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MLB/MLBPA changes coming in 2019/2020


The Gnat

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On 3/14/2019 at 8:27 PM, Thelonebillsfan said:
Attitude among a lot of people at league office is that they have no idea how to really grow the game beyond "MAKE IT FASTER"...

Get ready for a hard clock on games and innings. It's coming.

This bothers me too.  Let's say the changes are unbelievably successful with no unintended consequences (a real stretch) and they cut 5-10 mins off the average game time.  Do we really believe there are people out there who think, "I could go to a game today but it's going to take 3 hours, 10 mins.  If it only took 3 hours, sure I'd go but I can't make that kind of commitment"?  The fact is people who think baseball is boring and takes too long are not going to change their minds over an average of a couple of minutes.

When the home team is making a comeback in the bottom of the ninth and everyone is on their feet, I guarantee there is no one thinking "Why can't this game have ended four minutes ago?"  Baseball is boring when there are blowouts or disinterested teams.  Guess what - that's the same in the NBA or the NFL.

I could get behind the "no warm up pitches" thing though - those guys are already warm in the bullpen when they come in.  No need for a commercial break there.

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1 hour ago, titanrick said:

This bothers me too.  Let's say the changes are unbelievably successful with no unintended consequences (a real stretch) and they cut 5-10 mins off the average game time.  Do we really believe there are people out there who think, "I could go to a game today but it's going to take 3 hours, 10 mins.  If it only took 3 hours, sure I'd go but I can't make that kind of commitment"?  The fact is people who think baseball is boring and takes too long are not going to change their minds over an average of a couple of minutes.

When the home team is making a comeback in the bottom of the ninth and everyone is on their feet, I guarantee there is no one thinking "Why can't this game have ended four minutes ago?"  Baseball is boring when there are blowouts or disinterested teams.  Guess what - that's the same in the NBA or the NFL.

I could get behind the "no warm up pitches" thing though - those guys are already warm in the bullpen when they come in.  No need for a commercial break there.

It's not the crowd. It's the home viewers watching on TV.

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5 hours ago, mse326 said:

It's not the crowd. It's the home viewers watching on TV.

I don’t think that changes my point. So if a televised game is coming down to the last out, I’m supposed to think people are wishing it ended four minutes sooner?

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9 hours ago, titanrick said:

I don’t think that changes my point. So if a televised game is coming down to the last out, I’m supposed to think people are wishing it ended four minutes sooner?

no, youre suppoed to realize now more than ever people dont like sitting through commercials. Lets come up with a scenario and honestly its not that uncommon. Starters done in the 6th, you have r-l-r coming up... thats pretty much guaranteed two pitching changes minimum if everything goes well. Theres a % of people who wont watch because of that or who watch and when that comes up they change the channel and never come back. Baseball needs more people watching games, this is a pretty good solution. Its also hilarious that a few of the biggest complainers about it (not you) are the ones who cry about fa's not getting big enough deals.

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16 hours ago, titanrick said:

I don’t think that changes my point. So if a televised game is coming down to the last out, I’m supposed to think people are wishing it ended four minutes sooner?

No they never start watching in the first place.

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1 hour ago, mse326 said:

No they never start watching in the first place.

I agree.  And cutting the time down a couple minutes is not what will bring them in.

I'm curious about the details of the 3-batter limit.  Are those official at-bats or could the pitcher give up two hits and issue an intentional walk in order to get lifted?  Or does his arm start to hurt after two batters?  Maybe an invisible blister starts bothering him?  This just seems like such a radical change for such a small difference.  Taking away warm-up pitches and commercial breaks would be much less disruptive to the strategy of the game.

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9 minutes ago, titanrick said:

I agree.  And cutting the time down a couple minutes is not what will bring them in.

I'm curious about the details of the 3-batter limit.  Are those official at-bats or could the pitcher give up two hits and issue an intentional walk in order to get lifted?  Or does his arm start to hurt after two batters?  Maybe an invisible blister starts bothering him?  This just seems like such a radical change for such a small difference.  Taking away warm-up pitches and commercial breaks would be much less disruptive to the strategy of the game.

Taking away warm up pitches will lead to worse pitching. Every pitcher will tell you every mound is different. Those pitches aren't about warming the arm up (for relievers coming in) they are for getting acclimated to the mound. And this isn't a radical change at all. It's only been in maybe the last decade or so that we've seen the pitching changes they we are now. For the VAST majority of the game pitchers were pitching to multiple batters.

Even if there is no commercial, there is nothing going on.

It will cut out more time than you think. It can easily be 20+ minutes in a game given the way teams are using relievers right now.

