MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

[Juzbee]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned what has made the games become so much longer to begin with: MONEY. There is just SO much money involved, that we now have bullpen pitchers who pitch to one batter and are out, because each game is generating such a large amount of dollars. Likewise, starters are taken out of games because teams have to protect their investments. Back when big league players were making "normal" salaries, the teams would work them like horses. Now every possible precaution is taken. It would be nice to say that teams "care" more about the players now, but it's all just about the money.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

I'm not quoting verbatim, but:

Baseball games are getting longer this season...According to ESPN...average length of MLB games have increased by 4 minutes from 2015 to 2016...yada yada ...it adds up to 10.8 hours more for the fan who watches all 162 games of a teams season....blah blah blah

I seriously doubt there is any fan out there, when he realises he's watched 486 hours of his teams season, wishes he had only watched 476 hours instead, & saved that 10.8 hours on something more meaningful, like playing the Show, or posting on OS lmgdao

[RLB]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

I'm not quoting verbatim, but:

I seriously doubt there is any fan out there, when he realises he's watched 486 hours of his teams season, wishes he had only watched 476 hours instead, & saved that 10.8 hours on something more meaningful, like playing the Show, or posting on OS lmgdao

Let's see.....10.8 hours x 4 beers per hour x $8.00 per beer........that would save me about $345 per year.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

Let's see.....10.8 hours x 4 beers per hour x $8.00 per beer........that would save me about $345 per year.

That would save me, oh... about... $0 per year.
There are three times that are perfect for drinking a beer:
1) Before a game
2) During a game
3) After a game

[WhiteBunny]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

Well, i'm a big soccer fan. It's my first love and i follow the whole season of my beloved team ( F.C. Inter ). In my country - Italy - nobody play or watch baseball. Nobody knows a thing about baseball. It's like talking about aliens or weird stuff nobody cares.
I'm a baseball fan since three years now. Strangely enough, i enjoy a lot the fact that i can take my time while watching a game: washing dishes, cooking and stuff like this. It's so relaxing. It's my three hours zen moment. I'm not concerned at all about the peace of play, maybe because i'm an outsider.
So here it's what i feel. Soccer isn't so popular in US because it isn't a very profitable sport commercial wise: there's not enough space and time to fill a game with ads and sponsor. There's one big break once a game and that's it. In baseball you get 14-15 breaks which you can fill with a lot of spots, sponsor and ads. That's a lot of money. And while they are concerned about time, they don't want to lose money. It makes perfect sense but maybe it's one of the reason why a game takes so long.

[brushbackpitch]

Leave the game alone! It's pure in its truest form. Because people today don't have the attention span to truly watch and understand the game doesn't mean it needs to be changed. It means that it will have a different, breed of fan.

[KBLover]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

It makes perfect sense but maybe it's one of the reason why a game takes so long.

Yeah, it's like why does an hour long game of (NFL) football take 3+ hours to play? The TV timeouts don't help.

But all MLB has to do is use Statcast to figure out the most common count where there's "action" (ball in play) and implement Quick Counts. Give the home plate umpire an app that generates a random number from 0-3 for balls and 0-2 for strikes with the bell curve centered around that "most common" count.

Then when a batter steps in the box, the ump uses the app and announces the count.

Or just have every batter be in a 3-2 count. Then it's almost like one-pitch mode. You get action on every pitch (either a K, a BB, a ball in play, or a swing and foul).

I better stop before MLB gets ideas LOL.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

Leave the game alone! It's pure in its truest form. Because people today don't have the attention span to truly watch and understand the game doesn't mean it needs to be changed. It means that it will have a different, breed of fan.

No MLB game today is anywhere near it's most pure & true form, yet because it's the greatest game ever invented, even today's bastardised MLBl is still better than any other game IMO

[Ruben2424]

I'm a hardcore Baseball fan so I say leave Baseball the way it is!!!

[jada855]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

I can never once recall while playing short stop man this game takes for ever! The game actually goes by pretty quickly when you are out there on the field. A true fan of the sport understands this.

As for the virtual side of things. MLB THE SHOW 15 nailed this by giving us all the options we needed to play the way we wanted and for how long we wanted.

MLB THE SHOW 16 dropped the ball on this not sure why they touched something that was currently working.

[brushbackpitch]

No MLB game today is anywhere near it's most pure & true form, yet because it's the greatest game ever invented, even today's bastardised MLBl is still better than any other game IMO

I absolutely agree! Just wish they would leave it the way it was when baseball was baseball and the game was great! I miss the days of Rose, Gibson, 4 SP rotations, no pitch counts and more.

[Rhouston]

The hardcore fan (which seems to be most of the people here) wants the game to last as long as possible. However, for everyone else -- the VAST majority of fans in attendance or watching on TV -- the game definitely has the possibility to be TOO DAMN LONG.

It's one thing for it to be a 3+ hour game on a sunny and warm Saturday or Sunday afternoon -- most adult fans would be fine with this. It's a completely other thing for it to be a 3+ hour game on a weeknight (when many people have to be up early the next day for work), or during poor weather -- then, the game seems to last FOREVER.

I was at a Cubs night game last week, and about 1/3 of the fans left after the 7th inning strech, simply because it was already 10pm and the Cubs were up by four runs. I'm sure this will elicit a response such as "THEY'RE NOT REAL FANS!" but I gotta say, part of me wishes I did the same, as I was struggling the next morning as I did not get home until 11:30 and had to be up at 5:45.

A 20 second pitch clock would be much appreciated and honestly isn't THAT unreasonable. Or make games 8 innings instead of 9.

[KBLover]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

A 20 second pitch clock would be much appreciated and honestly isn't THAT unreasonable. Or make games 8 innings instead of 9.

IF either one of those had to go in - it better be the pitch clock. Changing number of innings?

No. Just...please no.

[NYJin2011tm]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

Batters should stay in the box between pitches and pitchers should only be allowed to step off if runners are on base.

[NYJin2011tm]

Re: MLB, Just Like The Show, Concerned About Time It Takes to Finish A Game

Maybe don't spend 10 minutes trying to figure out multiple replay challenges? Call it inconclusive, call stands after 3 or so if there's no clear resolution.

They even take 10 or more minutes on even the clear cut replays where all they really need is one look...crazy.

Keith Hernandez is funny during replays. He starts going on and on..."Let's go fellas", "Let's move it along already"