MLB Off-Topic

[dubcity]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

"Pace of play" feels like it has turned into MLB trying to placate people who want shorter games without actually making the games shorter.

Maybe it'll be more engaging to watch, but if the game still lasts between 2:50-3:00, who cares? Games have been this long since the late 1980s.

Pitch clock won't change the average number of pitchers used per game, and pitches per AB, which are the only stats that have increased consistently since the days of 120-140 minutes games.

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Pace of play rules are less about shortening the game and more about reducing the amount of dead time with nothing happening. That's why they abolished throwing the intentional walk, limited mound visits, and are considering the pitch clock.

They may only reduce the game time by 10 minutes or so, but it should reduce the percentage of the game where nothing is happening.

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[BigOscar]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I wouldn't mind seeing the amount of practice pitches relievers being allowed off the mound dropping significantly as well as otherwise those innings with 3 changes take forever and it's all dead time. Relievers should be ready before they get to the mound, if they want 2 or 3 pitches to acclimatize then fine I guess, but 8 is far too many. Late innings just grind to a halt in terms of action and it kills the rhythm at times. (even worse with the expanded end of year rosters)

If that means relievers are a bit less effective against the first guy they face, then frankly that's a bonus in my book (as a Rays fan, I'll freely admit it's gotten a bit out of hand)

[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

If 10 minutes a game of nothing happening isn't for you then baseball probably isn't the sport for you.

And that has nothing to do with pace of play.

It's stuff that can be shortened without hurting the game. It's just cutting out wasted time which has gotten out of hand over the decades.

Why does everybody want to ****ing speed up baseball?

Not just baseball, all sports. Attention spans amongst the average person is much shorter than before. It's not as much about speeding it up as it is just cutting down on parts of the game where its just dead time.

If they have it with nobody outs and nobody on only, fine.

Everything else is strategically thought up and necessarily to not have said pitch clock.

That's one compromise I think we'll see. If nobody is on, there's a clock. If someone's on, no clock. Although you know it'd be a matter of time before number of pickoffs are reduced too since we have moments where a pitcher is on the mound for 20 seconds, decides to throw pickoffs, goes back to the mound, pickoff again. Over a minute can pass and no pitch is thrown.

Pace of play rules are less about shortening the game and more about reducing the amount of dead time with nothing happening. That's why they abolished throwing the intentional walk, limited mound visits, and are considering the pitch clock.

They may only reduce the game time by 10 minutes or so, but it should reduce the percentage of the game where nothing is happening.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Operation Sports mobile app

Exactly. It's not as much about shortening game time as it is eliminating dead time. A 3 hour game with minimal dead time and exciting action is alot better than a 3 hour game with lots of dead time. Imo baseball isn't as bad as football in terms of dead time, but it's far behind basketball and hockey. Average game time has been going up over the decades and it points to the breaks in play being alot longer.

[Watson]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

A 20-second pitch clock has been in effect in the SEC for nine years now.

I have never seen it enforced, because I have never seen a pitcher violate it enough to warrant it. Usually the ball is in the catcher’s mitt with 5 seconds to spare. And that’s with most pitching coaches signaling in pitches to the catcher. 7-5 games routinely fall short of three hours.

It really isn’t a big deal as purists make it out to be. I wish the MLB would just pull the trigger so we could all get over it.


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[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

A 20-second pitch clock has been in effect in the SEC for nine years now.

I have never seen it enforced, because I have never seen a pitcher violate it enough to warrant it. Usually the ball is in the catcher’s mitt with 5 seconds to spare. And that’s with most pitching coaches signaling in pitches to the catcher. 7-5 games routinely fall short of three hours.

It really isn’t a big deal as purists make it out to be. I wish the MLB would just pull the trigger so we could all get over it.


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Exactly. People will hate it now because people don't like change. But once it's been around long enough, especially for players now entering the league already being used to it, it will just seem like a regular part of the game.

Getting to watch a guy like Mark Buehrle pitch, you really got to see how games would be if pitchers took less time to pitch. Games were so much faster paced, and that's just from one of the 2 starters pitching quicker.

[kehlis]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

It's stuff that can be shortened without hurting the game. It's just cutting out wasted time which has gotten out of hand over the decades.

I'm not against a pitch clock at this point. I just think it's not the solution that people think it will be.

Games are longer because at bats are going deeper on a more regular basis than they ever had in the past.

Although you know it'd be a matter of time before number of pickoffs are reduced too since we have moments where a pitcher is on the mound for 20 seconds, decides to throw pickoffs, goes back to the mound, pickoff again. Over a minute can pass and no pitch is thrown.

Not sure if you thought this one through though. If you set a "limit" of pickoffs it means you are basically giving a free stolen base to any runner once that limit has been met.

[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I'm not against a pitch clock at this point. I just think it's not the solution that people think it will be.

Games are longer because at bats are going deeper on a more regular basis than they ever had in the past.

Not sure if you thought this one through though. If you set a "limit" of pickoffs it means you are basically giving a free stolen base to any runner once that limit has been met.

We'll never know about the pitch clock difference in the mlb until they try it. But I'm sure they have data from leagues using it. Aren't there minor leagues using it?

I didn't mean I want pickoff limit as much as I hate that sequence, but it wouldn't surprise me if mlb did that one day.

[dubcity]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Pitch clock won't help when a team scores 8 runs in a half inning, and it goes on for like 20 minutes. Or a manager taking a pitcher out after facing one hitter. That's just baseball.

I get that it'll cut out down time, but a 10 minute difference over a 3 hour game is so miniscule that pretty much no one would notice a positive difference on an AB by AB basis.

But I'm definitely not against change. Put a giant countdown clock on the scoreboard if you want.

[BleacherBum2310]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Why does everybody want to ****ing speed up baseball?

preach i have no idea.

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I'm not against picking up the pace (read: not artificially speed up the game) so a pitch clock and again ACTUALLY enforcing the batter in box rule that was created a couple or so years ago would greatly help.

Other than that and perhaps some modification of the shift would be fine in my books.

[KCowse]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Pitch clock won't help when a team scores 8 runs in a half inning, and it goes on for like 20 minutes. Or a manager taking a pitcher out after facing one hitter. That's just baseball.

I get that it'll cut out down time, but a 10 minute difference over a 3 hour game is so miniscule that pretty much no one would notice a positive difference on an AB by AB basis.

But I'm definitely not against change. Put a giant countdown clock on the scoreboard if you want.

The point isn’t cutting ten minutes off any game. It’s speeding up guys like Masahiro Tanaka who will take over a minute between pitches at times. It may make games like that a half hour quicker, which is a big difference. And it would hopefully help keep everybody ready to go a bit more. No one is complaining when there is something happening.

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I do want to see an electronic strike zone. After balking at the idea for some time (remember QuesTec and Schilling?), I think even the players would be ok with implementing it (Zobrist said such last year to an ump)...with how advanced technology is today in accuracy and how viewers today have accepted seeing it on screen, time to move forward with this.

[Blzer]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

How do electronic strike zones account for players' heights? I'm not saying they don't, but where does that factor in (is it truly programmed to their jersey somehow or does some guy touch a button to adjust it) and which parts of the body are they set at exactly? Also, when does it "lock in place?" By the time the pitch is released?

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

No to electronic ump. And no to pitch clock. Please and thank you.