OT - What's Wrong With Baseball? Could the Game Be Improved?

[frankbmd]

Baseball has been around a long time and certainly some similarities to the game of 100 years ago exist, but few would argue that the game has not changed and in fact the game is constantly changing.

The Equipment
The Training
The Rules
The Strategy
The Ball Parks
The Money
Team Composition
Statistics

to name a few that have changed over time.

So, here's the premise.

You are the commissioner of baseball (or even a higher power), and you enjoy the game of baseball, but are bothered by some aspect(s) of the current game. You have the power granted to you by Net54 to make your case about your concern with the current game and what you would do to fix it, either by rule change or any other means.

Therefore the primary focus of a post is to delineate your complaint or displeasure and then propose a change to address or alleviate that problem.

In other words, "I don't like the designated hitter." , would not be appropriate,
but if you add "Shoot all designated hitters." that would be okay, I guess.

You may also comment on another member's suggestion, perhaps to amplify unintended consequences of the change suggested, or just to tell him you think he's a dirtbag (my apologies in advance to any Long Beach State alumni, who no doubt are proud of their Dirtbags?).

In fact despite this rather longwinded post, there are in reality few if any rules that can be broken.

Unlikely, but if we tend to agree on a way to change the game for the better, who knows what could happen.

Rest assured though that any transmission, reproduction or publication of the forthcoming suggested changes is prohibited without the express written consent of Leon Luckey.

Have at it.

[bnorth]

This one is easy for me. All stadiums are to be indoor, no more of this playing baseball outside BS.

I live out in the middle of nowhere. I used to make the 600 mile round trip several times a year to go to games in Minneapolis. Yes the Twins suck but it is by far the closest place to watch games. When they built that insanely stupid outside stadium I quit watching and going to games.

This year is the first time I have enjoyed watching games again so I figured I would go see the Yankees play the Twins recently. It took about 10 minutes to remember why I hated outside stadiums. It was hot, humid and miserable out. The Dome was old but there was going to be a game and it was going to be 70 degrees and beautiful. I am sure many players would agree with me.

[Snapolit1]

Games just take too long. Make the game 7 innings.

I love movies too, but wont go see a movie that is three and a half hours long.

[bbcard1]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Games just take too long. Make the game 7 innings.

I love movies too, but wont go see a movie that is three and a half hours long.

The problem with this is that it would take many records out of context. My counterproposal, if we're really worried about it is to make the count of two strikes and three balls the standard. While strikeouts as a historical measure would become less relevant, the 3000 strikeout plateau is no longer hallowed ground.

[pitchernut]

1. Start the season on Memorial day, start the playoffs Labor day.
2. Terminate the DH with extreme prejudice.
3. One "timeout" per team per inning.
4. Make the batter stay in the box once entered unless contact is made with the
ball, make the pitcher stay on the mound until the batter makes contact with ball.

[jbbama]

No commercial interruptions for any televised game (which is most these days). Play it like soccer, you put a sponsor logo in the corner of the screen and move on, you never break away from the action. "The first inning is being brought to you by snickers"....etc, etc....... just my 2 (worthless) cents. Im not in a hurry to get the game over, i just dont want the game being delayed by commercials. PS, i absolutely detest any and all commercials pertaining to any TV viewing.

[Peter_Spaeth]

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/p...ramirez-060817

[Section103]

Batters are not allowed to leave the box once they have entered.

5 seconds of dead time is set for batter/coach and pitcher/catcher to relay signs and then play is on. Pitcher then has 5-10 seconds to pitch, pitch out or other.

Each team gets 3 pitchers per 9 innings. 1 additional pitcher for 2 extra innings.

Pete Rose is banned for life and banned for life a second time in case of reincarnation or resurrection.

[KMayUSA6060]

For the game of baseball...

Bring back collisions and intentional walks.

For the fans...

No cell phone usage during play.

[KCRfan1]

I would reduce the number of teams. This should weed out lesser talent, and increase the level of play, making the game more enjoyable.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by Section103

Batters are not allowed to leave the box once they have entered.

This actually IS a rule...it just never gets enforced!

[Tom S.]

Games take too long now, especially when there are so many calls to the bullpen being made.

To help speed up the pace, they should eliminate the reliever from taking the 8 or so warmup pitches he throws before he faces the batter. Isn't the 5 to 10 minutes he was throwing in the bullpen beforehand enough of a warmup?

[OsFan]

Originally Posted by Section103

Each team gets 3 pitchers per 9 innings. 1 additional pitcher for 2 extra innings.

This is an interesting idea.

[OsFan]

My biggest problem with the game unfortunately is I assume any player having a stand out year is taking ped's. It sucks and hopefully over time if MLB stays on top of it, I'll begin to get over that.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by bnorth

This one is easy for me. All stadiums are to be indoor, no more of this playing baseball outside BS.

I live out in the middle of nowhere. I used to make the 600 mile round trip several times a year to go to games in Minneapolis. Yes the Twins suck but it is by far the closest place to watch games. When they built that insanely stupid outside stadium I quit watching and going to games.

This year is the first time I have enjoyed watching games again so I figured I would go see the Yankees play the Twins recently. It took about 10 minutes to remember why I hated outside stadiums. It was hot, humid and miserable out. The Dome was old but there was going to be a game and it was going to be 70 degrees and beautiful. I am sure many players would agree with me.

