In the slow build up to actual pitchers and catchers
reporting word filtered out about various proposed rule changes to baseball,
many of which are being hotly debated.
However, before we delve into the pros and cons of the various
proposals, let’s not skate past some other things that have flown somewhat
under the radar.
Assuming there is a no consensus on other changes to be
made, the current collective bargaining agreement grants baseball commissioner
Rob Manfred power to impose three changes he put forth last year:
- Adopting the minor league experiment of 2018 into law for exhibition games in 2019 – that when the score is tied after 9 innings, the 10th inning shall start with a runner at 2nd. This change would apply to both Spring Training games and the All Star Game.
- Another minor league experiment, the major leagues would implement a 20-second pitch clock to help speed up the game.
- Teams via their managers, pitching coaches and catchers would be limited to just five mound visits per game. This change is also geared towards speeding up the overall length of ballgames.
Personally, I have no problem with any of them and actually
wouldn’t mind seeing the runner-on-second become the rule for regular season
extra-inning games as well. After all,
baseball is an entertainment business and single games routinely run longer
than NFL contests with extra inning affairs having no time limit
whatsoever. You’re competing for the
entertainment dollar and the number one criticism of baseball is its glacial
pace of play.
Now onto the proposed rule changes being discussed.
Some are new, some are old, but all are worth
mentioning:
- Adopting the DH to the NL as well. The thinking here is that pitchers hit .115 with a .144 OBP in 2018, so having an additional hitter would make the game more interesting.
- Expanding the regular season roster from 25 to 26 players, but reducing the September roster from 40 to 28. This one would make it easier to keep a bloated bullpen and a bench rather than having to choose one or the other. The bigger issue to me is the reduction of the September roster to a mere two additional players when a team that is out of it might want to use that time to audition rookies for the coming season.
- There is a proposal to keep teams from intentionally tanking their season in order to maximize their draft position. Numbers are being tossed around, but essentially it boils down to losing some of the preferential slotting and international money if you are deemed to be guilty of throwing in the towel in order to get first crack at the up and coming prospects.
- Reducing the number of mound visits down to a mere THREE per game.
Finally we come to the one generating the most
disagreement. It has been proposed that
a new pitcher entering the game must face a minimum of three batters. Again, the logic is about speeding up the
game because each time a mound visit and pitching change is made it
artificially prolongs the duration of the contest. It would eliminate the use of the LOOGY and
ROOGY types of situations where you bring in a specialist simply to get one
critical batter at one point in the game.
A lot of questions are left unanswered, however. For example, what if the new pitcher faces
and retires the third out in the inning.
Can he not be removed from the game in the subsequent inning when it
does not reduce the speed of the game itself?
Another thought that occurred to me was the infamous Met
game practice of moving a pitcher from the mound to an outfield position and
then back to the mound again. Would the
pitcher qualify if he faces three batters but not necessarily consecutively?
Finally, what happens in the event of injury? Suppose a pitcher faces one or two batters and doesn't feel right. Are they prohibited from removing him? If not, I would expect the number of phantom injuries that miraculously cure themselves the next day to materialize.
Obviously these ridiculous examples are just there to show
the flaw in the overly simplistic logic of imposing a three-batter minimum, but
what do you think of these proposed rule changes?
17 comments:
REESE - I INCLUDED YOUR COMMENTS, WITH MY THOUGHTS IN CAPS BELOW:
• Adopting minor league experiment of 2018 for exhibition games in 2019 – that when the score is tied after 9 innings, the 10th shall start with a runner at 2nd. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEE THAT HAPPEN IN REAL GAMES, BUT STARTING IN THE 11TH INNING, NOT THE 10TH.
• major leagues would implement a 20-second pitch clock to help speed up the game. WORKS FOR ME 100%.
• Teams via their managers, pitching coaches and catchers would be limited to just five mound visits per game. WORKS FOR ME 100%.
• Adopting the DH to the NL as well. The thinking here is that pitchers hit .115 with a .144 OBP in 2018, so having an additional hitter would make the game more interesting. . WORKS FOR ME 100%. ANOTHER 50 RUNS PER YEAR FROM THE METS WOULD BE WELCOME.
• Expand regular season roster from 25 to 26 players, but reducing the September roster from 40 to 28. I WROTE AN ARTICLE ON GOING TO A 26 MAN LAST YEAR, AND I AM 1000% IN FAVOR OF THAT – JUST MAKE IT RESTRICTED TO POSITION PLAYERS. 28 MAN IN SEPT? THAT LOW WOULD JUST BE TO PAY FOR THE EXTRA COST OF THE 26 MAN ROSTER. MAKE THE SEPTEMBER LIMIT 30 AND I AM GOOD WITH IT.