The other thing to remember is that it isn't about time in a vacuum (NFL games are longer), it's about the action, or lack there of, during that time. So yes getting rid of this nonsense and other things like not letting the batter step out after every pitch even if he didn't swing and not letting pitchers take 30 seconds to throw a pitch and not allowing unlimited mound visits not just add up to time saved but eliminate the dead periods that turn people off.

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46 minutes ago, mse326 said:

Taking away warm up pitches will lead to worse pitching. Every pitcher will tell you every mound is different. Those pitches aren't about warming the arm up (for relievers coming in) they are for getting acclimated to the mound. And this isn't a radical change at all. It's only been in maybe the last decade or so that we've seen the pitching changes they we are now. For the VAST majority of the game pitchers were pitching to multiple batters.

I can't wait until they put in a pitcher who can't find the strike zone in a close game.  Those close ups of the manager who has to watch him walk three straight batters and lose the game because it was against the rules to remove him... priceless.

You expect the average game time to drop by twenty minutes?  Really?

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5 minutes ago, titanrick said:

I can't wait until they put in a pitcher who can't find the strike zone in a close game.  Those close ups of the manager who has to watch him walk three straight batters and lose the game because it was against the rules to remove him... priceless.

You expect the average game time to drop by twenty minutes?  Really?

I cant wait to not have to sit through a 30 minute half inning cause theres 3 pitching changes, 17 ball scratches, 41 commercials and who knows what else. Youre arguing the exception instead of the "rule"... could a pitcher look so absolutely horrendous after what would likely to be 4-5 pitches that he needed to be removed... maybe but would be pretty rare. And yes, its completely reasonable to think game times can drop 20+ minutes from this.

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22 minutes ago, titanrick said:

I can't wait until they put in a pitcher who can't find the strike zone in a close game.  Those close ups of the manager who has to watch him walk three straight batters and lose the game because it was against the rules to remove him... priceless.

You expect the average game time to drop by twenty minutes?  Really?

Average game? Maybe. At least 15ish. But it isn't unusual that the pitching changes that go on in an individual game add 20+

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On 3/20/2019 at 4:56 PM, GSUeagles14 said:

Youre arguing the exception instead of the "rule".

I am.  You're right.  And baseball fans will enjoy the reduction in commercial breaks, etc until that "exception" scenario costs them a game.  To sit and watch a pitcher implode for your team is torturous enough, but to watch it in the future and realize it is against the rules to take him out of the game?  My point is that the consequence of this proposed rule, although rare, is not worth the benefit they are seeking.  People who think baseball is boring are not suddenly going to start watching it because of a couple fewer minutes in average game length (I think 15-20 mins is an exaggeration).  

And I fear they are risking alienating the fans baseball already has (like me) by trying to get fans that they have very little chance of drawing in.

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2 hours ago, titanrick said:

I am.  You're right.  And baseball fans will enjoy the reduction in commercial breaks, etc until that "exception" scenario costs them a game.  To sit and watch a pitcher implode for your team is torturous enough, but to watch it in the future and realize it is against the rules to take him out of the game?  My point is that the consequence of this proposed rule, although rare, is not worth the benefit they are seeking.  People who think baseball is boring are not suddenly going to start watching it because of a couple fewer minutes in average game length (I think 15-20 mins is an exaggeration).  

And I fear they are risking alienating the fans baseball already has (like me) by trying to get fans that they have very little chance of drawing in.

So youre agreeing that theres a broader base not watching that possibly could, and they should ignore that for the smaller group thats already sticking with a subpar (in some eyes) product? That doesnt really track. The scenario you offered may, and I mean may, happen once a year to each team... its exceedingly rare to see pitchers pulled only due to poor performance after two batters, let alone one. On the other side, I would probably say im an above average baseball fan and i find braves games unwatchable. Ill go to a 8-10 games a year and drink beers/have fun but outside of that im not sitting down for 3+ hours to watch games, and a lot of it is due to the amount of commercials/inactivity that make the game drag on. 

 

Baseball has seemingly made a measured decision to try and bring in more fans, while counting on the fans that are already there to stick since they are watching what many see as unwatchable already. the amount of upside for them outweighs the downside, if that hardcore fan decides this pushes them over the edge then so be it, its likely some decision to make the game more fan friendly was going to do it anyway. 

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28 minutes ago, GSUeagles14 said:

So youre agreeing that theres a broader base not watching that possibly could, and they should ignore that for the smaller group thats already sticking with a subpar (in some eyes) product?

No, I don't believe a rule making it impossible to remove a pitcher is going to make guys like you watch baseball on TV.  And I think the frustration of having a manager handicapped in what moves he can make to try to win a game is not worth the gamble.

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