothing . Tell us how fun that is for everyone. Then let her take 45 minutes to hand the drink to you then disappear for an hour then return and ask if you want appetizers . Get seated at 6pm and get food at 9pm then sit with dirty dishes in front of you till midnight
If you are having fun with a good group of people then you can hang there for hours and enjoy it. A 4 hour baseball games is dinner with your mother in law 162 times a year , just slit your damn wrists and get it over with
Its ridiculous! We have TV remotes in hand and we are gone to something else
MLB is a business not some sort of religious experience It needs to respond to a majority of viewers needs or it dies.
I don't watch much baseball, mostly Reds and Indians. I may watch the first inning then switch to TCM and watch an oldie. Then I switch back to the game which is in inning 4 or 5. I watch a half inning or so then back to an old movie. After the movie back to the game in inning 8 or 9. If it looks like an exciting finish I watch, otherwise over to Fox news.
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Ralph
you make my case for me, everyone's in a hurry and nobody has any patience. when I go to a game, watch a game or listen to a game I do it to relax, not to hurry to an outcome. they have shows for that: you wait till late in the evening and then you find out the scores and see the highlights.
Bronco, you're the type of fan MLB thinks they need to win back with these changes. I'm the kind of fan they don't worry about, I actually enjoy the game as it is.
I don't want them to "hurry up" just play at a reasonable pace.
Tired of watching two pitch hurlers shake of 14 suggestions from the catcher only to have the batter step out of the batters box because of his annoyance. Then, once the batter returns, we have to wait some more because NOW we have to go through another 14 ideas from the catcher.
Batter also does not need to step out after every pitch.
Also we never needed the entire infield to congregate at the mound for discussions.
Baseball WAS a relaxing game, now it's more like watching paint dry.
I don't know how you can find 3 good movies to watch every time a ball game comes on, but good for you!
Joe, like I told Bronco, if you're too impatient and restless to relax and watch a game, well, maybe MLB ain't for you. save yourself the aggravation and tune in to ESPN for highlights and scores. also, most of the "mound gatherings" and " catcher/pitcher shake-offs" is really just an artificial way to slow down what's been speeded up. the Game worked fin for the better part of a century, then society changed and the need to speed it up was born. things change, people just need to change along with that. if that's a burden then maybe the modern game ain't for you.
I wish I had a dollar for every lazy evening I sat in a chair in the driveway with my Dad listening to an Indians game. that was during the 1960's when nobody seemed to be in such a hurry.
I agreed with @stevek that baseball is supposed to be "timeless". I also agreed with @tabes comment about the pace of Don Larsen pitching vs what we see today. Giving these pitchers and hitters time clocks will speed up the game, but it will never make it the same game as before. They just don't play it the same way.
Edit to add: I don't know what the solution is. I hate seeing a clock put on a game with no clock. This would never happen, but if there was a clock used in little league up through college, and it was done that way for a number of years, so as to make it natural for pitchers to find their own ways to do things, it might fix it. Then no clock in MLB. Some pitchers would use all the time. Some would pitch fast. Etc. Because pitchers used to develop their own internal clocks based on what worked for them. Really, thinking about it, I do not like any changes involving clocks. So scratch that pretend idea.
The game was never speeded up, but it sure needs to be now.
I'm neither restless or impatient. If the game is played at a reasonable pace, I don't mind how long the game takes. I grew up on the Minnesota Twins of the 1960's and enjoyed those games.
Yes, it bothers me when a guy who has two pitches (almost all of them) shakes off the catcher multiple times EVERY SINGLE PITCH! Of course the batter "gets even" by waiting until the last possible second and then steps out, and we do it all over again.
Did you bother to watch any of the video (thanks Tabe!) posted? That's how the game was played for the better part of the century, then it ground to a screeching halt. Baseball was never a fast paced game, now it's unwatchable. I went to a game two years ago and the first four innings lasted two hours and only 3 runs total were scored.
But that's just me. I passed the next time I was offered free tickets.
Yes, the MLB is no longer for me, much of the time.
That makes me kind of sad. :-(
i understand the nostalgia of the lazy games/days of the 40s, 50s, 60s etc. the games probably seemed better because they only took 2 1/2 hours to play. you didn't have to set aside an entire afternoon or plan on going to bed after midnight to watch a game.
i think that if games were taking 3-4 + hours to complete back in the golden years that people would have been in an uproar over it then too.
can you imagine back when doubleheaders were much more common if each game was 4 hours long? it would have been excruciating
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
as to the pitch clock idea , reports are the officials in the park have been caught delaying starting the clock for the home team and starting it quick for the away team
must be another unwritten baseball rule
sounds about right
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Did you watch any of that video?
GIGANTIC difference in pace of play.
Funny you mention doubleheaders, you used to be able to see both games, now they often (always?) clear out the stadium between games so they can double their ticket sales..
I wouldn't mind the cost increases over the years, but when you charge more for an inferior presentation, you can go pound sand.
golf has same issues
Unfortunately, the glacial pace has creeped down into the minor leagues. There are no commercial breaks (generally) for the games I attend (Spokane Indians, short-season A before this season) and yet they still take forever. A big part of it is the long promotions during every half-inning but most of it is just the slow pace. There's a good 10-30 seconds wasted on every hitter in ever game. That crap adds up when you start talking about 70+ hitters in an average game.
If you are going to walk a batter just wave him to 1st. If you make the bases larger make the runner be in contact with the base until release of the ball by the pitcher. Have at least 4 designated hitters who bat for the 4 weakest hitters, allow only 2 pitching changes, allow only 3 warm up pitches. I could go on.
All of these suggestions have merit, although I don't get the 4 DH thing, but most of the ideas are for things that happen once in a while, like the intentional walk where you don't bother to throw the ball. Great, but how often does that happen?
All that really needs to be done is to instruct the umpires to speed up the game. If the players take to much time, warn them, if they don't get it in gear, start calling balls and/or strikes to punish the offending player.
Simple, effective and works on every at bat.
They already do this.