2024 MLB Rules Changes

[dsvitak]

1. Widening the runner's lane: This gives a more direct path for RH batters. They can run inside the line, but not on the grass. This will make it easier..dirt = good, grass = bad.

2. Pitch clock: Reduction of the pitch clock from 20 to 18 seconds, with runners on base. Remains at 15 seconds with no one on. Pitchers can still step off, twice.

3. Mound visits: Reduced from five to four. In 2023, teams averaged just 2.3, so no real change except for a few teams that abused it.

Thoughts?

[monkeyman576]

I just want them to get rid of the ghost runner. I would be in favor of allowing one more player on the roster to compensate for this.

[Bluenoser]

I'm good with all 3.

#1 is long over due imo.

#2 & 3 - I watched more baseball last year than I have in a long time. There's 1 reason and 1 reason only for that - the games were much quicker. Both these will help in that regard. I think dropping 2 seconds probably won't even be noticed by the pitcher, or me the viewer, to be honest. It will shorten the overall game length though, even if it's by a small amount.

[Amazin69]

I realize that this battle is long gone and I've abandoned Manfred-ball for many other reasons (abolishing extra innings, universal DH, bloated bases, bloated playoffs, ridiculous schedule, outlawing defensive strategy, "three true outcomes" as dogma), but I can't resist one last episode of confusion:

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

#2 & 3 - I watched more baseball last year than I have in a long time. There's 1 reason and 1 reason only for that - the games were much quicker.

I honestly don't get this. Am I the only person with a DVR and a pause button?

If I need to go to the kitchen to get a beer, I hit pause and get up.
If I need to go to the bathroom to get rid of a beer, I hit pause and get up.

(I don't actually drink much beer, but you get the point.)

If I need to take a nap, I hit pause and lie back.
If Survivor is starting, I hit pause and watch that.

I just don't understand how in 2024, people are such slaves to the clock that they would rather ban pick-off throws just to speed the game of Heave/Flail up by a few minutes. If all y'all want is 10 minutes of highlights, that's what MLB's YouTube channel is for.

Personally, I cherished watching baseball. I didn't worry about the clock. (That's what we have other sports for.) But JMUO, I guess.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

I honestly don't get this. Am I the only person with a DVR and a pause button?

If I need to go to the kitchen to get a beer, I hit pause and get up.
If I need to go to the bathroom to get rid of a beer, I hit pause and get up.

(I don't actually drink much beer, but you get the point.)

If I need to take a nap, I hit pause and lie back.
If Survivor is starting, I hit pause and watch that.

I just don't understand how in 2024, people are such slaves to the clock that they would rather ban pick-off throws just to speed the game of Heave/Flail up by a few minutes. If all y'all want is 10 minutes of highlights, that's what MLB's YouTube channel is for.

Personally, I cherished watching baseball. I didn't worry about the clock. (That's what we have other sports for.) But JMUO, I guess.

One way I can illustrate it: The waiter says your dinner can be fixed in the 10 minute or the 30 minute method. You ask what is the difference. He says nothing. The taste nor nutritional value isn't changed one iota. Same price. Which are you choosing?

Most people don't want things to last longer if there is no value to it.

I would think no one could list any reasons besides sentimental for wanting more pick off throws & longer times between at bats. There is no discernable benefit.

[Amazin69]

First of all, there's nothing wrong with more GKR time. The poor schmoes in the Tigers thread (Benatti will so much better, trust me) might have had their announcers on mute, but not I.

Secondly, taking away pickoffs affects game strategy right there. And I have no idea how many penalty balls were called last season, but I would guess it's greater than zero.

Thirdly, having players pressed for time (not by umpires doing their jobs and enforcing rules that were already on the books before the Mets were born, but by artificial countdowns and so forth) probably leads to hasty decisions. No more shaking off the signs to pitch strategically, just throw the fastball. No more deciding whether to place a bunt or try a hit and run, just close your eyes and swing real hard.

It promotes Dumb Baseball, which there was already an epidemic of.

And fourthly, it empowers Rob Numbfred (™Westheim) to continue to try and make tweaks, not to actually improve the quality of play, but to cater to the ADHD tastes of The Selfie Generation. That's what killed extra innings, if you've forgotten. Manfred chases the least-common-denominator New Coke fans enough already.

(New Coke was 1984. It was before even Crystal Pepsi. Damn, I am old. Even if I am trying to write fanmail to somebody who is 40 years older.)

