Pitchers must now face 3 batters, get injured or finish their half of the inning before being removed from the game. This is being done to speed up the game. Thoughts? I think there are better ways to speed up the game.
MLB 3 batter rule
- Thread starter jethreauxdawg
- Start date
Not sure I like it.
That’s the strategy in baseball, LvsR etc.
A guy that maybe pitched a 2-3 innings the day before and you need him to come in and get an out on Leftie.
I’m with you, other ways to maybe speed up the game but hell they are way over 3 hours usually anyway, what’s 5 minutes really going to do?
That’s the strategy in baseball, LvsR etc.
A guy that maybe pitched a 2-3 innings the day before and you need him to come in and get an out on Leftie.
I’m with you, other ways to maybe speed up the game but hell they are way over 3 hours usually anyway, what’s 5 minutes really going to do?
Could they speed up the pitcher change process? Make it 2 minutes from coach going stepping inside the diamond to pitcher on the mound facing the batter. Or make the second pitching change in an inning take under 1 minute.
As a huge Nationals fan and someone that probably watches 130+ games a year, I love this change. There are many cases where this could shave 45+ minutes off of game time. While there are some other things that could speed the game up, there is no other change that could have the time impact of this one.
Ban the use of batting gloves. And I'm not even kidding..
Because evidently between EVERY pitch batting gloves have to be readjusted, kneaded, spit on, pampered and velcroed. Sum up the 20 seconds all that takes between pitches and it's probably an hour added to each game.
Players swung 35 inches of ash for nearly 100 years without gloves on their hands. They'll be fine doing it today.
Because evidently between EVERY pitch batting gloves have to be readjusted, kneaded, spit on, pampered and velcroed. Sum up the 20 seconds all that takes between pitches and it's probably an hour added to each game.
Players swung 35 inches of ash for nearly 100 years without gloves on their hands. They'll be fine doing it today.
I swear the batter rituals are the absolute worst. Step out, take off helmet, adjust the gloves, put helmet back on, step in, hold bat up in your outer hand, adjust your crotch, adjust your elbow guard, adjust your helmet one last time... and finally you're ready to take a strike right down the gut and do it all over again.
ETA: don't forget to adjust that shin guard if you have it too
ETA: don't forget to adjust that shin guard if you have it too
I've been saying it for years and I will keep saying into the nothingness of this message board, Keep the Batter in the batters box. Problem solved.
I don't like this rule, it's too easy to abuse by faking an "injury".
I'd like to see technology embraced to replace the use of signs. If done correctly, it would speed up the game and would make it harder for a team to do what the Astros did.
I'd like to see technology embraced to replace the use of signs. If done correctly, it would speed up the game and would make it harder for a team to do what the Astros did.
If a pitcher leave the game with "injury" have them automatically miss the next game. Problem solved.
Somewhere there is a video of a side-by-side comparison of a couple of at bats during playoffs. One AB happens back in the 80's and the other is recent. Both AB's go on for like 6-7 pitches and the difference comes out to like 2 minutes.
My google-fu isn't strong enough to find it again right now.
My google-fu isn't strong enough to find it again right now.
Don’t forget the amount of time it takes the batter to wipe out the inside and back lines in batters box, did a hole for his back foot, get into his hitting stance and take 5 practice swings.
Oh and stop the adjusting of their junk! It is embarrassing and they have a strap and a cup, so ball sack should be safely in place.
Oh and stop the adjusting of their junk! It is embarrassing and they have a strap and a cup, so ball sack should be safely in place.
The shift would be gone forever in the span of half a season if batters would adjust to it and beat it. It's astonishing to me to watch a batter ground out or line out into a shift (or strike out against a shift) while they are giving him a bunt single. These guys in the show have been playing the game for years at the highest level, so they can take the ball the other way if they look for the right pitch to do it with.
Baseball has become a strikeout/homerun-or-bust game and that's a big part of the problem.
Yep. If you want the shift to stop have the batters start going opposite field. It has always been so baffling why they do not
Terrible rule. If this is the case, might as well get rid of all the ridiculous other 150+ year old rules in the game. Eliminate being able to take first base on a strikeout, an out being recorded on a foul bunt with 2 strikes, etc.
Part of the mystique of baseball is that all the rules of in-game play and management, both good and bad, have been around since the beginning of time. This is 17ing with that in a major way.
Part of the mystique of baseball is that all the rules of in-game play and management, both good and bad, have been around since the beginning of time. This is 17ing with that in a major way.
Since everyone runs to 1st base it's unfair to lefties. We also need to incentivize balls in play because strikeouts are killing the excitement.
banning the shift would do wonders for balls in play. People are all or nothing for HR's now in no small part because of shifts.
Power hitters are getting the bigger contracts these days. There's 100 Mark McGwires and only a couple of Tony Gwynns in the show. And I mean that stylistically, because there will never be another Tony Gwynn, probably.