Ok, you go to games in the new "wussy fans and teams" league, and I'll keep going to Fenway in the also new "weather? who cares" league. OUR world series will be against the winner of the "it's a nice day to play two" league hopefully against Chicago.

We might even move our league to play in months with snow or sleet and see if we can't give the NFL some competition for winter TV money.


Steve B

[Troy Kirk]

Make all outfield fences 600 feet from home plate. That would make all hitters earn their hits. You'd see some amazing catches too. For those that have to see home runs go over fences, create a parallel home run derby league.

[Bill77]

Make the players run in all of their extra protection gear. If you can't run in it don't wear it.

[EvilKing00]

Get rid of the new colision at home plate rule and go back to what it was.

Get rid of interleague play. Watching mets vs seattle isnt just boarimg but it means nothing.

Go back to how the ball was made a few years ago. This new ball isnt good for anyone. Having everyone hitting 20 or more hr is silly.

The 10day dl is dumb, 14 day dl is better. Makes a team think more before putting a player on it

If interleague is kept- i like what another poster said about dh. Having a dh in nl parks and pitchers hit in al ones.

All star game voting must change. Me being able to vote 30x for a player on line for each ip address i have is crazy.

[BicycleSpokes]

Cheerleaders!

(They actually have them in S. Korean baseball.)

Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by BicycleSpokes

Cheerleaders!

(They actually have them in S. Korean baseball.)

Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk

Perhaps this helps explain the popularity of beisbol in the Dominican Republic as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4zolhzKxHg

Dominican lurkers on this forum are no doubt perplexed by our concerns about the length of commercial breaks and the game itself.

[irv]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Perhaps this helps explain the popularity of beisbol in the Dominican Republic as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4zolhzKxHg

Dominican lurkers on this forum are no doubt perplexed by our concerns about the length of commercial breaks and the game itself.

That's like going to two shows for one!

[Vttlarry]

Great topic! My response is based primarily on something I think COULD be implemented. The suggestions about fewer teams, no teams in Florida or Arizona will not likely happen due to contracts with stadiums, politics, etc.
Suggestions about fewer games has merit but will also likely not happen due to revenue streams.

Speeding the game up is paramount. We live in a fast paced, action packed world and baseball is none of that. Most people accept that because of the great game of baseball itself, but 3-4 hour games in difficult, even for hard core fans. Here are some suggestions to help speed the game up:

1. Batters should stay in the box and pitchers should stay on the mound. Penalties for failing to do that should be enforced.
2. No players should be able to visit with a pitcher on the mound. That is what a pitching coach is for.
3. Replay, while necessary, is adding alot of time to games, and particularly dead time. Have 1 challenge per game, period! Umpiring and bad calls are part of the game, and unless you have unlimited challenging, it just has to be lived with.

Other things I would change:
1. If rosters are not expanded, why not allow players to play the whole game? For example, why is a pinch hitter, pinch runner, etc out of the game? The bench used to be a big part of the game. Now, with as many as 13 pitchers, you only have 3 bench players and if one of those is your extra catcher, you really only have 2 moves you can make. Other sports allow players to leave the game and come back in again.
2. Eliminate inter-league games. Make the world series even more exciting.
3. The leagues should have the same rules. Either DH for both leagues or for neither league. I personally favor the DH as there is simply nothing exciting about watching most pitchers hit. The way constructed now, an American League team is penalized more when they are not allowed the DH in national league parks and national league teams are rewarded by getting an extra hitter that they were not used to having the entire year. In the event national league teams insist that their way is the better way and the DH is not eliminated, then let national league teams continue to bat their pitcher in american league parks if they wish. American league teams should not have to play up to 4 games in the most important series of the year DRASTICALLY different then they played the entire year up to that point.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by Vttlarry

I personally favor the DH as there is simply nothing exciting about watching most pitchers hit.

I would offer that is due, in part, to pitchers never required to hit starting with what? High school? Should you eliminate the DH everywhere, then you might start seeing some level of excitement on par with watching some of these 2B and SS hitters.

[RichardSimon]

Eliminate the DH and increase the rosters to 26 players.
Limit the number of pitchers on the roster to 12.
Not sure about this one but have been thinking about it lately,, illegal defenses. Two men must be on each side of the infield.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Eliminate the DH and increase the rosters to 26 players.
Limit the number of pitchers on the roster to 12.
Not sure about this one but have been thinking about it lately,, illegal defenses. Two men must be on each side of the infield.

I can get on board with limiting rosters to 12 (even 11) pitchers.

Illegal defenses, I'm not sure. Just teach guys to bunt. I mean, heck, I've seen plenty of instances where the defense put all four guys on the same side of the infield. And the hitters still swing away. Good grief. Drop a bunt, fer cryin' out loud.

[dabigyankeeman]

You want to see the BEST baseball possible? Expand the rosters, then like football have an offensive and defensive team. Put your best 9 hitters in your lineup, and your best 9 fielders in the field. Best vs Best, gotta be exciting!!!!

Be interesting to see lineups that way, i dont think you would want 9 guys who can only hit homers, you need runners on base for them to knock in with those home runs. But it would be the end of the "good field no hit" player in the lineup, he would be in the field but would be replaced by a good hitter in the lineup. And no more bums in the field because they can hit, they would be replaced by great fielders. Sounds exciting to me!!!