New MLB Rules?

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VideoGameCritic
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New MLB Rules?

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 11th, 2021, 9:07 am

When I was young baseball was everything. But now, politics aside, the sport is becoming a joke.

Last night I was watch the Orioles/Red Sox game. The game went into extra innings and I was in for a shock. Apparently there's some new rule where they put a runner at second base at the start of every extra inning.

WTF?! This is wrong on so many levels.

For one thing, extra innings is one of the most exciting parts of the sport, and the longer it goes, the more exciting. I remember as a kid being able to stay up extra late to watch an extra-innings O's game. With this new rule, it seems like the MLB just wants to "get the game over with".

What player is used for the runner? Does that run count towards the pitchers' ERA if he scores? This is stupid.

It was bad enough when they outlawed running into the catcher, which was my favorite play. Kind of like in the NFL where you can no longer breath on the QB without being called for a penalty. That sucks man.

Another thing that turned me off were the advertisements superimposed on the field. There was an ad ON THE PITCHERS MOUND for crying out loud. C'mon now.

I didn't watch a lick of baseball last year and frankly I didn't miss it. I don't think I need it this year either. They are ruining the sport.

bluenote
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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby bluenote » April 11th, 2021, 10:30 am

Critic, I am a big hockey fan, and like you, I hate all the ads on the ice, and now on the glass, etc. Ads are now on helmets, and will be coming to jerseys, etc.

However, with all the loss of revenue for sports with no fans in the seats for over a year, they need to make up for that lost revenue somehow.

I do hate it too, but this is the new reality unfortunately.

SuperiorShark
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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby SuperiorShark » April 11th, 2021, 11:41 am

Totally agree with everything you said Critic. They have this insane idea that if they somehow trim the game down by 15-20 minutes that more people will watch it. Give me a break.

Breaker
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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby Breaker » April 11th, 2021, 12:40 pm

I really don't like the extra inning rules. I was at the Twins game yesterday that went into extras and was decided in the 10th because of the runner on 2nd. They started that in the minor leagues maybe 2 or 3 years ago, and brought it to MLB last year.

The runner that begins on 2nd base is the player that made the last out in the previous inning, so the batting order keeps moving as it normally would. That run apparently doesn't count as an earned run, if yesterday's Twins box score is an accurate measure.

As Shark said, MLB thinks that shaving 15 minutes off a game will entice more viewers, but this is the completely wrong way to shave 15 minutes off a game. Same with the intentional walk rule change where the four balls don't need to be thrown. Yes, it was a one in a million chance that something went wrong with any of those four throws, but when something did, it was usually pretty exciting.

I don't care one way or the other about the advertising. I am frankly amazed that U.S. sports jerseys have remained ad-free for as long as they have. The Premier League jerseys are essentially billboards, with team logos being secondary, and have been for years.

Neither of these will change my interest in the sport, though. I have always loved it, and still will.

Voor
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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby Voor » April 11th, 2021, 2:22 pm

Baseball is both the most boring and most exciting sport there is. 6th inning of game #58 in a 162-game season? Snoozefest.

Game 6 of the World Series, headed into the 9th with the score tied 2-2? Edge of your seat.

I’m cool if they leave this rule for the regular season, but ditch it for the playoffs.

Is the shift still allowed? I thought there was som stalk of outlawing it, which I’d be in favor of.

icepeople
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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby icepeople » April 11th, 2021, 2:29 pm

Without knowing anything about the real reason(s), I'm going to guess it a combination of wanting to reduce wear on players (pitches especially) and something to do with TV timing (and a touch of making the game "more exciting/faster paced" for fans).

Now I'll Google and see how close I came, at least in the statements fed to the public for consumption.

Breaker
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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby Breaker » April 11th, 2021, 2:59 pm

Voor wrote:Is the shift still allowed? I thought there was som stalk of outlawing it, which I’d be in favor of.


It definitely is still allowed. I am opposed to outlawing it - if hitters don't like crushing a ball right at a fielder, the hitter needs to figure out how to make the defense pay for the enormous gaps left in the field by the shift.

Breaker
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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby Breaker » April 11th, 2021, 3:09 pm

icepeople wrote:Without knowing anything about the real reason(s), I'm going to guess it a combination of wanting to reduce wear on players (pitches especially) and something to do with TV timing (and a touch of making the game "more exciting/faster paced" for fans).

Now I'll Google and see how close I came, at least in the statements fed to the public for consumption.


You're awfully close. And the reducing wear on players is a real thing. Having a catcher squatting through 17 innings is exhausting, and forcing a pitcher go a couple more innings than they are used to can cause injuries.

The pitching thing frustrates me because of how frequently pitchers are changed nowadays. If you didn't burn through 4 or 5 relievers from the 5th - 9th innings, you wouldn't be stuck having to throw a starter for a couple innings on their off day or pushing your mediocre reliever through 45 pitches. Most teams carry at least 13 pitchers these days. It was typically 10 when I first began paying attention to baseball in the late 80s.

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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 11th, 2021, 6:31 pm

I don't want to hear about lost revenue or wear-and-tear on these pampered players.

The key to winning an extra inning game is making full use of your entire roster. The team with the deeper bench and better manager has the advantage

Reminds me of a 1983 O's extra-inning game against the Blue Jay in which the O's ran out of catchers so they put second basement Len Sakata behind the plate. Three Blue Jays reached base, but they were so anxious to steal every one got picked off. I was listening to this game on the radio and the commentator was going nuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwqgRKdozew

This game marked Lenn Sakata’s only appearance in the major leagues as a catcher and that explains how Tippy Martinez became the only pitcher in big league history to pick off three runners in a single inning. Those pick-offs explain how Martinez retired none of the batters he faced yet got credit for one inning pitched and the win. Sakata’s second of three homers on the season explains how a Cal Ripken extra-inning, game-tying home run, on his birthday no less, didn’t make Jim Henneman’s Evening Sun game story until the fourteenth paragraph.


https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august- ... ne-inning/

newmodelarmy
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Re: New MLB Rules?

Postby newmodelarmy » April 12th, 2021, 5:45 am

Wow! Baseball! When I was a kid, growing up in the 80's, Baseball = life. I played, watched it, and followed my beloved Mets each and every game. It helped that the Mets had a great team from 85 to 89 (not to mention a cast of characters second to none) but I digress.

The new rule is stupid, plain and simple. I agree with the VGC, extra innings is what separates the men from the boys in terms of depth and quality of manager. Frankly however, I don't really care. Even minus the political nonsense I could not tell you the last time I watched a baseball game. Heck, I even skipped the world series last year. The game has been ruined due to too many teams which dilutes the talent pool, endless pitching changes which drags the game on and also, a host of players that have zero personality and are impossible to relate to. Who is playing for the Mets? Outside of DeGrom, I don't know and I don't care.

I have lived in Boston the last 20+ years and naturally, followed the Red Sox and used to watch many games, or at least have it on in the background. Not any more. I am not sure what their ratings are like, but if they are looking to get back this once former hardcore fan I wish they would skip all of the endless political/social nonsense and more importantly, figure out a way to get the game under 3 hours (which is what it was back in the 80's).


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