OOTP Is it too late?

[texasmame]

Originally Posted by Padreman

I thought that buttom was for the coach not the catcher

It is.

[Jerry Helper]

The real reason games are getting longer is the amount of relief pitchers. You get 5 or 6 pitchers every game, and that includes the first pitcher leaving, the next guy coming in, warming up for 5 minutes. And the sad part is, it's probably only going to be getting worse with people pushing bullpenning so hard. Get ready for 10 pitchers every night

[Eugene Church]

Come on, MLB and Players Association, work together on getting more action into baseball... I have heard that there is only 5-6 minutes of action in a baseball game (ball in play)... compare that to the NFL and NBA... HANDS DOWN, THEY WHOOP MLB'S BEHIND... remember, 40 years ago BASEBALL USED TO BE AMERICA'S GREAT PASTIME.

The NFL and NBA take actions to improve the entertainment content of their sports... MLB is ridiculously slow and archaic to make changes.

Here are my recommendations... they will offend the purists ... but they will speed up the game and give the fans more action... WITHOUT AFFECTING THE BASIC GAME.

1. Pitch Clock... as Spartacus showed in his excellent link, this might cut down 30 minutes in a game.

2. Cut one 30-second spot per break... just charge more for the others to make up the revenue... this cuts about 10 minutes a game.

And now EC gets lowdown and nasty and messes with the glorious rules of baseball, which is total and absolute heresy to the purists.

3. 3-BALL, 2-STRIKE RULE

20 years ago I got a slow-pitch softball league to change it rules so that we could play more innings... we had a 1 hour and 10 minute time limit... we rarely played more than 5 innings.. we changed the rules to 3 BALLS AND 2 STRIKES... also a 2-strike foul was a THIRD STRIKE.

This 3-ball, 2-strike rule GREATLY SPEEDED UP THE GAME WITHOUT CHANGING THE BASIC GAME OF SOFTBALL AND ITS STRATEGY.

We almost always got to play 7 innings with the new rule... and sometimes could play 1 or 2 more extra innings, if needed... the purists totally opposed this move initially, but it worked so well, everybody in the league loved the change... hey, man... we got to play more softball.

The 3-Ball, 2-Strike rule would definitely create MORE ACTION as players would not be able to take so many pitches... the smart batter would have to hit the first strike he got... they would not want to get a 2-strike count for fear of fouling the ball and striking out.

It would definitely SPEED UP THE GAME... probably cut 30-45 minutes off the game time.

If MLB made these changes, it would cut AT LEAST AN HOUR OFF THE TOTAL GAME TIME... POSSIBLY MORE.

And IT WOULD CREATE MORE ACTION and less dead time.

And IT WOULDN'T DESTROY THE GAME... strategy would have to be adjusted, but the game would still be about the same.

Wouldn't it be great to have more action at a baseball games instead of the endless and useless delays and dead time they have now.

WE JUST MIGHT SEE A REJUVENATED GAME... AND THE RETURN OF THE 2-HOUR BASEBALL GAME.

I am a baseball fan, but it really got tedious to watch 4-hour games in the playoffs last year... average fans won't watch long games like that.

[texasmame]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

And now EC gets lowdown and nasty and messes with the glorious rules of baseball, which is total and absolute heresy to the purists.

3. 3-BALL, 2-STRIKE RULE.

This actually made my heart hurt for a moment.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

If MLB made these changes, it would cut AT LEAST AN HOUR OFF THE TOTAL GAME TIME... POSSIBLY MORE.

I think you have to find the right balance, and cutting off an hour more of the total game time might be a bit much. From a fan-watching-on-tv perspective, I want things relatively quick & snappy. However, when I go to a game, I'm always a bit dismayed by how fast a game goes by. Especially when attending a minor-league game (which I prefer over the major traffic & parking hassles, not to mention high prices, of MLB), I like relaxing in-between innings (or during pitching changes), talking with the wife or kids or friends, soaking in the atmosphere, with a cold one in my paw.

