Dinger Whiff Analytics

[brass_rat]

Great thread, guys.

I'd like to see two things --

1) Reduce the mound height.
2) Move back the fences (where possible).

I agree that changing the ball could potentially have similar effects to #2, but if you create more space in the outfield, you'll have more balls dropping when hit on a line. Fewer batters could reach the fences, so people would drop all of the talk about launch angles for #8 hitters...

If you only changed the ball so that it couldn't be hit as hard/far, you might just find that you have more outs. (Fly balls that aren't HR --> outs, and softer grounders --> easy outs.)

Thoughts?

[frankbmd]

Moving the fences back to 600 feet would all but eliminate the over the fence home run, but would be a boon to perhaps the most exciting play in baseball, the inside the park home run. "Shift" analysts could position an infielder or two in the wide open spaces to curb this eventuality.

Teams, however, would be forced to lower the price of those bleacher seats in the next county.

Lowering the mound is certainly a more doable modification, and could also be repeated as needed until the pitchers were literally standing in a hole to pitch.

The ball itself need not be deadened to prewar specs, but could it not be infected with a virus of some sort that made it a bit more mushy in the core. The diameter and weight could remain the same.

And finally how to handle the epidemic of "Tommy John" surgery. One suggestion would be to require rehabbed Tommy Johners to get 4 outs/half inning rather than three, and begin an early education program in elementary school to teach little leaguers sound pitching mechanics and techniques to avoid the strain on their elbows that would predispose them to become a Tommy Johnner later in life in their early twenties.

Rule or equipment changes always have consequences, both intended and unintended. Baseball has been tweaked many times in the past and will continue to be tweaked going forward. The overall balance of the game between pitching and hitting has remained relatively constant, but seems to be heading away from the balance and equilibrium. Some ideas expressed in this thread are more reasonable than others and I doubt if the powers that be on the rules committee are getting their input from Net54. Let's, at least, hope they are not.

[rats60]

You don't even have to go that far. Set minimum dimensions to where the likelihood of an over the fence is low enough that every player doesn't go to the plate swinging for the fence. Say 375 down the lines, 420 power alleys, 450 to center.

Golf courses haven't stayed at the same yardage as equipment has improved. They have been lengthened. It is time for MLB to address this in my opinion. The only other option is to reduce the distance that baseballs will travel when hit.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I could live with a rule where you could only foul off so many pitches before you got called out. The 12 pitch at bats are really boring for the most part.

[brass_rat]

I can't vouch for the site nor the author, but googling "lowering the mound in baseball" picks up this article in one of the top hits:

https://www.ozy.com/opinion/batter-u...he-mound/87182

The American Sports Medicine Institute, founded by the renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, conducted a study from 2016–17 that looked at the impact on a pitcher’s arm throwing off a mound 6 inches high instead of the current 10-inch MLB mound. Dr. Glenn Fleisig, the director of research at ASMI, directed the study, which took about 18 months. Fleisig says the study, which also included youth pitchers, is being reviewed by a medical journal. MLB is a sponsor of the study.

[brass_rat]

Furthermore, this might be interesting. Quotes below:

http://www.mlb.com/documents/7/9/4/2...all_052418.pdf

Generally, for a specific launch
angle and exit velocity, we see that the distance traveled is generally greatest
for 2017, followed by 2016, and 2015b. The increase in distance from 2016 to
2017 can be as large as five feet for exit velocities near 102 mph and launch
angles near 29 degrees. This increased distance in batted balls is consistent
with the increase in the home runs in the last two seasons

The important takeaway from this analysis is the following: Had the drag
properties of the baseballs in 2015b and 2016 been identical to those in 2017,
the home run rate would have been the same in all three periods. This result
lends further support to the conclusion that the the reason for the increase
in home runs 2015b-2017 is due to reduced drag on the baseballs.

[barrysloate]

I read that Chris Davis has struck out 33 times in his last 66 at bats. That is preposterous for any player, and Davis was once considered a star. Something needs to be done to make baseball a little more compelling.