Seems to be a common problem. The Reds had one blocked by a chair a few weeks ago. like, it hit the back of a chair in the stands, bounced out, and was ruled a double.
Ten homers in Cubs vs Reds? The game is not going to be what it should be until MLB executives realize their love affair with the HR is actually what’s wrecking the game. Literally everyone is swinging for the fences. And succeeding enough to keep doing it. That’s why we see ten homers. That’s also why we see ridiculous levels of strikeouts and walks.
Meantime, MLB has done a few things to shorten games, and none of them have worked worth a damn. The runner on second thing is horrible, and its not extra inning games that are the problem anyway. If they really want to reduce game times, they need to reduce advertising time between innings by a minute. That’s 17 minutes saved right there. Run ad banners during innings to make up for it. Also, they should simply be allowing and encouraging the “quick pitch”. If time is in, and the pitcher has the ball, who cares if the batter is “ready”. Blow a few past him while he’s adjusting his jock strap and maybe he’ll be “ready” next time.
Okay, keep it here for more general rants about the degradation of the American pastime.
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This makes me wonder if the league or umpire’s union circulated some guidance on calling stuff related to baserunning and now they’re seeing ghosts everywhere.
An example of how ridiculous the Brewers’ injury situation is:
They let go their 3rd string catcher about a week ago. He was signed by the Mariners, who released him a couple days later, before he ever suited up for them. The Brewers’ starting catcher got hurt and the backup already was, so they were now down to their 4th and 5th stringers (minor leaguers, obviously). They re-signed the guy they let go and he proceeded to hit two homers yesterday.
as someone who started watching baseball in the last few years and have no historical attachment to it, the biggest issue is the amount of time in between pitches and length of at bats.
i’m not entirely sure how to fix it without changing the fundamental rules of the games. if i rewrote the rules completely, i would limit the amount of foul balls a batter can hit before striking out to 3, not allow picking runners at first and put a pitch clock (also the part where a batter can say he’s not ready is stupid. that’s your job).
also eliminate the 5 minutes per game wasted on the manager going to the field. the ceremony is dumb.
i would also limit the number of pitchers change per game to 3. there’s no reason to have more than 3 pitchers in a game. if they all got injured you can have one of your position players pitch.
I agree that the time between pitches is the absolute worst part of baseball and the reason why I can’t stomach watching a game that my favorite team isn’t playing. There are no gloves in the world that you need to unfasten and refasten between literally every single pitch.
A lot of pitchers aren’t “stretched out” enough to go multiple innings, especially if they’re getting hit hard. I don’t think pitching changes in the middle of innings is a driving factor in the length of games. It’s the time between pitches and the fact that batters are not putting the ball in play frequently enough.
Some at bats need to be over and done with in one or two pitches, and that’s not happening as much as it used to. Batters need to get in the batter’s box and stay there, unless they foul a ball off their foot or something. MLB executives only need to look back at old games from years back to see why today’s games are so much longer than they were in years past.
One thing that drives me nuts is bullpens are as far away as possibly can be from home plate. There’s no reason stadiums can’t build bullpens behind the dugouts under the stands. Instead, they are 450 feet away. Imagine an NFL kicker warming up in the parking lot and running into the stadium to kick a FG.
Assuming it takes 2 minutes to run to the mound and talk to the manager (before you even start your warm up pitches), that’s 20 minutes if both teams have 5 pitching changes. Just have the bullpen behind the dugout and the manager can walk with the pitcher to the mound during a change. And none of this 7 or 8 pitches allowed to warm up once you get to the mound. You get 2. If that’s not enough, warm up earlier in the bullpen.
What you’re decrying here (and rightly so) is the “Three True Outcomes” theory.
Here’s an article echoing your concerns, with data!
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article230089079.html
I am an old school fan, and I LOVE seeing players hit bloop singles, I love seeing a well-executed bunt, I LOVE seeing doubles and triples. Baseball used to be exciting because you never knew what would happen, and it’s why plays like this fire me up more than another 430ft solo shot to right field.
Yeah, I grew up in the late Pete Rose Era, so let’s go to the numbers. If Baseball continues like it is now, no one will ever break Pete Rose’s MLB hits record.
Years played: 24
Career Hits: 4256
Career Home Runs: 160
Yes, you read that right. 24 year career, and only 160 HRs. I would argue that the reason he was able to play for that long was because he didn’t try to hit for power.
I hate the Three True Outcomes and want to set it on fire and throw it over a cliff.
Rose had a different skill set. It’s very hard to deal with 100 mph fastballs without swinging as hard as you can. You have to swing hard because you have to match the speed of the pitch. You can’t just flick your wrists and bust a ball down the opposite line. The pitcher will blow the ball past you.
Like guys, the batters are overwhelmed right now. Even when it’s a fastball right down the middle, they can’t catch up.
I like math and I hate baseball strategies that don’t maximize EV.
Good article. I really think a major deadening of the baseball is in order. The strong guys will still get their homers, but we shouldn’t be seeing Scooter Gennett (whatever happened to him) hitting four homers in a game. Unfortunately it may be too late. Not sure the team executives are going to start suddenly looking for contact hitters who can spray the ball around. I think its a big problem though going forward.
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I think this is why we all love Ichiro so much. He stepped right into the modern power game and dominated using the “old” style.
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Yea check this video out. It’s really grainy but it shows Mickey Mantle’s last home run at Yankees Stadium. First, I’ve seen little league pitchers throw harder than this. Second, the pitcher is working really quickly because he’s not exerting himself. You can see one scene from the behind the plate where the pitcher plants his foot 2 feet in front of him instead of extending it out like they do today. LOL @ anyone that still thinks the old timers could handle today’s game. They wouldn’t even get out of a AA ball. And it’s not even that long ago. It’s 1973.
the guy pitching was 46 years old and 7 years into retirement
I was about to say that that clearly looked like an old timers game. Four tipoffs without researching it: 1) Mantle isn’t wearing a helmet, 2) he looks old as fuck, 3) the pitcher is pitching WAY too slowly for a real game, even back then, and 4) the atmosphere is way too jovial.
lol
I mean, Barry played 22 years and could have gotten at least 2 more if he wasnt blackballed
Lol shit. Whoopsie. I assumed it was his last regular season home run.
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