• There is a proposal to keep teams from intentionally tanking their season in order to maximize their draft position. LETS’S SEE THE RULES ON THAT. TANKING IS A SUBJECTIVE THING UNLESS SOMEONE IS CAUGHT ON TAPE ADMITTING IT
• Reduce # of mound visits down to a mere THREE per game. FOR MANAGER AND COACH, YES.
• A new pitcher entering the game must face a minimum of three batters. I THINK IT SHOULD BE TWO BATTERS, NOT 3. AGREE ALSO THAT IF THE GUY’S FIRST BATTER IS THE LAST BATTER OF THE INNING, HE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO RETURN THE NEXT INNING. WHAT IF THERE IS A 30 MINUTE SIT TIME ON THE BENCH FOR SOME REASON – A LOT OF SCORING OR A RAIN DELAY? NO INNING SPILLOVER TO GET TO THE 2 OR 3 BATTERS - A PITCHER'S ARM COULD TIGHTEN.
1) Man on second in extra innings - Yes
2) 20 second pitch clock- Yes
3) 5 then moved to 4 mound visits- Yes
4) DH in NL - YES YES YES implement it ASAP!!! I feel not only are you going to see a better 9th place batter but also the 8th place batter won’t get pitched around anymore just to face the pitcher. So players union will reap the advantages of that big time. Because you will have 2 salaries going up in the batting order.
5) 26 players on roster - Yes as well, just make it a set amount of pitchers in the pen your allowed to have. So IMO 12 pitchers on your 26 man roster. Also agree with Thomas 30 man in September not 28.
6) Adopt the NBA rule and the guys missing the playoffs go into a lottery.
7) reduce Manger and coaches to 3 visits- yes
8) i don’t mind the 3 batters in an inning but if he comes out of game for any reason he goes on a 5 day DL is my idea. Also if he finishes the inning in less batters, he doesn’t have to come out again for next inning.
My Dad (1907-70) was a self-proclaimed "purist," his motto: Baseball should be played outdoors, on grass, during the day and not west of St.Louis.
I have some of those genes, including a philosophical bent that there are three baseball skills (apart from general athletic prowess--speed, strength, stamina, etc.)--throw the ball, catch the ball, hit the ball--that should be required in some modicum of all participants. Absolving a pitcher of one, and another of TWO is, idk, blasphemy.
Yet, you really can't have teams playing with 2 different sets of rules and we tolerate the kicking specialists in FB (Lou Groza, Doak Walker anyone?). So I'll swallow a DH if it comes with that proposed "3-batter rule."
(artificially simulating what RP's are actually for).
And yes, I would carry the 3-batter interval across innings, but would allow exceptions for an extended rain delay for example. Premature removal for injury precludes use the next day (or two?) to discourage "flopping."
20 sec clock? Fine (How about an NFL style 40sec for new batter, 25 for continued AB?)
BTW, the the extra inning pitcher get charged for a RS by pre-placed runner? Just curious.
Oh yes, tanking. NBA style weighted lottery is my answer to that.
Zozo, allowing 30 instead of 28 in September could result in perhaps 50 guys a year whose only cup of coffee as a major leaguer actually happening - it is so worth it from a PR standpoint. I'd rather those perhaps 50 guys a year be able to tell everyone they know, "yeah, I made it, it was great," rather than "I busted my tail for 6 years living like a bum, trying to get to my dream, but those bastards changed the rules and I never got my chance." It's worth the investment.
Hobie, I still think in the majors, that runner on second should start in the 11th inning. Give them one extra inning, the 10, to win or lose the old fashioned way.
Nobody (fans, pitchers, etc.) need 18 inning games - a man on 2nd should help avoid long extra inning games...especially since it takes so much longer to get thru 9 innings these days.
Remember that 1-0, 24 inning loss to Houston in April 1968? Only took 6 hours, 6 minutes. These days, that gets you through about 14 innings.
That was the game that killed Agee and Swoboda for 1968 - they went 0 for 20 with 9 Ks. Seaver was brilliant 10 innings, 2 hits, no walks.
It would be interesting to know how many games in Mets history a starter did not allow a run in his start, went at least 8 innings, and got a ND. Probably 300 or more such games.
NIce work, Reese.
I like the emphasis on speeding up the game and the listed changes would likely do just that, so I am OK with them.