The irony of course is that the vast majority of the people that Manfred is trying to pander to are busy watching TikTok so their Chinese masters can tell them whom to hate, but politics is a rabbit hole, so I'll stop there.

I know I'm losing. But I'm under no obligation to like it.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

First of all, there's nothing wrong with more GKR time. The poor schmoes in the Tigers thread (Benatti will so much better, trust me) might have had their announcers on mute, but not I.

Secondly, taking away pickoffs affects game strategy right there. And I have no idea how many penalty balls were called last season, but I would guess it's greater than zero.

Thirdly, having players pressed for time (not by umpires doing their jobs and enforcing rules that were already on the books before the Mets were born, but by artificial countdowns and so forth) probably leads to hasty decisions. No more shaking off the signs to pitch strategically, just throw the fastball. No more deciding whether to place a bunt or try a hit and run, just close your eyes and swing real hard.

It promotes Dumb Baseball, which there was already an epidemic of.

And fourthly, it empowers Rob Numbfred (™Westheim) to continue to try and make tweaks, not to actually improve the quality of play, but to cater to the ADHD tastes of The Selfie Generation. That's what killed extra innings, if you've forgotten. Manfred chases the least-common-denominator New Coke fans enough already.

(New Coke was 1984. It was before even Crystal Pepsi. Damn, I am old. Even if I am trying to write fanmail to somebody who is 40 years older.)

The irony of course is that the vast majority of the people that Manfred is trying to pander to are busy watching TikTok so their Chinese masters can tell them whom to hate, but politics is a rabbit hole, so I'll stop there.

I know I'm losing. But I'm under no obligation to like it.

Oh no. I would never try to convince anyone to like it. I'm just trying to help you see the perspective of those who do. You're free to like/dislike whatever you want. I only take objection when people confuse their like & dislike for right & wrong.

[CONN CHRIS]

From my standpoint, the games flowed better last season and were more enjoyable to watch. The time element isn't even a terribly important factor in reflection; the games were just more enjoyable to watch.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

I realize that this battle is long gone and I've abandoned Manfred-ball for many other reasons (abolishing extra innings, universal DH, bloated bases, bloated playoffs, ridiculous schedule, outlawing defensive strategy, "three true outcomes" as dogma), but I can't resist one last episode of confusion:



I honestly don't get this. Am I the only person with a DVR and a pause button?

If I need to go to the kitchen to get a beer, I hit pause and get up.
If I need to go to the bathroom to get rid of a beer, I hit pause and get up.

(I don't actually drink much beer, but you get the point.)

If I need to take a nap, I hit pause and lie back.
If Survivor is starting, I hit pause and watch that.

I just don't understand how in 2024, people are such slaves to the clock that they would rather ban pick-off throws just to speed the game of Heave/Flail up by a few minutes. If all y'all want is 10 minutes of highlights, that's what MLB's YouTube channel is for.

Personally, I cherished watching baseball. I didn't worry about the clock. (That's what we have other sports for.) But JMUO, I guess.

What does watching baseball have to do with being slave to a clock?

VCR? What do I need a VCR for? Prior to last season I could go to the bathroom after a pitch and then come back, and the pitcher and catcher are still deciding what pitch to throw next, either that or the batter hasn't finished re-adjusting his batting gloves. Besides, I don't need a VCR to pause the TV, I can pause live TV anytime. It's part of modern technology. I don't get your point at all. Pausing the game makes it even longer.

Slave to a clock? I'm retired, not a slave to a clock. I'm just more appreciate of the time I have left and find good ways to spread it around.

Go to the bathroom or get a refreshment? Do that between innings while the endless advertisements are running.

Me, I'm glad they got rid of the unnecessary delays.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

From my standpoint, the games flowed better last season and were more enjoyable to watch. The time element isn't even a terribly important factor in reflection; the games were just more enjoyable to watch.

That's my take too. It was like being a kid again in the 60's and 70's even though the games were shorter then, then they are now with the new rules.
When I was a kid nobody was forced to be ready, it wasn't needed. The players were ready to play and the game just moved along.

Yes, when watching the first few games last year I noticed that batters had to get in the box and pitchers had to pitch "on time". It felt forced. After the initial games that feeling went away. Players got used to it and there was again a nice flow that felt natural.

I watched the last two Cubs ST games and it never even occurred to me that there was a pitch clock. Mission accomplished.

To the OP.

1. common sense and as Bluenoser noted overdue

2. Don't see the necessity but would also say I'm not sure I'll even notice. If players complained that was too quick I'd listen to their arguments. If they're cool with it, it's fine by me.