Also, if you only slightly reduce the length of the commercial break between-innings, but drastically reduce the rest, you've drastically increased the ratio of commercials-to-gametime... Not sure that would be a desired outcome.

That all said, I have zero problem with ideas 1 & 2. More than anything, though, I'm hoping that over time we'll see a reversion to the pitching staff management philosophies of the 70's & 80's where aces & other good SP's weren't necessarily overworked, but were expected to routinely get into the late innings... IMO, Bullpen-centric baseball stinks (and not just because it cost the Dodgers the WS.)

[itsmb8]

Do people really want a baseball game to be an hour and a half? Nobody would go to games, why pay for a game and take so much time driving and everything just to leave an hour and a half later?

I must be in the minority, but I like 3 hour games...

[Matt Arnold]

Originally Posted by itsmb8

Do people really want a baseball game to be an hour and a half? Nobody would go to games, why pay for a game and take so much time driving and everything just to leave an hour and a half later?

I must be in the minority, but I like 3 hour games...

Yeah, 1:30 might be a bit short, but if you can get games into the 2:20-2:40 range, that would be awesome.

Of course, a lot of the pace of play isn't about raw minutes, but about making sure he action is moving. If something is happening, I'm happy with a 4 hour long game. But I don't want to waste an hour watching a guy fiddle with his gloves from a 3 hour game.

[jockischp]

Originally Posted by Jerry Helper

The real reason games are getting longer is the amount of relief pitchers. You get 5 or 6 pitchers every game, and that includes the first pitcher leaving, the next guy coming in, warming up for 5 minutes. And the sad part is, it's probably only going to be getting worse with people pushing bullpenning so hard. Get ready for 10 pitchers every night

Considering that most teams only carry 7 relievers this will be an interesting twist indeed...

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[garion333]

Shoot, if the NFL was willing to cut out commercials to speed things up you'd think MLB would too.

3 balls, 2 strikes, though, that there would change the record books. It's a complete nonstarter. MLB would play to 10 fans in the stands a night before they even talked about changing balls and strikes rules.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

Yeah, 1:30 might be a bit short, but if you can get games into the 2:20-2:40 range, that would be awesome.

Of course, a lot of the pace of play isn't about raw minutes, but about making sure he action is moving. If something is happening, I'm happy with a 4 hour long game. But I don't want to waste an hour watching a guy fiddle with his gloves from a 3 hour game.

It used to be great to go to a Mobile Bears' Southern Association game at Hartwell Field or to see the New Orleans Pelicans at Pelican Stadium... game would start at 7:05 pm... and you would be home at 9:30 pm.

Ah... those were the good old days when games didn't drag on... and on... and on... and on and on.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by garion333

Shoot, if the NFL was willing to cut out commercials to speed things up you'd think MLB would too.

3 balls, 2 strikes, though, that there would change the record books. It's a complete nonstarter. MLB would play to 10 fans in the stands a night before they even talked about changing balls and strikes rules.

This rule wouldn't change any important records that I know of.

I haven't decided whether the pitchers will have an advantage or if the batters will have an advantage... I think each would have an advantage and they would cancel each other out.

The 3-Ball, 2-Strike Rule didn't affect the slow-pitch softball stats very much in the league I played in... it just gave the teams a chance to play more innings in the 1 hour and 10 minutes time limit.

You are right... MLB would never consider 3 Balls and 2 Strikes... Hell will freeze over and pigs will fly before they do anything positive for the game... but I guarantee you it would speed up the game and create more action... and this would please a lot of fans... baseball would be a much more exciting game to watch... defenders would have to be ready for each pitch because things would happen quicker.

MLB could run test games in the fall leagues or perhaps spring training and see what would happen and how the game strategy and stats are affected... sure would be worth a try.

I think you could run a test of 15 or 20 full-length games and get a good idea of whether it would work or not.

Or they could pay one of the independent leagues $1,000,000 to run it for a season.

[jockischp]

Is the game really struggling enough to warrant changes though? Seems to me the teams are bringing in extremely large tv deals and have plenty of money to pay salaries and make a profit.

I would be more in favor of going to 154 games before changing how the game is played.