I also like the DH in the NL......either dump it all together or make it the same for both leagues. Since the players will not agree to dump it from the AL, then add it to the NL. I wonder if BVW saw this coming and it was another positive in the Cano deal? The biggest knock on the trade was the back end of RC's contract when he will be "too old" to play 2B (supposedly). IF the DH comes to the NL, then you have options.....heck, it would even benefit good ol' Yoenis, too!
The 26th man on the roster would likely be a Vince Coleman type.......he would be a weapon starting off at second base in an extra inning game, for sure.
I have my own suggestions for rules changes...
1. no more bubblegum chewing on the field... you take chewing tobacco away, throw in chewinggum
2. pitchers can't touch their crotch anymore. Not PC
3. managers will no longer be allowed to visit the mound... he's use a WIFI system hooked up to a hearing device in the pitcher's ear.
4. we know that pitchers can not go to their mouth to introduce foreign substances on to the ball. We will add noses to this rule. Noses continue foreign substances and, not only could their addition to a baseball alter the direction of that ball once thrown, it also is simply disgusting.
5. Billy Joel will sing God Bless America at the bottom of the 7th inning of all home games. Eat your heart out Kate Smith.
I agree no more tobacco on the fields. Chew it on your own time. Disgusting habit and too many kids copying them!!!
Regarding the runner on 2nd in extra innings rule:
Wouldn't it be much easier and result much less potential headaches later, by just limiting the game to at most a certain number of innings (ex.- 14 innings) and include ties as an official game result?
It just seems simpler and more intuitive. Other sports have ties as potential results
Excellent, Mack.
May I add:No pointing to the sky after reaching base (that 2 sec would be better spent removing flack-jacket & other knighthood garb anding same over to coach/valet).
Hobie
Are you and I the only ones that remember dear Kate?
All the other changes together won't speed up the game as much as the three batter rule. I'm thrilled that they have finally made the connection between games that run way too long and too many pitchers being used per game. Look at a clock when the sixth inning ends and then again when a game is over. I started doing that exercise last year and almost every night the per inning difference was insane for innings seven to nine, and the bottom of the ninth doesn't even get played nightly. Not to mention, it would help with roster balance, as guys who can't get out both lefties and righties would become extinct and less pitchers would be used per game. Imagine, a roster spot for a pinch hitter or a platoon player might actually develop. I don't think this will happen for a while, but it is a good sign that it has finally gotten proposed.
I also like the clock, which drives a lot of old folks nuts (this coming from an old guy.) If an NBA team can get all the way up a court, facing a defense, and shoot within 24 seconds, surely a pitcher can figure out how to throw a ball standing all by himself in 20.
As for anti-tanking rules - that would be fantastic. Tanking is the modern scourge of all professional sports, as there are way too many games where one team is not competing. I would totally abolish the idea of a reverse standings draft. Why reward failure and give a team an out with their fans? Competitive balance? Sure, right, the Yankees have been in the postseason twenty two out of twenty three years.
Make the draft order random every year, which also will give you another TV event when it is done. This issue is even worse in other sports than baseball, but if that doesn't mean they don't have a problem, so why not take the lead?
Mack-
For some reason I associate Kate with the NYR moreso than the NYM.
..now Gladys Gooding...
"BTW, the the extra inning pitcher get charged for a RS by pre-placed runner? Just curious."
The rule as it is used in the minors states that the runner on 2nd is there by virtue of a heretofore unused mechanism called a "team error" so that should he score, it is unearned and doesn't impact the pitcher's individual stats.
According to ESPN, "The runner at second will be the batter in the order prior to that inning's leadoff hitter, and players removed from the game will be ineligible to return. A runner who starts an extra inning at second shall be counted as reaching on an error for purposes of determining earned runs, but no errors shall be charged."
Cant have baseball ties - you'd lose the walk off homer, which is super exciting.
I'll shorten the game for ya - 3 balls, you walk, 2 strikes you're out. Save those dainty arms too.
After midnite, so I shouldn't get too much rain on this, but I'm strongly against the DH. I liken the pitcher batting to low-relief in classical music. Beethoven's Fifth can't only be da-da-da-dum for an hour. You need the lesser strains within to hilight the main melody. Baseball is elegant if nothing else-and very, very difficult. That's why we root inexplicably for the opposing pitcher as he flails away in the box, and laugh should he connect! When Bartolo Colon lunges, we recall sandlots where we learned the game's harsh lessons, the futility and underdog perseverance that underlies the slugger's easy swing. The DH just takes all that away.
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