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

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Tabe

I'll never understand this line of reasoning. You ever heard anybody that sits behind home plate say "Man, I wish there was no net here because it just messes up the view"? Of course not. Because it doesn't. I watch 35 games a year from directly behind home and the net "isn't even there". No one even sees it 5 minutes after sitting down.

And the "get off the cellphone" thing? Seriously? As if no one ever got hit by a line drive before cellphones?

We see coaches get hit by line drives on occasion. We see players in the dugouts get hit on occasion. We see pitchers - who are farther away than some fans - hit all the time. It's simply not realistic, nor reasonable, to expect every single fan to have a laser-like focus for every single pitch of a 3-1/2 hour game so that they might see a baseball rocketing toward them at 110mph AND have time to process that and react to it.

Put me in the "netting all the way to the foul poles" crowd. It will have literally zero impact on fan enjoyment and may actually increase it. Believe me, it's nice to not worry that turning your head for half a second could cost you your life.

And if you think we shouldn't have netting because it impacts the view, then remove it behind home plate, too.

Originally Posted by Tabe

How would I change baseball if I were named all-powerful commissioner?

1) First thing I'd do? Give Armando Galarraga his perfect game. Unbelievable that this hasn't been corrected already.

2) Netting all the way to the foul poles (see above).

3) Visits to the mound by the catcher or other players count as an official visit. Pitcher must face at least 2 hitters (including current batter) after an official visit.

4) 4 tosses to 1st base per runner. After that, a throw over gets the runner awarded second base.

5) Pitchers get X number of seconds to enter a game, warm up, and throw their first pitch. Maybe 60. No strict warmup pitch limit. So guys who want more pitches can hustle to the mound faster.

6) Pitching changes from the dugout - no visits.

7) After the previous hitter is retired, the next hitter has 10 seconds to be in the box ready to hit. This is one of the biggest changes over the last several decades. Used to be guys were sitting there waiting to hit while the infield went "around the horn" after a groundout. Now there's a big delay all the time.

8) All pitchers must face at least 2 hitters when brought into the game. I'm flexible on this - could be 3 hitters or some other number.

9) Pitch clock displayed in the ballpark and strictly enforced. First couple times, a ball/strike is awarded. 3rd time, player is ejected.

10) 20-game suspensions for any player leaving his position during a brawl between two other players. 50 games for any player leaving the dugout/bullpen/on-deck. $2m fine for a team, per player, for anybody suspended under these rules.

11) Get rid of the DH.

12) If a batter swings and misses and loses control of his bat, he's automatically out.

13) Get rid of walk-up music for hitters and pitchers.

14) Go back to 2 divisions and ditch the wild card and 1-game play-in.

15) 150-game season.

That's a start.

Just scratching the surface, eh?, Chris