• The KillerFrogs

2022 MLB Thread*

BrewingFrog

Was I supposed to type something here?
Very simply, putting pitchers on a clock would move things along. You have x number of seconds to get the sign, get ready, and make the pitch. No fiddling around. Do your job. Oh, and batters are constrained by the pitch clock, too. No stepping out and going through a ridiculous routine with each pitch. Quit screwing around. Get to work.

Those two things would speed matters up quite a bit. But, of course, FOX would merely shoehorn in four more minutes of commercials between innings and then proceed to [ hundin] about how long the games are taking...
 

FBallFan123

Active Member
Very simply, putting pitchers on a clock would move things along. You have x number of seconds to get the sign, get ready, and make the pitch. No fiddling around. Do your job. Oh, and batters are constrained by the pitch clock, too. No stepping out and going through a ridiculous routine with each pitch. Quit screwing around. Get to work.

Those two things would speed matters up quite a bit. But, of course, FOX would merely shoehorn in four more minutes of commercials between innings and then proceed to [ hundin] about how long the games are taking...

I think the pitch clock is definitely part of the path forward.

There’s a good article on it and some other rules MLB has tested out in the minors here…


First and foremost is the pitch clock. The 15-second timer was introduced into Low-A West on June 8, five weeks into the season, and led to a decrease of 21 minutes in the average time of a nine-inning game, as The Athletic's Jayson Starkfirst reported.

Games from Opening Day through June 7, prior to the implementation of the pitch clock, averaged 3:02. Games from June 8 through the end of the regular season, with the pitch clock enforced, averaged 2:41. As Stark also first reported, the introduction of the pitch clock also corresponded with an increase in batting average, runs and home runs and a decrease in walks and strikeouts.

—Since 2018, pitchers at Double-A and Triple-Ahave had a 15-second pitch clock with no one on base and a 20-second pitch clock with runners on.

Despite those restrictions, the length of games has increased at both levels. The average time of a nine-inning game at Double-A rose from 2:43 in 2017 to 2:55 in 2021. The average time of a Triple-A game rose from 2:55 to 3:04.

There were two fundamental differences that made the Low-A West pitch clock more effective at reducing average game times. The first is there was less time on the clock. The pitch clock rose to 17 seconds with runners on base in Low-A West, compared to 20 seconds at higher levels. Batters were also required to be in the box ready to hit with eight seconds remaining on the clock, compared to seven seconds at higher levels.

The second, and more significant, difference was how the pitch clock was enforced. Pitchers at Double-A and Triple-A can step off the mound and have the pitch clock reset with no penalty. In Low-A West, stepping off the mound counted as one of the pitcher’s pickoff attempts. He could step off twice and have the clock reset, but the third time he’d be called for a balk.

TRIPLE-A: LARGER BASES
—The larger bases did result in higher stolen base success rates. Runners were successful on 76% of stolen base attempts at the Triple-A levels this season through Sunday. The success rates ranged between 69-72% each season from 2015-19.

DOUBLE-A: SHIFT RESTRICTIONS
—The batting average on balls in play at all Double-A leagues was .309 in 2018 and .305 in 2019. In 2021, with shift restrictions in place, the batting average on balls in play was .307.

With no significant difference in batted ball outcomes by limiting the shift, such restrictions could be unnecessary moving forward. However, Sword noted shifting is less prevalent in the minors, and thus the restrictions may not have been as impactful as they would be in the majors.

HIGH-A: THE STEP OFF RULE
—As happened in the Atlantic League, the step off rule led to an increase in the number of stolen base attempts and stolen base success rates. From 2015-19, teams averaged 2.4 stolen base attempts per game in High-A. In 2021, they averaged just under 2.85 attempts per game. The success rate on stolen bases rose from nearly 68% from 2015-19 to just under 76% this season.

LOW-A: PICKOFF LIMITS
—Teams averaged 2.4 stolen base attempts per game in Low-A in 2018-19. With the new limit in place, they averaged nearly 3.2 steal attempts per game this season. The success rate rose from 68% to 77%.
 
