2021 MLB Season

[camion]

His column is in today's Washington Post.

Scientific and data analysis has made the game interminably boring, in his view. Strikeouts now greatly exceed hits, which was unheard of. The aggressive positioning of fielders leads players to just swing for the fences. He advocates considering changes like moving the pitcher's mound, requiring four infielders to be on the dirt (maybe two and two on each side of 2d base), and limiting pickoff moves.

I propose a compromise on fielder placement. The team in the field gets to choose either two players on each side of second base or all four players on one side of second.

And a question, is the catcher required to be behind home plate or can he become a fifth infielder?

Also, is it legal for a fielder to wear a glove on each hand?






Strategery is fun.

[jv001]

His column is in today's Washington Post.

Scientific and data analysis has made the game interminably boring, in his view. Strikeouts now greatly exceed hits, which was unheard of. The aggressive positioning of fielders leads players to just swing for the fences. He advocates considering changes like moving the pitcher's mound, requiring four infielders to be on the dirt (maybe two and two on each side of 2d base), and limiting pickoff moves.

Thanks sage for the link. I'm in agreement that rule changes are necessary. It seems the rules added recently have not speeded up the game like most baseball people thought. I also agree with the writer when he brings up the shifting of the infielders. Almost all baseball teams have input launch angle and bat speed into their training at all levels of their organizations. Instead of teaching players to hit to the opposite field against the shift, they're teaching players to swing for a home run to beat the shift. This has resulted in strike outs, less base runners and almost eliminated the stolen base. I know I'm old school when it comes to the game of baseball and with little or no action for a long period of time, I have not watched many games the last 3 years. Like the writer, I want to see some new rules for the great game of baseball. I'd love to see the pitchers mound moved back a couple of feet, a rule that prevents the shift, take away the runner on 2nd base in extra inning games, double headers back to nine innings and allow relief pitchers to face as many batters as the manager wants. The game has become boring.

[DU82]

The biggest time drags are hitter related. Entry music, which means he takes a stroll to the plate while it finishes, and stepping out of the batter’s box after each pitch to adjust every piece of equipment. Mike Hargrove, the “Human RainDelay” would be considered a quick player today.

Answering camion’s question, the catcher must start the pitch in the catcher’s box. Back when they had to throw four pitches for an intentional walk, the catcher had to signal outside, and move after the pitcher had thrown the ball to catch it. Don’t know about the two gloves, don’t think there is anything prohibiting it, but there’s no advantage to covering the throwing hand with a glove.

[rasputin]

I respect Will's opinion most of the time (even though I disagree with him politically), and many of his points here are valid. Ironically, I think Will is partly responsible for the use of 87 relief pitchers in every game. I think it was his book Men At Work that extolled Tony LaRussa as a genius for his constant pitcher substitution; it became more fashionable.

Will makes a point about the pitching rubber having gotten "closer" to the plate over the years because the pitchers are so much bigger (and, obviously, they throw harder now). One other way to head things in the other direction would be not to change a rule, but to enforce a rule that's already there. Pitchers are supposed to have one foot on the rubber when they deliver the ball. EVERY pitcher violates this rule. By the time the plant foot has hit the ground, the back foot is invariably off the rubber, before the pitch has been thrown.

Will is certainly correct about the strikeouts, lack of action, lack of baserunning making the game much less interesting. I have been a huge baseball fan since I was a little kid in the early 1960's, and I never thought I'd see any baseball game as boring, but it's becoming that way. As to outlawing the shift, I still don't understand why hitters can't adjust to it. Matt Carpenter, in every 10 at-bats, seems to have four strikeouts, one hit, and five balls hit into the teeth of the shift and played by the short right fielder. Willie Keeler said hit'em where they ain't. He was right.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I think that baseball needs to do something to fix the game. Speeding things up would be a good start. I'm not clear whether the blame is on the pitchers, the hitters or both but the time between pitches is ridiculous. Keep stepping out to a minimum and pitchers need to step on the rubber and throw.