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[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jockischp

Is the game really struggling enough to warrant changes though? Seems to me the teams are bringing in extremely large tv deals and have plenty of money to pay salaries and make a profit.

I would be more in favor of going to 154 games before changing how the game is played.

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No, the game is thriving financially... but it costs you an arm and a leg to go to a game... ticket prices are way too high... same thing for concessions... games are too long... and actually kind of boring to me in general... not enough contact hitters... too many strikeouts... and down the road MLB needs to create interest in future fans, who will want a more action-packed game... baseball is dull to many young people... they prefer the NFL and NBA.

Many analysts say the game is turning into "Home Run, Walk, or K game"... many are frustrated with using so many pitchers in the game and batters taking so many pitches... saying the game doesn't have enough action and is too slow-moving and boring... pretty soon we're gonna be going to the bullpen in the 4th or 5th inning and teams will have to carry 15 pitchers on the rosters.

I don't think I will ever go to another MLB game... my wife and I spend $100 per game just for the tickets in recent years... and that's for poor seats... good seats behind dugouts cost $100 or more... from where we sit, the players look like little fleas running around on the field... I stop getting concessions five years ago... my wife still has to have a hot dog, coke and a candy at each game... this costs $20.

Thank goodness, we have finished our tour of all the MLB ballparks... we saw about 35 of them over the past 15 years.

Don't think we will go to any MLB parks in the future... we will stick strictly to minor league games, where you never get a bad seat.

I still think speeding up the game would rejuvenate MLB for most of the fans... hope it happens.

[r0nster]

wouldn't change much in the game if anything most sports games go 3 hours anyways. Time would be cut by shortening commercials of which keeps getting longer and longer of which adds up during a given game. Take a look at spring training the games are much shorter due to fewer commercials and when no TV or radio game goes something like 2 hours. I know in reality that wont be cut for that's revenue for league and teams. Baseball is a game that has no clock and should remain so.

[Crowbar]

Originally Posted by r0nster

...wouldn't change much in the game if anything most sports games go 3 hours anyways....

Football (as in, 'soccer', but where I am born I refuse to call it anything else than Football) would like to have a word with you. We in Europe would cry ourselves to death if a football game would take 3 hours each.

I think part of the reason why football is getting more popular in the USA is because it takes far less time to watch a full match. Even with the half-time break. There is just no way to abuse ads every few minutes as would be possible in MLB and NFL.

I was born with football on tv, and I have spent time to watch both MLB and NFL matches. But my stamina wasn't just able to handle the amount of stops, and the general lack of real gameplay in comparison. Only in video games am I able to handle it, because I am the boss of the gameplay.

[Orioles1966]

If relief pitchers are all warmed up when they come into a game then why do they get 8 more warm up pitches?

[Padreman]

Originally Posted by Orioles1966

If relief pitchers are all warmed up when they come into a game then why do they get 8 more warm up pitches?

Yeah your right huh? Maybe Get into a rhythm with the catcher?

[low]

Originally Posted by Orioles1966

If relief pitchers are all warmed up when they come into a game then why do they get 8 more warm up pitches?

Right! Along with limiting mound visits and making the strike zone bigger not much else needs to be done, IMO. Those three things alone would speed up the game just fine.

[Calvert98]

Both Eugene and Itsm sort of hit on what I think are related issues: MLB is simply not doing things that build a base of consumers.

I’m not saying that some things shouldn’t change in the pace-of-play arena (such as the replay process) but in a world full of things competing for people’s attention, building, growing and keeping connections with a dedicated consumer-base, should be a priority, and making significant changes to the game isn’t going to do it; you just risk alienating a number of your current base of fans.

Right now, they are trying to take the “easy-way” and it likely won’t work. They need to market the sport and build connections in order grow the consumer base: pitch-clocks and such won’t do that.

Building those connections will require vision, creativity, resources, some grit, and a bit of bravery on the part of MLB.

[Calvert98]

And by the way, I do think the sport will be fine in the Future (that seems somewhat opposite of what I posted, but that's what I think); and sorry for contributing to the off-topic posts.