What do you guys think of the new rules? A bigger base? A clock on Pitchers - depending on if someone is on First base or not, 15 seconds if not, 20 seconds if they are. Two guys must be left of 2nd base, two guys must be right of it, no shifting until the ball is in play? They put a guy on 2nd to start with if in extra innings? https://www.sbnation.com/23601664/mlb-rule-changes-2023-explained
Some of the new rules are reasonable to me: the pitch clock (if they enforce it) and the no-shift rule. I think the man-on-second for extra innings should not start until the 11th inning, if applicable. The bigger bases? It would seem that might cause more injuries.
The bigger bases - they are saying specifically it will cause LESS injuries, such as when a Pitcher runs over to cover first while the first baseman chases down a ball to throw to him, while the batter is running full-tilt at him... or so they say.
Anyone can get hurt a zillion different ways, maybe they should not ANCHOR them into the ground, maybe use magnets or something...
I feel the shift is just strategy. Like an outfielder that could move 20+ feet to the left or the right. Hey, If there is an open hole, The batter should learn to hit it there. They ARE professionals you know!
I know several guys that played Pro baseball, Pro football, they both said the hardest thing to do in all of sports is hit a baseball, and the hardest position to play is QB, which is not surprising, especially today.
Making the game move faster is a good thing. Baseball has changed the rules many times over the years. I don't see a problem in improving the product if you can. My understanding is that the average length of a baseball game increased a lot since the early 60's. If the pitching clock gets the action moving instead of people fidgeting around doing nothing 90% of the time, I'm for it. My guess is we are just a few years away from robo umps calling balls and strikes and umpires mainly taking care of calls at the plates and lines. The game will look the same but the ump will be told what the pitch was.
I do not like the pitch clock and the extra innings runner on second base. The league is attempting to dumb down the game for the casual fan.
The casual fan is where the market is; ex., the Brewers are making changes to their not so old stadium so people can gather and NOT watch the game. I expect that's not a unique situation.
Agreed. You notice most fans texting on their phones during the game. The home crowd roars when a fly ball is hit into the outfield and the outfielder moves just a few feet and catches the ball.
I'm going to LA in April to see the Dodgers play the Cubs. If the game only lasts 2 1/2 hours instead of 4, I'm actually happy. As long as I see a complete game, I really don't care if it took 90 minutes less to see. I think it should be more interesting. One of the best things Hockey did is go to 3 on 3 OT for 5 minutes in a tie. Some of the most exciting play you will see that evening. Its all about the entertainment value for your $$$. Making the experience of going to a game better will drive in more fans. I can't see how the pitch clock will hurt anything. People won't go or watch anymore because the same game happens quicker? I don't buy it.
Every team needs to do something to attract the 'young' fan, ie those under 40. Just a few years ago the AVERAGE age of a fan that attended games was something like 67, and as folks die off, not enough young ones are coming in. I used to watch baseball but seldom do anymore (I'm 64) Why did I stop? 1) Player movement. Cannot keep track of who plays for who, I liked a player or two on one team, now they are no longer there, etc. 2) Pay. Now I find myself saying 'you're not worth it' more than I enjoy a base hit or good defensive play. Problem is, both of those are transcending all sports - even college now, with NIL.
Some players and pitchers will underperform due to the rush to perform. At the least - additional time should be added for both the batter and pitcher to prepare. Will a hitter be able to adjust to a pitcher or just stand in the batter's box and hack.
The pitch clock and time for the batter to set are just too short. Some injuries will result when a pitcher rushes his windup to deliver the pitch and strains/pulls a muscle as the seconds tick off. I hope Manfred will be happy to cater to the most casual fan's desires. The idea is to dumb it all down and have more games with a 9-8 final score. 9-8 will force more fans to put their phones in the back pocket. 2-1 is a perfect time to remain on your phone for the entire game.
Meh, few watch anyway, a silly clock or larger bag is not going to change anything. I don't watch anymore - haven't in several years - unless it's the World Series and two Aces are going at it. As soon as a team starts pulling Pitchers every inning in a game, I'm OUT, and ultimately that's pretty-much why I stopped watching. I thought it was kinda funny - they said 62 MILLION people in Japan watched the game - pretty amazing because the entire population of Japan is 125 Million... But yes, I know the Japanese love baseball, moreso than Americans do, good for them! 25 million I can see, but not 62 million. And, I don't care, as I said, good for them.
And they have Douglas MacArthur to thank, because he and the Americans working for him in Japan are the ones who introduced baseball to the Japanese.
I have NO problem with any nation that is good at anything, regardless of how they were introduced to it. I still think it is a little funny: How can a nation of 335 Million people, with so many kids playing in little league sports, high school sports, elite 'travel' teams, training academies, specialist instructors: - suck at soccer - suck at men's pro tennis - suck at women's pro golf - suck at F1 driving - suck at Cycling How can a country with 5-15-30 million in population beat the USA? In anything? (For Men's soccer, USA is 13th - behind places like Croatia, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland...) https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/men?dateId=id13869 I apologize, I don't mean to hijack this thread.
It's just a matter of priorities. American kids would rather play baseball, basketball, football and only recently soccer. Japanese kids have obviously warmed up to baseball ahead of those other sports. I wonder if the recent renewed interest in F1 in this country will lead to more kids wanting to do that.
You need to realize your 'only recently soccer' statement - means the last 20-25 years. Soccer really took off here as a youth sport in the early 2000's. American kids - those that WANT to play - play what they think will pay the most (today, with NIL). Other nations - Spain, etc like basketball, don't play baseball. Central America plays baseball, no basketball or football. South Pacific plays football. Canada doesn't play baseball. South America doesn't play ice hockey.... American kids want to play video games. ANY kid that wants to do F1 needs a lot of money, then talent, but look at Michael Andretti - he can't even get into F1 because of politics - F1 forgot where they came from, I don't think I see an American driver 'allowed' in, not unless a team owner wants one.
I disagree. There is a major league team (Toronto), a minor league team (Vancouver) and at least a dozen semi-professional teams. Canada played in the recent World Baseball Classic (and I believe they won at least 1 game) and has been a regular at the Little League World Series for years.