I really don't like all of the shifting but I'm not sure of the answer there. Part of me thinks there should be a rule (I like requiring two guys on each side of second base) but part of me thinks the batters should just adjust - I have the Yanks-Astros game on and saw Gardner go the other way for a hit against a shift. I now get tremendous satisfaction anytime I see a player do that.

Moving the mound is a bad idea. Pitchers have spent their whole lives training from that distance. And if MLB moved the mound, then every minor league, college, high school, etc. would also have to move their mounds, which is a big ask.

I don't like the runner on second in the 10th. I don't like the 7 inning double headers, especially when they are not real double headers. I do like the efforts to make relievers stay in longer - the batter after batter switches were too much.

My late dad, a mathematician/computer scientist who was a very early adopter of SABRmetrics and fantasy baseball, instilled in me my love of baseball. I am a highly analytical person as well. But at this point I think there is analysis paralysis - it is just too much. Maybe cut down on the size of the analytics departments. To quote Crash Davis, "Don't think. It can only hurt the ball club."

[JStuart]

I think that baseball needs to do something to fix the game. Speeding things up would be a good start. I'm not clear whether the blame is on the pitchers, the hitters or both but the time between pitches is ridiculous. Keep stepping out to a minimum and pitchers need to step on the rubber and throw.

I really don't like all of the shifting but I'm not sure of the answer there. Part of me thinks there should be a rule (I like requiring two guys on each side of second base) but part of me thinks the batters should just adjust - I have the Yanks-Astros game on and saw Gardner go the other way for a hit against a shift. I now get tremendous satisfaction anytime I see a player do that.

Moving the mound is a bad idea. Pitchers have spent their whole lives training from that distance. And if MLB moved the mound, then every minor league, college, high school, etc. would also have to move their mounds, which is a big ask.

I don't like the runner on second in the 10th. I don't like the 7 inning double headers, especially when they are not real double headers. I do like the efforts to make relievers stay in longer - the batter after batter switches were too much.

My late dad, a mathematician/computer scientist who was a very early adopter of SABRmetrics and fantasy baseball, instilled in me my love of baseball. I am a highly analytical person as well. But at this point I think there is analysis paralysis - it is just too much. Maybe cut down on the size of the analytics departments. To quote Crash Davis, "Don't think. It can only hurt the ball club."

Have to spread sporks around, etc, but this is one impressive posting. Excellent.

[CameronDuke]

Ronald Acuña, Jr. tore an ACL last night. He’ll undergo season ending knee surgery. It will be tight if he can even be ready to go for Spring Training, 2022 I’d imagine, too, unless he has a speedy recovery. The Atlanta Braves are only 4 GB of the NL East division leading New York Mets but this will be a tough blow to overcome losing their best player.

The Cardinals blanked the Cubs at Wrigley last night 6-0 behind home runs from Paul Goldschmidt, Tommy Edman, and Paul DeJong. I think we can start to officially call Kwang Hyun Kim a stud, too. The guy deals. He tossed 6 shutout innings last night allowing just 5 hits, a walk, and he fanned 7. He’s now 4-5 with a 3.11 ERA. In his big league career, he’s thrown 111.1 innings, with a 2.59 ERA with 83 Ks and a WHIP of 1.18. For all the acquisitions the Cardinals have been faulted for over the years, whoever was big on signing Kim deserves kudos. The South Korean southpaw is electric and his stuff plays in the big leagues.

[Rogue]

I think that baseball needs to do something to fix the game. Speeding things up would be a good start. I'm not clear whether the blame is on the pitchers, the hitters or both but the time between pitches is ridiculous. Keep stepping out to a minimum and pitchers need to step on the rubber and throw.

I really don't like all of the shifting but I'm not sure of the answer there. Part of me thinks there should be a rule (I like requiring two guys on each side of second base) but part of me thinks the batters should just adjust - I have the Yanks-Astros game on and saw Gardner go the other way for a hit against a shift. I now get tremendous satisfaction anytime I see a player do that.

Moving the mound is a bad idea. Pitchers have spent their whole lives training from that distance. And if MLB moved the mound, then every minor league, college, high school, etc. would also have to move their mounds, which is a big ask.

