"We believe these changes to extra innings will enhance the fans' enjoyment of the game and will become something that the fans will look forward to on nights where the game is tied late in the contest," NAPBL President Pat O'Conner said in a statement.
"Player safety has been an area of growing concern for our partners at the Major League Baseball level, and the impact that lengthy extra innings games has on pitchers, position players and an entire organization was something that needed to be addressed."
March 16, 2018
"Extra innings throughout the minor leagues will start with a runner at second base."
The NYT reports.
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56 comments:
Joking, of course. -- Rorschach
If any sport could handle games ending in ties, it's baseball.
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There's been some interesting discussion about this rule in some of my baseball groups. The player placed on 2b at the start of an extra inning is the last player to make an out in the previous inning.
What if you have a fast, light-hitting player is up to bat with two outs and nobody in the bottom of the 9th, game tied? Should that player make an intentional out.
No. But once that player is on base, it makes a lot of sense to have him attempt to steal second and possibly even attempt to steal on every pitch.
Geez, are they also going to fly the old Soviet flag?
Next step will reduce the number of innings to six like little league.
Just put in a pitcher who won't throw hard. It goes high scoring, ends quickly, and saves the pitcher's arm.
"We believe these changes to extra innings will enhance the fans' enjoyment of the game and will become something that the fans will look forward to"
Do the folks who engage in such spin really believe the crap coming out of their mouths?
Why is it that everywhere you go, on every level these days, you have these infuriating lying POSs?
Strangely, I don't think this is a bad idea. Except that I would make him a pinch runner off the bench.
I'd like to think of myself as a purist, but having covered games that last 12, 13, 14 innings, I am all for the change being extended to college, National U18 teams, etc. Nothing saps your appreciation for the game more than sitting around for 4 hours watching outfielders pitch (which is usually what happens when the pitchers hit their limit).
Do the folks who engage in such spin really believe the crap coming out of their mouths?
I don't think anyone goes to a baseball game saying "I sure hope this goes into extra innings!"
If you take your kids to a game that goes into extra innings, you're going to leave around the top of the 10th anyway.
Hockey and Soccer have shootouts. They are kind of an offense to the spirit of those games, but they do make for highlights.
This idea, btw, isn't really new. It's been used in international baseball and fast-pitch softball for years:
https://www.mister-baseball.com/ibaf-introduces-extra-inning-tie-breaker/
https://www.livestrong.com/article/428245-rules-on-international-tiebreakers-in-womens-fastpitch-softball/
It’s softball crap. I hate it. Of course if it was up to me we (umpires) would be wearing pale blue button up shirts.
What's the old (Ann Richards?) line about being born on third base and thinking you hit a triple? Somehow that seems appropriate here.
This is a silly change. But then, the last time I paid to view a game was...hmmmm....probably in the 1980s. Still, I don't think seeing an extra inning is ever something to which fans look forward.
My stated position is that I would prefer ties.
But I can't fault MLB for trying this out in the minors.
The same rule is used in modern dates.
I hate the idea of this, but, when I do attend a game (about once a year), I'm ready to go by the 9th inning. More innings is not a bonus.
Now that we're not living in NY with it's two major league teams, we go to see the Pelicans down in Myrtle Beach, so maybe we'll get to see this in action. Got tickets for a game in April, so we'll see.
They can find other ways to speed up games, like enforcing rules about time between pitches, between innings. Limit batters' "time outs" where they step out of the box and scratch themselves. Fifty years ago games were usually a bit over two hours, sometimes less.
I used to tease soccer/football fans because a long game, with many skilled players and complex strategies devised by coaches, could be settled by a penalty kick: one striker, one goalkeeper. Now I absolutely love overtime in the NHL: first a three-on-three, sudden death in that the first goal wins. Amazing to see those powerful athletes skating closer to full out, handling the puck. Then if still tied: shoot-out, because frankly the game has gone on long enough.
They're not really trying to speed up games - the amount of time devoted to extra innings is negligible in the course of the season. "Pace of play" is a cover for everything from the current mania to use the whole bullpen in every game to owners' desire not to pay ushers and parking attendants an extra hour of work.
New phrase for entitled rich kids: "He was placed on second base in extra innings and acts like he hit a double."
Why does somebody have to win and somebody have to lose ? Isn't it enough to have participated ? Maybe after 9 innings they should all just join hands and sing two choruses of Kumbaya.
I'm more of a baseball purist. Don't like this change. Don't like the timers. Certainly don't like the automatic base on balls without throwing four actual pitches; sometimes weird things happen, like a wild pitch, passed ball, or maybe a batter reaching out on one thrown too close to the plate and getting wood on the ball. Have never liked the DH in the AL either, takes away what is sometimes a critical late-inning decision in a close game, whether to let a pitcher having a few good innings go to bat or put in a pinch hitter, hoping to get a man on base. I can still remember in 1966, the Braves first season in Atlanta, when pitcher Tony Cloninger hit 2 grand slams and got 9 RBIs in a game against the Giants at Candlestick. Could still happen in the NL, but probably will never seen a pitcher with a hitting performance like that in the AL since the DH usually takes the pitcher out of the hitting rotation.