3. Don't see the necessity. Seems to me they picked 5 last year as the number, it worked other than a few teams "abused" it? In my mind, how do you abuse a fifth visit when the old way had no limit? YMMV.

[Boomcoach]

For #1, I would prefer they eliminate the runners lane entirely. Make the throw from the catcher to 1st like every other throw, the thrower's job to not hit the runner. The runner's lane forces an unnatural path for many batters, it confuses a lot of people. Get rid of it.

As for speed of play, I really do not get the DVR part. It sounds like it is addressing the completely opposite issue.

I also don't understand putting "outlawing defensive strategy, "three true outcomes" as dogma" into the same sentence, as the point of getting rid of the shift was to get away from the three true outcomes mentality. I get that anything that happens under Manfred is something you hate, and I get that, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Personally, I liked the faster pace last year. I will admit that my attention span has gotten shorter for sports. I lose interest in football games pretty quickly. Baseball had also gotten so slow that I found my mind wandering more and more. Last year was an improvement.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

I can pause live TV anytime. It's part of modern technology.

*************
Do that between innings while the endless advertisements are running.

The "commercial skip" button (now called "preview") is also part of "modern technology". It's been around since Bill Clinton was in office. Just so you know.

What's that you say? Yer fancy-schmancy streaming service won't let you skip the ads?? Gee, I guess you should have stuck with a Digital Video Recorder (which is rather different from a Video Cassette Recorder, hence the "Digital" in the name), after all, then.

It's cool you love your "modern technology", but as discussed above, I actually am allowed to dissent.

(Watching ads??? In 2024? My [amazed] sympathies.)

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Boomcoach

. I also don't understand putting "outlawing defensive strategy, "three true outcomes" as dogma" into the same sentence, as the point of getting rid of the shift was to get away from the three true outcomes mentality.

I was listing things about Manfred-ball that I dislike. If one contradicts another, they can still both be bad.

I was not aware that outlawing Cap Anson-era strategy was intended to cure the decade-long Kris Bryantization of the game, although I can see the logic for advancing that argument. I'm not sure that the cure for "hey, numbskull, why don't you try hitting where the shift isn't?" is to outlaw the shift, though. That seems more likely to bless the "launch angle" non-thinking by letting the occasional topped roller through.

Was there a notable decline in whiff rate last season? I haven't heard. (Anecdotally, last year what the first time I started to call Pete Alonso "Kingman", but I know you need more than anecdotal "evidence".)

get that anything that happens under Manfred is something you hate, and I get that, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.

OTOH, I don't see any reason to accuse me of unthinking bias. If Manfred makes a positive change, I'll take notice.

For example, I am very glad he got rid fo the 7-inning games for doubleheaders. I just didn't give him much credit, as that was his brain fart in the first place. But I noticed.

I promise, if Rob ever brings back 2019 baseball (before Dom Smith's walk-off ended the Last Mets Game Ever), I will at least credit him with realizing his mistake…right before I ask what took him so long??

[rudel.dietrich]

I have said this like 5 times now, but I will continue to say it to anyone who felt like the pace of play was not a huge issue for the sport.

The stuff they cut out, was not baseball, it was the stuff in between baseball than 99.999% of the dwindling fan base did not care about.

And if you have the time to watch a longer game 6 nights a week, then now you have the time to squeeze in an extra game since almost 30 minutes was cut from every game.

For those of us with jobs, kids and are not yet retired, this was a godsend.
I watched more baseball last year than the previous 5 years combined.


And since most of the people who are against these changes are staunch traditionalists, a 3 hour game was by no means traditional.

It steadily rose in the late 80s and 90s and by the 2010s had become out of control.

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

What does watching baseball have to do with being slave to a clock?

VCR? What do I need a VCR for? Prior to last season I could go to the bathroom after a pitch and then come back, and the pitcher and catcher are still deciding what pitch to throw next, either that or the batter hasn't finished re-adjusting his batting gloves. Besides, I don't need a VCR to pause the TV, I can pause live TV anytime. It's part of modern technology. I don't get your point at all. Pausing the game makes it even longer.

Slave to a clock? I'm retired, not a slave to a clock. I'm just more appreciate of the time I have left and find good ways to spread it around.

Go to the bathroom or get a refreshment? Do that between innings while the endless advertisements are running.

Me, I'm glad they got rid of the unnecessary delays.

Football and basketball have clocks, for a reason. Speeds the game up, and keeps fans in the game.