I don't like the runner on second in the 10th. I don't like the 7 inning double headers, especially when they are not real double headers. I do like the efforts to make relievers stay in longer - the batter after batter switches were too much.

My late dad, a mathematician/computer scientist who was a very early adopter of SABRmetrics and fantasy baseball, instilled in me my love of baseball. I am a highly analytical person as well. But at this point I think there is analysis paralysis - it is just too much. Maybe cut down on the size of the analytics departments. To quote Crash Davis, "Don't think. It can only hurt the ball club."

Excellent post.

I'd rather see batters learn to hit to the opposite field to deter the "shift" than make a new rule. Then again I think players should be able to bunt lol.

[CDu]

Excellent post.

I'd rather see batters learn to hit to the opposite field to deter the "shift" than make a new rule. Then again I think players should be able to bunt lol.

Yeah I am pretty against the concept of there being an illegal defense. The defense should be able to line up where it wants within the construct of the game (I.e., defenses can’t line up offsides in football)… and the offense has to react to that.

The shift isn’t what is wrong with baseball, it is the inability or unwillingness of hitters to adapt to beat the shift.

I would be in favor of a pitch clock, but not banning the shift. If hitters actually went oppo or bunted more against the shift, baseball would then be even more interesting than if the shift was banned.

[CameronDuke]

Yeah I am pretty against the concept of there being an illegal defense. The defense should be able to line up where it wants within the construct of the game (I.e., defenses can’t line up offsides in football)… and the offense has to react to that.

The shift isn’t what is wrong with baseball, it is the inability or unwillingness of hitters to adapt to beat the shift.

I would be in favor of a pitch clock, but not banning the shift. If hitters actually went oppo or bunted more against the shift, baseball would then be even more interesting than if the shift was banned.

The only rule currently for the defense is they have to line up between the foul lines when the pitch occurs. They have free will to stand wherever they want on any pitch as long as it’s between the lines. The rule needs to stay that way. The effectiveness of shifts hinges on pitch execution by the pitcher and demonstrated flaws in hitter’s swings. If a pitcher misses his spot or the hitter makes adjustments, the effectiveness of shifts decreases. Some of the best hitters I ever saw didn’t have shifts implemented against them. Tony Gwynn, Chipper Jones, Eddie Murray, Ken Griffey, Jr., Albert Pujols, etc. could hit to all fields and would have welcomed a shift in my mind. They could hit pitches to all fields. Most of the guys now who get shifted against have huge holes in their swings and aren’t half the hitters those guys I just mentioned were.

As far as pace of play and pitchers stepping off the rubber and batters stepping out the box or walking too slow from the on deck circle to the box, that’s largely on the home plate umpire. He is always in control of the pace of the game. If a batter steps out, he can demand they step back in. I have seen guys step out and not step in quickly enough and the pitcher throws a strike that the ump calls. All the ump has to do is say let’s play ball or hurry up. At lower levels (college and high school), umpires stay on player’s by verbally encouraging them to hustle on and off the field, limit stepping out of the box, walking briskly to the dish, etc. Part of the reason it takes longer in the bigs is the “Hollywood” effect of wanting to blare intro music for hitter’s walking to the plate, players stepping out after every pitch and popping their gold chains/necklaces, adjusting their jock straps, adjusting their protective elbow and shin guards, pointing to their Gods in the heavens or doing other religious/superstitious gyrations, spitting their Copenhagen or Skoal dip, etc. Umpires have every right within the rule to demand the batter get into the box.

[jwillfan]

Moving the mound is a bad idea. Pitchers have spent their whole lives training from that distance. And if MLB moved the mound, then every minor league, college, high school, etc. would also have to move their mounds, which is a big ask.

I don't think this is such a bad idea. My son is a HS pitcher. He started in Little League where the mound (really the rubber) is 46 feet from home plate. Then when he started travel ball it was 50 feet. Eventually when he was about 15 he started playing on full size fields. Each time he moved his adjustment was easy - same for most of the kids who stuck with being pitchers.

