MLB considering raising strike zone

[Honorable_Pawn]

The best way to improve baseball:

1. Strictly enforce rule requiring a pitcher to pitch within 10 seconds of the umpire calling the last pitch. Not when the pitcher receives it.

2. Prohibit the batter from stepping out of the box. If the batter steps out of the box for any reason he must be PH for.

3. Prohibit mound visits by players or coaches. Either you replace the pitcher or not. (not sure about this one)

4. Eliminate God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. Just keep it to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Yes, yes, we are all patriotic. Can we speed up the game please?

5. Use a challenge flag like the NFL. Does the manager really need to walk all the way to the infield? If a manager ever leaves the dug-out for any reason he is automatically ejected.

6. If players get injured they must come out of the game immediately. Let the trainer look the player over in the clubhouse. Safety first.

7. EDIT: I don't care that there could be a wild pitch or that the batter could swing. Let the intentional walk be automatic.

[MBarrett]

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

5. Use a challenge flag like the NFL. Does the manager really need to walk all the way to the infield? If a manager ever leaves the dug-out for any reason he is automatically ejected.

I've heard they're going this way. It won't be a flag but the Manager won't have to leave the dugout steps.

[monkeystyxx]

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

2. Prohibit the batter from stepping out of the box. If the batter steps out of the box for any reason he must be PH for.

They should have to ask the umpire for permission. Sometimes there's a legit reason. If it's just to adjust their glove, or prance about stretching, then no.

3. Prohibit mound visits by players or coaches. Either you replace the pitcher or not. (not sure about this one)

I wouldn't support prohibiting them. Maybe rationing and timing them, though. Have coach visits limited to once per inning. Give catchers unlimited visits but for a max of 15 seconds.

4. Eliminate God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. Just keep it to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Yes, yes, we are all patriotic. Can we speed up the game please?

I totally agree here. Pointless waste of time. Have it before the game if you want (european sports usually do, but even then only for international games and cup finals), but not part way through.

Especially if you want to internationalise the game and attract interest from foreign markets.

5. Use a challenge flag like the NFL. Does the manager really need to walk all the way to the infield? If a manager ever leaves the dug-out for any reason he is automatically ejected.

Agree with this totally. Especially guys like poor Clint Hurdle last season who took half an hour to get there. Managers should be able to visit the mound sporadically as I said earlier, but they shouldn't need to every time they wanted to challenge a decision.

7. EDIT: I don't care that there could be a wild pitch or that the batter could swing. Let the intentional walk be automatic.

No. No, no, no, no, no. Nope. No.


One thing that I hate about baseball is pitchers throwing to bases time and time again. But you can't really stop that without making radical changes to the rules.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

The best way to improve baseball:

1. Strictly enforce rule requiring a pitcher to pitch within 10 seconds of the umpire calling the last pitch. Not when the pitcher receives it.

A pitch clock might be a good idea, but 10 seconds seems too low. It would put pitchers into a terrible spot.

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

2. Prohibit the batter from stepping out of the box. If the batter steps out of the box for any reason he must be PH for.

I agree with the first part, but not with the second, which replaces one mook with bad gloves with another mook with bad gloves.

The umpire should instead remind the batter when he steps out to fasten his gloves - which are probably very expensive and should survive two or three hacks without coming undone, by the way! - and if he keeps stepping out, he gets called an automatic strike, even if that means strike three. The pitcher can't move around at will on the mound, why should the batter be allowed to?

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

3. Prohibit mound visits by players or coaches. Either you replace the pitcher or not. (not sure about this one)

I disagree. There's only so much signals from the dugout or catcher will do for a pitcher with three on and nobody out. Sometimes you gotta talk to the kid.

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

4. Eliminate God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. Just keep it to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Yes, yes, we are all patriotic. Can we speed up the game please?

I agree. NASCAR doesn't throw a celebratory caution at three quarters through for some singing, either. (They do love to throw an invisible debris caution with 20 to go and Jeff Gordon ahead by eight seconds, though)

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

5. Use a challenge flag like the NFL. Does the manager really need to walk all the way to the infield? If a manager ever leaves the dug-out for any reason he is automatically ejected.

The whole challenge system is a terrible abomination that has to be done away with. They claimed they could solve challenges in (I think) 60 seconds or less. In real life, it takes up to five minutes, and in the end there is still at least one manager out there on the field, who is barking and bitching.

There are obvious catastrophic cases like Jason Donald being called safe at first, but over time, umpires will screw over every team just as much. And the day doesn't have enough hours to have every wrong call by Angel Hernandez being reviewed anyway.

They should get umpires to get the calls right in the first place. Have all 60+ umpires be constantly reviewed by some instance at MLB headquarters. At year's end, the worst 10% of the staff are demoted to AAA for the next season.

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

6. If players get injured they must come out of the game immediately. Let the trainer look the player over in the clubhouse. Safety first.

I disagree. In obvious cases they come out anyway, but it takes up to ten minutes to get them off the field anyway (I'm thinking about Manny Machado tearing up some knee or other on the basepaths, or Giancarlo Stanton getting beaned last year), but if they have some minor wound, band-aid that thing up and get back to the front, son!

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

7. EDIT: I don't care that there could be a wild pitch or that the batter could swing. Let the intentional walk be automatic.

But I want to laugh my a$%& off when they DO throw a wild pitch!

[swoboda]

I totally agree with your batter's box rule. I would say the batter must stay in the box if the pitcher is on the rubber. If the batter leaves the box while the pitcher is on the rubber its an automatic strike. Only exception is if the ump grants a timeout. And the pitcher must throw a pitch within a time limit unless the catcher goes to the mound.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by swoboda

I totally agree with your batter's box rule. I would say the batter must stay in the box if the pitcher is on the rubber. If the batter leaves the box while the pitcher is on the rubber its an automatic strike. Only exception is if the ump grants a timeout. And the pitcher must throw a pitch within a time limit unless the catcher goes to the mound.

C'mon watching Jonny Gomes tug his helmet up and down for 5 minutes between every pitch is the only reason I still tune in...Ugh

[Honorable_Pawn]

Originally Posted by David Watts

C'mon watching Jonny Gomes tug his helmet up and down for 5 minutes between every pitch is the only reason I still tune in...Ugh

This exactly who I was thinking about. He steps out every pitch. Sets his bat down. Loosens, tightens, loosens, tightens his gloves. Stands in the box. Wiggles his fingers a hundred times. Waves his bat like Strawberry. Then strikes out.

[swoboda]

I believe the correct description is " human rain delay". it was used years ago to describe somebody on the Texas Rangers

[RchW]

Originally Posted by swoboda

i believe the correct description is " human rain delay". It was used years ago to describe somebody on the texas rangers

lol

[swoboda]

That's the guy

[darkcloud4579]

They need to raise the mound.

[Honorable_Pawn]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

They need to raise the mound.

I disagree here because as much as I would like to speed up the game I pay to see excitement. Personally, I much prefer the success of a home run over the failure of a strike-out. I absolutely loved the Steroid Era and would hate to go back to the Dead Ball Era.

[Jason Moyer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tGm_JajqLo

Hargrove wouldn't even stand out if he played now.

[Goody]

I don't really think the speed of the game is a problem. Focusing on that, takes away from the game. Its fine as it is, as most have stated. Its a relaxed game where more is said by the nuances than by the action... There's time to talk and reflect. That said, yeah, Gomes is a tool...