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

I have said this like 5 times now, but I will continue to say it to anyone who felt like the pace of play was not a huge issue for the sport.

The stuff they cut out, was not baseball, it was the stuff in between baseball than 99.999% of the dwindling fan base did not care about.

And if you have the time to watch a longer game 6 nights a week, then now you have the time to squeeze in an extra game since almost 30 minutes was cut from every game.

For those of us with jobs, kids and are not yet retired, this was a godsend.
I watched more baseball last year than the previous 5 years combined.


And since most of the people who are against these changes are staunch traditionalists, a 3 hour game was by no means traditional.

It steadily rose in the late 80s and 90s and by the 2010s had become out of control.

If you ever watched The Human Rain Delay, you can appreciate the modern game.

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

What does watching baseball have to do with being slave to a clock?

VCR? What do I need a VCR for? Prior to last season I could go to the bathroom after a pitch and then come back, and the pitcher and catcher are still deciding what pitch to throw next, either that or the batter hasn't finished re-adjusting his batting gloves. Besides, I don't need a VCR to pause the TV, I can pause live TV anytime. It's part of modern technology. I don't get your point at all. Pausing the game makes it even longer.

Slave to a clock? I'm retired, not a slave to a clock. I'm just more appreciate of the time I have left and find good ways to spread it around.

Go to the bathroom or get a refreshment? Do that between innings while the endless advertisements are running.

Me, I'm glad they got rid of the unnecessary delays.

I'm quite pleased at the changes that speed the game up. For us in Cleveland, watching Guardians relief pitcher James Karinchak twitching and fidgeting and rocking back and forth and tossing the ball from his glove hand to his throwing hand over and over was torture. Throw the ball, son! Get the guy out! Ditto with Jose Ramirez stepping back and adjusting his batting gloves after each and every pitch. Ditto with pitchers throwing to first several times. Throw strikes and get the batter out!

One reason I like shorter games is so the wife and I can actually attend games and get home at a reasonable hour. To get to a game we drive to the train station, take the train downtown, pass through an overhead walkway to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, and go out a door to Progressive Field. We feel safer leaving downtown at 9:30 pm than at 10:30 pm.

I don't have a DVR, at least I don't think I do. But I'm certainly not going to bother to pause the game every time I step away from the TV. I will just go to the refrigerator between innings, and skip all the commercials with people dancing and singing because of their diabetes medicine or colon cancer screening kits.

[Amazin69]

Good for y'all. I can zoom through an entire 4-5 minute ad-break with a few taps in a grand total of 13 seconds (never hearing a word from the good scam artists at Pfizer), and I don't have to get out of my chair every 3 outs to avoid the ads. I go to refrigerator/the bathroom/feed the cat/whatever whenever I want, for however long I want. (Well, 90 minutes' worth of pause time, anyhow.)

Heck, if the Kings are playing like crap (remember, I'm not watching Manfred-ball these days), I can go into my video library and cue up my favorite episodes of Star Trek or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Law & Order and take a break before I go back to the game, exactly where I left it.

To quote Ultron (because I have most of my favorite MCU flicks in there, too), "There are no strings on me." Enjoy running to the fridge to dodge the latest promo for whatever idiocy is on Bravo. I'll just sit and pet my cat, tyvm.

(As for the whole pace-of-play issue, it's been noted that the players policed themselves once the umps got on their ass…which the umps have had Taylor Swift's entire life to do, since there are no "new rules" about pace, just better enforcement. So forgive me if I don't claim this is some brilliant innovation and encourage Manfred to keep battering the game into an unrecognizable mess.

Hey, why don't we bring back 1887 rules? 3 balls, 2 strikes, like they do in some softball leagues. Bound to speed things up, right? [/eyeroll])

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

Football and basketball have clocks, for a reason. Speeds the game up, and keeps fans in the game.

Ironically these sports have useless clocks, since they are stopped all. the. time. Friend tried to get me into hoops a while back, y'know, the sport with quarters of 12, 15, 25, and 45 minutes.

Meanwhile soccerball, which doesn't *stop* the clock, is going the other way, with "injury time" getting increasingly more out of control. A 45-minute half is like 53 minutes now.

[Boomcoach]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Meanwhile soccerball, which doesn't *stop* the clock, is going the other way, with "injury time" getting increasingly more out of control. A 45-minute half is like 53 minutes now.

The point of the additional added time is to cut down on time-wasting strategies. The target is to have a specific amount of "ball in play" time. I would much rather do it with the additional time at the end, than with a stop-start clock.