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FBallFan123

Active Member
very good list and think you could sort it a variety of ways and have a solid case for all three being #1

pace of play to me is actually the biggest problem and being at a game that is being broadcast on fox is brutal with the length of time between innings. unfortunately, that is who/ what is paying the bills

think the pitch clock would help as well as stopping the batters from going back and forth out of the box.

think the review process is embarrassing in how long it takes and the number of times they don't seem to get things right

in regards to lack of action/balls in play i don't see that as a shift issue, but an approach at the plate.

understand the thought of trying to lift and pull everything, but not everyone has that ability do they?

watched the astros play the orioles in one game and the padres in two other games last year and the shift isn't what kept the ball from being in play in those three games

reminds me of an nba game where we get nothing but 3 attempts

heck, they have already flattened the seams on the ball and made it hard as a rock since mlb took over the manufacturing of the balls
I agree on the pitch clock and review …it shouldnt really take that long.

I would scrap the “clear and convicting” and “overturn” language … not even take the call the field into consideration.

Just have a replay person watch the replays and make a judgment based on what is on the video. Same way every single person watching on tv does.

I’ve seen it written that the shift ban may not have more than a minimal impact on action.

Perhaps.

But I would still implement it at the MLB level and see what results it has.

I think it impacts left-handed hitters far more than right-handed hitters.

Which was the same with the minimum batter limit for relief pitchers.
 
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Eight

Member
I agree on the pitch clock and review …it shouldnt really take that long.

I would scrap the “clear and convicting” and “overturn” language … not even take the call the field into consideration.

Just have a replay person watch the replays and make a judgment based on what is on the video. Same way every single person watching on tv does.

I’ve seen it written that the shift ban may not have more than a minimal impact on action.

Perhaps.

But I would still implement it at the MLB level and see what results it has.

I think it impacts left-handed hitters far more than right-handed hitters.

Which was the same with the minimum batter limit for relief pitchers.

the interesting thing about the shifts is that moving defenders around the field has been with baseball for a very long time

we don't hear people complain about the lack of extra base hits because outfielders move to cut off the alleys, can't ever recall a complaint about middle infielders being pinched in the middle to make turning the double play easier, no one complains when an infield starts in motion anticipating a a sacrifice bunt, bringing the infield in to try to cut down a runner at home, and some managers are praised for being creative when they bring in an outfield to act as a 5th infielder in that situation, so if all those defensive situations are considered a normal part of the game why the angst over the shifts?

they have been in the game for quite a long time and they increase in them is tied to not only defensive analytics, but also a change in the approach a the plate

the approach at the plate seems to be the bigger issue than the defensive counter measure
 
Here’s the thing about Three True Outcomes … 2 of the 3 have largely stayed the same the last 20 years.

HR’s and BB’s are close to where they were in 2001.

Meanwhile strikeouts are up almost 10,000 and continue to increase at a high rate.

I don’t think that can all be blamed on the hitter’s without taking into account factors like the increasing use of shifts, shorter stints by starting pitchers (esp. a 3rd time through the order), which leads to increased bullpen usage, larger bullpens (which teams sacrifice position player bench depth for), improvements in pitching analytics (not only in how to pitch each hitter but also scouting and prioritizing a pitcher’s spin-rate’s the same way they do hitter’s exit velo … not to mention the often illegal ways pitchers added spin until MLB cracked down on it), the increase in average pitching velocity, etc.

Home Runs
2001: 5,458
2021: 5,940

Walks
2001: 15,806
2021: 15,794

Strikeouts
2001: 32,404
2021: 42,145

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2001.shtml

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2021.shtml
“Home runs haven’t increased!”

*Notes they increased almost 10% with no change in the underlying opportunity coefficient.
 

FBallFan123

Active Member
“Home runs haven’t increased!”

*Notes they increased almost 10% with no change in the underlying opportunity coefficient.

