Baseball has changed

[Nevada Ed]

I just got through watchin SF and Atlanta in a 9th inning tie at 5 all.
SF lead 4 to 2 until the last of the game when Atlanta went crazy and scored 3 runs to lead 5 to 4.
In the bottom of the 9th the Giants had two out and a full count
with the ace, Smith pitching and the next pitch was by by Baby!!

When did they start the Automatic runner on second base for the team at bat, in over time games?

Good game, it went eleven innings with the last of the giants batters at the plate, with just pitches available, if they needed a new batter..............

A nail biter for sure but the young hitter popped up and with the bases loaded, the runner scored from third base.

Just that this style of game throws all the old games records out the window............ right?

 

[alwslate]

I watched the same game. The runner on second rule has been in effect all this year I believe. The idea is to shorten games. I think it was because of Covid. Double headers are now just seven innings incase you haven’t noticed. That game illustrates the main thing I have seen in many games this year. Very poor late inning relief pitching. SF was ahead 4-2 until their relief pitcher blew the lead in the 9th.

 

[riverrat38]

Last year was shortened to 60 games, as I recall. They also started the leadoff runner on second to shorten the games, due to COVID, when a game goes to overtime. I kind of like it, and hope it will become a permanent rule.

73,
Rick

 

[moralem]

Then it really isn’t baseball……sigh.

 

[dasnake]

For me.......

The ghost runner was Manfred's idea to shorten games when the covid started, that migrated to the 60 game season, the 3 batter rule is also supposed to shorten games.

The two changes I detest is the 2nd base rule of no blocking, and the no block at home plate unles the catcher has control of the ball.

The ghost runner and the 7 inning double headers are two things I can't wait to see gone.
Don't get me started on the total waste of time they turned the allstar game into, chchchchchchanges aren't always great.

 

[swsig]

When they go to T-ball in extra innings, I'm through.

 

[Old_Cop]

It's not just baseball that has changed.

 

[Maddog 521]

It appears some of the rule changes changed other things too.


2021 MLB Attendance - Major League Baseball - ESPN

 

[Muss Muggins]

Just that this style of game throws all the old games records out the window............ right?

Like they did every time they changed the height of the pitchers mound, right?

 

[wingsfan]

How about a home run derby after 3 extra innings? Same as hockey.

 

[eb07]

I think the shift sucks too. But that's just me.

 

[moralem]

Like they did every time they changed the height of the pitchers mound, right?

The height of the mound was only changed once back in 68’-69’. It was reduced from 15 inches to the current 10 inches above the plate. It was to reduce the advantage the pitcher had in being able to drive down the mound putting greater velocity on the pitch.

 

[Golphin]

The height of the mound was only changed once back in 68’-69’. It was reduced from 15 inches to the current 10 inches above the plate. It was to reduce the advantage the pitcher had in being able to drive down the mound putting greater velocity on the pitch.

They have changed the ball many times through the years.

 

[Muss Muggins]

The height of the mound was only changed once back in 68’-69’. It was reduced from 15 inches to the current 10 inches above the plate. It was to reduce the advantage the pitcher had in being able to drive down the mound putting greater velocity on the pitch.

Here's a good history of the various heights of the mound through the years . . .

Pitching Mound History--balance between pitchers and batters

 

[sheepdawg]

The guy starting on second in extra inning games was tried in the minors before COVID, so were 7 inning double headers. It's all an effort to speed up the game. Back in the good ole days of baseball a game usually took less than 3 hours. Now with most batters primping, adjusting and trying to look cool between pitches the games are taking over 3 hours, closer to 4.

I hate the new rules, supposedly after this season they're gone, back to normal, too many complaints from the fans. I just wish they would do away with the DH too but now rumor has it next year it will be in effect in both leagues. The DH was put into effect mostly to prolong the careers of older stars but it eliminated a lot of strategy that really was good for the game.

They need to go back to the way it was played in it's golden days, you want to speed it up? Penalize batters stepping out of the box between each pitch to make sure they look good. Give the pitcher the ball and a few seconds and then throw it, if the batter isn't ready it's on him.

Watch any game Bob Gibson pitched back in the day. He often kept it under 2 hours. He didn't play, if you kept him waiting you'd be eating a 97 m p.h. fastball on the next pitch.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Maybe they could save more time and roll dice to see who wins, or just have a computer simulate every season, or are they doing that now?

 

[TXBryan]

The mound height was lowered for the '69 season because of Bob Gibson's ERA in '68 of 1.12 - still a record in MLB. Sheepdawg got it right about Gibby - sure miss that kind of baseball.

The shift is gone next year - thank goodness. The most odorous rule this year is that relief pitchers must throw to three batters before they are removed. This takes an incredibly important strategic portion of the game off the table and is ridiculous. Like the shortened double-header games and the ghost runner it's all "designed" to speed up the game. For crying out loud if you need a faster paced game go watch badminton.

One of the reasons baseball is (was) the greatest game is it takes as long as it takes. The almighty dollar - if you want to speed it up how about play continues during the commercial breaks. That'll save close to an hour a game.

 

[Justin T]

They did the runner on second thing and the double header limit because the audience doesnt have the attention span anymore. They wont watch the games the way they are traditionally done. But this is a game. And games are supposed to be fun, right?

Lots of former players have some funny ideas about this game. For example, Lance Berkman, Astros alum, has suggested in the past that tie-breakers should be settled with a home run derby. I think that would be fun to watch.

Y’all would absolutely plotz if you saw the Savannah Bananas play “Banana Ball”. In their park, if a fan catches a fly ball while the Bananas are on the field, it counts as an out.

But at its lower levels baseball is the exact same game it’s always been. Ask me how I know.

 

[Targets Guy]

I stopped watching baseball when Nolan Ryan retired.

 

[Jon651]

I just got through watchin SF and Atlanta in a 9th inning tie at 5 all.
SF lead 4 to 2 until the last of the game when Atlanta went crazy and scored 3 runs to lead 5 to 4.
In the bottom of the 9th the Giants had two out and a full count
with the ace, Smith pitching and the next pitch was by by Baby!!

When did they start the Automatic runner on second base for the team at bat, in over time games?

Good game, it went eleven innings with the last of the giants batters at the plate, with just pitches available, if they needed a new batter..............

A nail biter for sure but the young hitter popped up and with the bases loaded, the runner scored from third base.

Just that this style of game throws all the old games records out the window............ right?

Of all the changes they made for "pace of play" reasons, the automatic runner at 2nd during extra innings is possibly the WORST. One thing baseball has taught me over the years is that you EARN what you get - there are no freebies. The automatic runner on 2nd during extra innings flies in the face of that lesson.

The other thing I dislike is Instant Replay. I also believe that the "human factor" in baseball is what really made the game real, and adding instant replay took some of the humanity out of the game. Mistakes were always part of the game - sometimes they helped, sometimes they hurt but they always balanced out in the end!