Next give the players pads and allowed full contact when running the /stealing bases. After that award an extra run for really long home runs.
Sounds like a viable idea. People have things to do and places to go. And ties stink.
78. Baseball fan since the Texas League started up after WW2. Glad I’m 78 and don’t have watch the Mookies wreck baseball.
Then again, baseball is what it is: a slow, low-scoring game. It's not basketball.
If you shrunk the diamond to 40% its present size and played with a wiffle ball the game would play faster and scores would be higher. And never again would a batter be injured if hit by a pitch. But, you'd have to call off the game when it got too windy.
When this rule is used in a crucial World Series game, the outrage will be incredible.
"Then again, baseball is what it is: a slow, low-scoring game."
So? One of the greatest games I ever saw, in any sport, was in the late 60s in Atlanta between the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals. Bob Gibson, one of the greatest pitchers ever, threw a complete game, 1-0 victory for the Cards and struck out about 14-15 batters. One of the most dominating performances I ever saw and I have never forgotten it. I have also seen a number of great college football games that were 6-3, 6-0, or 7-6. The score has nothing to do with how great a game can be.
Also, adding on to my earlier comment about the DH, if that had existed 100 years ago Babe Ruth would probably have been known only as a great pitcher and not as the greatest player and one of the greatest hitters of all time.
All of these crazy rule changes are diminishing baseball, not helping it.
I certainly wouldn't want this in the Majors. But Minor League, sure, why not? Sounds like fun. Does anybody really want to see a 15 inning march of doom in the Minors?
If you don't like the length of the game, with or without extra innings, just shut if off and do something else when your attention wanes. Personally I'm only good for about 2 1/2 hours of professional sports watching, max. I'm not usually around for the extra innings, unless it is a playoff game.
-sw
So the record for the longest game is virtually guaranteed to stand for eternity.
Maybe they should all just wear dresses.
The bit about the strain on the players is total horseshit and the people telling us this know it. As for the fans, nothing prevents you from leaving (or stop watching) the game anytime you want or need to. This is all about the broadcasters who have found baseball hard to program around due to the variance in game lengths. Honesty is basically a lost virtue in our society, and this rule change is a travesty to the game itself.
Rockateer,
Thanks for that- I had never heard of him, but Dallas Williams' 0 for 13 in that game has to be a record for batting futility in professional baseball.
The pro reason with the most merit is that extended extra inning games are hell on a bullpen and possibly the starting rotation if a starter is called upon. If extended extra inning games started becoming more and more frequent, then a conversation is definitely needed.
If this is about games already taking too long, MLB has been going about this all wrong for some time. Shrinking the strike zone has meant more unfavorable counts, which lead to more walks and more hittable pitches. If MLB really has gone about juicing the baseball (once allegedly in the 90s, and allegedly last year, also), then that will also lead to longer games.
I'm not sure MLB is all that worried about how long games go, because the Yanks and Red Sox were always featured on ESPN (is that what we should name the new network that is the result of a merger between YES and NESN?), and those two teams were involved in by far the longest games on average. I get the occasional gamesmanship move by stepping out of the batter's box just as the pitcher is getting ready to throw, but I'm seeing this abused too often. Too many guys want to be the next Mike Hargrove.
Anyway, there are other things MLB could do to speed up ballgames. Extra innings are a part of the tradition of baseball. I don't want to watch a 15 inning marathon every night, but once in a while can be interesting. Variety is a selling point of baseball. One game can be 1-0, and take just over 2 hours, and the next night it's 13-9 and takes almost 4 hours.
Average game times have gone up way too high.
MLB needs to get this under control.
Trout and Kershaw don’t take as long between pitches as the Number 8 hitter on the Phillies and the Padres 5th starter.
Ump needs to start calling delays on hitters and pitchers who are below average. Learn to hit or pitch on your own time.
Teams that suck get 4 pitching changes a game.
Why not start each inning with runners on bases?
Why not send runners to 2nd base on a walk?
Why not use a metal bat?
Why not?
Because that isn't baseball, its a joke.
Reminds me of “Is one trip to the free-throw line enough?”
“A player fouled in the act of shooting or in a penalty situation would attempt only a single free throw. If that player was shooting a 2-point shot or in a penalty situation at the time of the foul, the free throw attempt would be worth two points. If that player was fouled in the act of launching a 3-point shot, he’d go to the line for a single shot worth three points.”
After four pitching changes, the manager should have to pitch.
And for gods sake, put the DH in the National League.
There are too many NL pitching changes and double switches. It’s ridiculous.
The strategy is pointless. The Astros beat the Dodgers twice in Dodger stadium in last years World Series and the Dodgers won 1 of the three games in Houston.
Rinse and repeat throughout World Series since 1973.