Teams shift because they know most opposing players aren't going to give themselves up. When you get into the playoffs, you see less shifting because the games mean more. That's pretty telling if you ask me.
If I'm a major league manager, I'm shifting because analytically, I'm going to give up fewer hits and fewer runs because morons on the other team are going to continue pulling the ball into the shift. Offensively, nobody would shift against my team because I'd want my guys to have an approach to beat the shift. On the flip side, I'd struggle in free agency because the guys chasing the big contracts want to hit 40 hrs, even if it means they're hitting south of .250.
Here's my idea: each batter gets only one pitch.
If the batter takes the pitch and it's a ball, then the batter gets a "walk" and is awarded first base. If the batter takes the pitch and it's a strike, then the batter is out (strikeout). If the batter hits the ball fair, then everything works as normal. If the batter hits the ball foul, then the batter is out.
No 17'n around.
(The batter stepping out of the box and going through his routine prevents me from watching baseball games. Also, I don't want to see 5 foul balls in a row. One pitch. Do something with it.)
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-rule-changes-for-2020-season
Other new interesting rules..
[FONT="]Two-way player designation -- A "two-way player" -- someone who both hits and pitches -- is now an official designation. That lets them stay on the roster as a position player and pitch in games without counting toward their team's 13-pitcher pitcher limit. If you designate someone a two-way player, they have to stay that way through the end of the year.[/FONT]
[FONT="]This is for players like the Angels' Shohei Ohtani, a starting pitcher and designated hitter, and the Reds' Michael Lorenzen, who appears as a reliever and also plays the outfield. True two-way players essentially hadn't been seen in the Major Leagues since the days of Babe Ruth until Ohtani arrived from Japan in 2018.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Players have to meet certain criteria to qualify as two-way players -- in either the current MLB season or the previous one, they have to pitch at least 20 innings in the Majors and start at least 20 games as a position player or DH where they bat three or more times.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The two-way player designation for 2020 also allows players who met the requirements in 2018 to qualify this season. So Ohtani, who didn't pitch last year because of Tommy John surgery but did pitch as a rookie in '18, can still be named a two-way player for the Angels right away.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Position players pitching -- Position players are allowed to pitch only if a game goes to extra innings, or if their team is winning or losing by more than six runs. During normal circumstances in a nine-inning game, only the team's 13 designated pitchers -- or two-way players -- are allowed to pitch.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Teams were using position player pitchers more than ever before in the past couple of seasons. In 2019, more than 50 different position players pitched in at least one game, generally so teams could save their pitchers' arms if they felt a game was out of hand.[/FONT]
[FONT="]CHALLENGE TIME:
Managers now only have 20 seconds to decide to challenge a play instead of 30.[/FONT]
[FONT="]That shortens the amount of time they have to get information about video replays, which might allow them to figure out if they'd win a challenge before they actually challenge the play. Of the changes that were announced on Wednesday, this is the only one that hadn’t previously been reported publicly.[/FONT]
Other new interesting rules..
[FONT="]Two-way player designation -- A "two-way player" -- someone who both hits and pitches -- is now an official designation. That lets them stay on the roster as a position player and pitch in games without counting toward their team's 13-pitcher pitcher limit. If you designate someone a two-way player, they have to stay that way through the end of the year.[/FONT]
[FONT="]This is for players like the Angels' Shohei Ohtani, a starting pitcher and designated hitter, and the Reds' Michael Lorenzen, who appears as a reliever and also plays the outfield. True two-way players essentially hadn't been seen in the Major Leagues since the days of Babe Ruth until Ohtani arrived from Japan in 2018.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Players have to meet certain criteria to qualify as two-way players -- in either the current MLB season or the previous one, they have to pitch at least 20 innings in the Majors and start at least 20 games as a position player or DH where they bat three or more times.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The two-way player designation for 2020 also allows players who met the requirements in 2018 to qualify this season. So Ohtani, who didn't pitch last year because of Tommy John surgery but did pitch as a rookie in '18, can still be named a two-way player for the Angels right away.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Position players pitching -- Position players are allowed to pitch only if a game goes to extra innings, or if their team is winning or losing by more than six runs. During normal circumstances in a nine-inning game, only the team's 13 designated pitchers -- or two-way players -- are allowed to pitch.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Teams were using position player pitchers more than ever before in the past couple of seasons. In 2019, more than 50 different position players pitched in at least one game, generally so teams could save their pitchers' arms if they felt a game was out of hand.[/FONT]
[FONT="]CHALLENGE TIME:
Managers now only have 20 seconds to decide to challenge a play instead of 30.[/FONT]
[FONT="]That shortens the amount of time they have to get information about video replays, which might allow them to figure out if they'd win a challenge before they actually challenge the play. Of the changes that were announced on Wednesday, this is the only one that hadn’t previously been reported publicly.[/FONT]
Do you get more than that in baseball?
Ball in play time: Rough estimate. 300 pitches at 1 second per pitch (very high estimate). 10 hits @ 10 seconds each. 400 seconds, less than 7 minutes.