*Notes they only increased about 4% from the year prior

Home Runs have fluctuated for various reasons, but aside from some “juiced ball” seasons like 2017 and 2019, they’re still with range of where the game was 20+ years ago.

They’re not up 30% in the same time frame and only trending in one direction the way strikeouts are.
 
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FBallFan123

Active Member
the interesting thing about the shifts is that moving defenders around the field has been with baseball for a very long time

we don't hear people complain about the lack of extra base hits because outfielders move to cut off the alleys, can't ever recall a complaint about middle infielders being pinched in the middle to make turning the double play easier, no one complains when an infield starts in motion anticipating a a sacrifice bunt, bringing the infield in to try to cut down a runner at home, and some managers are praised for being creative when they bring in an outfield to act as a 5th infielder in that situation, so if all those defensive situations are considered a normal part of the game why the angst over the shifts?

they have been in the game for quite a long time and they increase in them is tied to not only defensive analytics, but also a change in the approach a the plate

the approach at the plate seems to be the bigger issue than the defensive counter measure

I think there’s a difference between positioning a player and shifting a defense.

If the shift was just being employed against a few hitters, like it once was against David Ortiz, it would be one thing.

But shift usage has grown exponentially since then.

In 2010 there were 2,400 total shifts in MLB.

In 2016, there 24,464 shifts.

In 2021, there were 55,595 shifts.
 

Bob Sugar

Active Member
*Notes they only increased about 4% from the year prior

Home Runs have fluctuated for various reasons, but aside from some “juiced ball” seasons like 2017 and 2019, they’re still with range of where the game was 20+ years ago.

They’re not up 30% in the same time frame and only trending in one direction the way strikeouts are.
Home runs up 10% and strikeouts up 30%. Sounds like hitters are trying to be more like Pete Incaviglia and are being rewarded for it. Swing for the fences or Bust baby!
 

FBallFan123

Active Member
MLB has a deal with Peacock for Monday/Wednesday games….


“MLB has come to terms with a two-year streaming deal with Comcast’s NBC Sports for the Mnoday and Wednesday Night games ESPN did not pick up in its new agreement with MLB, mainly to stream on Peacock. This deal starts this season and is worth $30 million annually.”
 

FBallFan123

Active Member
Home runs up 10% and strikeouts up 30%. Sounds like hitters are trying to be more like Pete Incaviglia and are being rewarded for it. Swing for the fences or Bust baby!

PED testing is a bit more rigorous now than it was in Pete’s days.

Launch angle took off in the mid-2010’s in part because MLB HR totals were down in the early 2010’s.

But there was no correpsonsing decrease in strikeouts during that time.

Strikeout totals have gone up almost every year since 2011.
 

geefrogs

Active Member
MLB has a deal with Peacock for Monday/Wednesday games….


“MLB has come to terms with a two-year streaming deal with Comcast’s NBC Sports for the Mnoday and Wednesday Night games ESPN did not pick up in its new agreement with MLB, mainly to stream on Peacock. This deal starts this season and is worth $30 million annually.”

The real headline: ESPN declines to televise MLB on Monday and Wedneday nights further pushing baseball games to streaming options.

It's a deal and it's a lot of cash but, again, is it really good for the fan?

Maybe take less but still stay on ESPN? I dunno...also seems the MLB.tv subscribers are getting screwed now too.
 

Bob Sugar

Active Member
I say this every time there is any sort of lockout threat, but the baseball owners always miss a huge opportunity to come out as winners. Imagine if the owners came out and admitted their product is getting too expensive for Joe Consumer, so they are implementing a salary cap to reduce costs, so they can reduce ticket prices and concessions.

Fans would be on board. Sure, some guys hoping for that next big contract will get pissed, but for the guys coming out of HS, college, Caribbean, making $5 million, instead of $20 million is better than making $0. The sport might have a few reset years, but would end up with the same star power and a better fan experience down the road.
 
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