Remember the mound was lowered in 1968 after Bob Gibson was so dominant. That's the last notable change. Moving it back to say 62 feet from 60.5 will not be much of a transition for MLB pitchers esp if they do it in the off season and have a full spring training to get acclimated. The reaction time and the velo when the ball hits home plate will give hitters a little more time - even from a 6' 6" guy that has a huge stride and release point closer to the plate.

I also wish they would figure out the ball - stickiness and seams - and put all the spider tack nonsense to rest. Japan pro ball has done this.

Lastly - pitch clocks and keeping batters in the box are going to happen and need to. Reduced recovery time between pitches means fewer at all-out velo for all but those pitchers w/ the best mechanics.

I'm ok with the shift if the above all happen but do think hitters should work on hitting against it to make the D play straight up.

[budwom]

The runner on second thing is an absolute abomination, like giving electric bikes to the guys in the Tour de France.

[CameronDuke]

Who do you think is going to win the home run derby tonight and how many will Shohei Ohtani hit en route to being the winner?

NOTE: I think Trevor Story hitting at home at Coors Field could be a dark horse.

[DUKIECB]

Ronald Acuña, Jr. tore an ACL last night. He’ll undergo season ending knee surgery. It will be tight if he can even be ready to go for Spring Training, 2022 I’d imagine, too, unless he has a speedy recovery. The Atlanta Braves are only 4 GB of the NL East division leading New York Mets but this will be a tough blow to overcome losing their best player.

As a Braves fan this is devastating. This season has felt cursed. My 12 year old son and I have tickets to travel to ATL the end of this month to see a couple games and he is now crushed that he won't even be seeing his favorite player.

[CameronDuke]

As a Braves fan this is devastating. This season has felt cursed. My 12 year old son and I have tickets to travel to ATL the end of this month to see a couple games and he is now crushed that he won't even be seeing his favorite player.

That is a shame. My Dad and I went to Turner Field for the first time in the summer of ‘98. We saw Mark McGwire play for the visiting Cardinals that weekend. I believe we went to two games. McGwire did not homer that weekend, but he hit 70 homers that year with the aid of steroids. We did get to see future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine pitch for the Braves. I am sure it is crushing for you and your son that Acuña is out, I hope you all still enjoy your trip. I haven’t been to Truist Park yet but I have heard from a few people it is a nice park to watch a ball game in.

[DUKIECB]

That is a shame. My Dad and I went to Turner Field for the first time in the summer of ‘98. We saw Mark McGwire play for the visiting Cardinals that weekend. I believe we went to two games. McGwire did not homer that weekend, but he hit 70 homers that year with the aid of steroids. We did get to see future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine pitch for the Braves. I am sure it is crushing for you and your son that Acuña is out, I hope you all still enjoy your trip. I haven’t been to Truist Park yet but I have heard from a few people it is a nice park to watch a ball game in.

Truist is a very nice park. We visited in 2019 for the first time and enjoyed it. I realize there are a lot of hard feelings in Atlanta about moving the team so far outside the downtown and I cannot speak to that as I am not from the area but the park itself is great.

As far as the trip goes we will make the best of it and still have fun but yeah it was a tough blow to hear of Acuna's injury. I just hope he's ready to go next year and our GM addresses the losses in our bullpen from last year to this year and fixes the hole that Ozuna has created for this team. We have too much young talent to waste it. The window to win doesn't always stay open for long.

[weezie]

Stephen A. Smith is A. dope.

[acdevil]

Stephen A. Smith is A. dope.

I can’t fork this enough

[CameronDuke]

Polar Bear Pete Alonso wins his 2nd MLB Home Run Derby.

Pretty good pop for a guy hitting .250 this year and a career .252 hitter.

When he connects, she goes.

[jwillfan]

Polar Bear Pete Alonso wins his 2nd MLB Home Run Derby.

Pretty good pop for a guy hitting .250 this year and a career .252 hitter.

When he connects, she goes.

Read a funny stat about that - his HR Derby winnings ($2m) exceed his salary so far as a player!