The DH is a great rule. Pitchers can’t hit for shit in MLB and aren’t expected to. And utility players are utility players because they aren’t as good as starters.
The better team, AL or NL, always wins the World Series and the AL has won over 300 more games than the NL in inter league play since 1997.
They crush them in the All Star game this century.
Other than integrating MLB, the DH is the best change ever made, followed closely by inter league play.
Traditions should be honored as long as they still make sense.
If you need four pitchers during 9 innings then your team isn’t good.
David Price makes $30 million a year.
He should have to pitch 7 innings every fifth game as long as he is healthy.
"Does anybody really want to see a 15 inning march of doom in the Minors?"
YES!!! Because the players are still far away from perfecting ALL the skills necessary to play the game, the minors are "anything can happen" ball. Your march of doom phrase could not be more wrong. I personally watched the Fort Wayne Wizards give up four runs in the top of the 14th, and come back to win in the bottom. As I said to my companion in the middle of the inning, "hey, it could happen."
"If you need four pitchers during 9 innings then your team isn’t good."
Worked for the Royals, '14 and '15. It was a great system with the right personnel.
MLB needs to make Mark Buehrle in charge of speeding up the pitchers.
And get someone like former ump Mark Hirschbeck to speed up the hitters.
The all time greats didn’t take this long between pitches.
If Mantle can stay in the box and hit, then any hitter in today’s game can. If Gibson or Koufax didn’t need 20 seconds between pitches then David Price doesn’t either.
MLB is entertainment. That’s why these guys make millions s year to play a game they played for free when they were kids.
Speed the game up, boys.
The Royals lost in game 7 of the 2014 Workd Series. At home.
Bumgarner mowed them down that entire series. Made the Royals moms cry.
One pitcher.
One terrific pitcher is 3 wins in a World Series.
The 2015 Mets were a fluke. Worst team to make the Series since the 2007 Rockies.
The 2017 Dodgers were better than any World Series winner in the last 20 years except two teams: the 2017 Astros and the 1998 Yankees.
The Royals needed 4 pitchers because their starters were weak. It didn’t work against Bumgarner. One pitcher.
According to
SABR, AL games last five minutes longer on average. It makes sense, because having 9 hitters should score more runs on average than 8 hitters plus a pitcher hitting. I was actually surprised the difference was only 5 minutes on average, I will concede. That said, I grew up on NL baseball, and I'm fine with one league having the DH and the other league not having it. As for the bigger concern about time, DH or no DH is probably further down the list.
mccullough said...
"MLB needs to make Mark Buehrle in charge of speeding up the pitchers.
And get someone like former ump Mark Hirschbeck to speed up the hitters.
The all time greats didn’t take this long between pitches.
If Mantle can stay in the box and hit, then any hitter in today’s game can. If Gibson or Koufax didn’t need 20 seconds between pitches then David Price doesn’t either.
MLB is entertainment. That’s why these guys make millions s year to play a game they played for free when they were kids.
Speed the game up, boys."
I agree with all this. Buehrle vs. Mulder often took under 2 hours. The only people complaining were the advertisers.
This is another preversion of the world because Trump
The first time they pull this crap?
Every, single person in the stadium should get up and walk out.
Repeat as necessary.
Bricap,
On the home games Buehrle pitched, the saying was: Drink Them Early., We’re Pitching Buehrle.
Since beer sales were cut off after the 7th inning, guys we be two-fisting by the fifth inning.
He went to three Buehrle games that lasted just above two hours. It was like going to a movie.
And the man could pitch. He wasn’t Pedro, but he was really good. 14 straight years of 200 plus innings pitched. 214 wins.
A no-hitter. A perfect game. A World Series ring.
This is almost as bad as the designated hitter. Let's hope it stays confined to the minor leagues.
The game is too slow. I hate when a batter takes forever to settle in the batter's box and then steps out again to put some more dust on his hands. Then the pitcher steps off the rubber and the process is repeated. I think if the home plate umpire lightly tasered the batter when he stepped out and the second base umpire employed a similar penalty on the pitcher, the game could be hastened. And, if not, all the fans would be heartened to see their favorite players twching around in the dirt.
George Carlin's politics sucked, but when he avoided that ... he was pretty damn funny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIkqNiBASfI&feature=youtu.be&t=199
Purism aside, a tweak that makes any game end in 3 hours or less is a good thing. My sports fandom has diminished lately because most games just last too damn long. CBB is relatively brief, usually 2 hours or so without OT, that's pretty much all I can stand to watch. I suspect that the MLB, NFL, and others are understanding the effect that shorter attention spans are having on their ratings.
I went to a double header in the '70s where both games went into extra innings Left the stadium after midnight. A long night for sure. The way I looked at it was I got to watch more baseball for the money.
When I saw this post, I had to double check that it was St. Patrick's Day and not April Fools' Day.
PS. If extra innings are too much for today's teams, what shall we do about double headers? (Actually, one solution to a game that has gone on too long is to postpone play until a later date, with the extra innings played as part of a double header.)
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