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Post by noetsi on Mar 20, 2022 12:28:12 GMT -5
Those who follow the NFL know that they have made many rule changes over the years to increase parity and to improve the offense's chances. Major rules changes included. MLB has refused on the theory that one should not interfere with the game (ignoring that the game now bears no resemblance to the game in the glory years of baseball when hitting was far better). I think the NFL gains, and baseball loses, many fans this way especially younger fans. So I propose two rules that would in many respects restore the game to what baseball was like before say 1960. First limit the number of pitchers on a team to 8 (which means they would have to pitch more and one inning pitchers would be a thing of the past). Second make the shift illegal. I was going to suggest a five ball walk rule to discourage walks, but knew I would get no takers.  |
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 20, 2022 12:35:58 GMT -5
The shift rule will probably happen next year. However, you would definitely have a problem with the MLBPA if you tried to eliminate roughly 150 pitching jobs.
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Post by rizzuto on Mar 20, 2022 13:06:15 GMT -5
So much of the change in baseball is directly tied to over-coaching mechanics of hitting and pitching and under-coaching fundamentals and playing the game as it should be played.
Inger just made reference in a post today about Jim Palmer making a failed comeback in 1991. "While working out at the University of Miami during his comeback attempt, Palmer was approached by Miami assistant coach Lazaro Collazo. Collazo reportedly told him, "You'll never get into the Hall of Fame with those mechanics." "I'm already in the Hall of Fame," Palmer replied.
The lessons of over-coaching mechanics rather than the game can be seen most recently in the Yankee prospect Deivi Garcia, who essentially just needed more time on the water to become a master fisherman. Now, he is hanging on the side of the boat and cannot consistently throw the ball in the ocean.
Who teaches youngsters to be hard throwing relievers in little league, rather than teaching them how to negotiate a lineup and to pitch to batters by evaluating the stance presented in the batter's box? Everyone in the former, no one in the latter!
Why cannot major leaguers run the bases? Why can't MLB players bunt? How can you play little league, high school ball, college ball and/or minor league ball and still not know where to be on the diamond defensively? It's all about fundamentals and coaching.
The game can be great again, if kids are taught that baseball is a game of skill and constant repetition, not a one-size-fits-all swing plane and throwing motion.
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Post by inger on Mar 20, 2022 13:30:56 GMT -5
Baseball has had many eras of pitching dominance and has survived them. Sometimes the way the dominance was corrected was rule changes, or equipment changes. We had the dead ball era. Ruth ushered in the golden age, when offensive records were set. By the 1960s numbers had slid worse than they have today and the mound was lowered.
Baseball tore a page out of the NFL’s manual when they ignored drug use in the 70’s-80’s, then they tried a juiced ball, followed by juiced players, and now back to the juiced ball. Sometimes.
Your claim that baseball has been allowed to stagnate shows that you have an attention deficit. The sport has reacted in several ways, and has made mistakes in doing so.
Your darling NFL has also lost fans. I don’t watch anymore because the too-lenient rules have over-encouraged throwing the ball over running and because defense has become too restricted. Many no longer watch because they don’t like the political demonstrations that the league accepts. I don’t either, but that alone wouldn’t stop me from tuning in.
All sports go through changes as offenses catch up with defenses and Vice versa.
Back to the 8-man pitching staff. When I was growing up it was common to have 9-10 pitchers on a team. There were several pinch hitters, runners, and late inning defensive players available. I think a wise GM and field manager might notice that the benches are now too short and start to make the revision back to counteract all the pitching changes by having extra bats on the bench to discourage those marginal relievers that dominate only same-hand hitters that can’t be pinch hit for. It’s like Mary had a little lamb. Leave them alone, and they will come home. I can almost guarantee you that if we could dig up Billy Martin, he would never allow a twelve man pitching staff, much less thirteen. He’d spot that fault in his opposing dugouts right away.
I sort of like the shift ban. While the shift was a smart play for teams and managers, it does get away from they way the game was originally drawn up. Fielders always “shifted” but marginally. Let’s see how it works out before we declare that a success…
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Post by noetsi on Mar 20, 2022 13:41:19 GMT -5
It shows that I pay attention to batting averages over time. Perhaps they were worse in the sixties than now, I doubt that. I don't think there is much evidence that hitting at any point since 1960 (as compared to 1900-1960) has caught up. Runs scored has, maybe, not hitting. Try to imagine someone trying to approach .400 again. It was Done multiple times before 1950. We will have to disagree again inger, including the relative popularity of football and baseball and whether most Americans prefer a league dominated by pitching or hitting.  I think fewer pitchers means more tired pitchers means more hits. |
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Post by inger on Mar 20, 2022 14:02:38 GMT -5
It shows that I pay attention to batting averages over time. Perhaps they were worse in the sixties than now, I doubt that. I don't think there is much evidence that hitting at any point since 1960 (as compared to 1900-1960) has caught up. Runs scored has, maybe, not hitting. Try to imagine someone trying to approach .400 again. It was Done multiple times before 1950. We will have to disagree again inger, including the relative popularity of football and baseball and whether most Americans prefer a league dominated by pitching or hitting. I think fewer pitchers means more tired pitchers means more hits. It depends on the pitcher. How many hitters would have loved to see Tom Seaver, Sandy Koufax, or Randy Johnson take a seat in the sixth inning? Even now as I watch certain pitchers against us, I rejoice in the pitch count because I know somebody, anybody will be coming in soon… |
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Post by inger on Mar 20, 2022 14:04:46 GMT -5
It shows that I pay attention to batting averages over time. Perhaps they were worse in the sixties than now, I doubt that. I don't think there is much evidence that hitting at any point since 1960 (as compared to 1900-1960) has caught up. Runs scored has, maybe, not hitting. Try to imagine someone trying to approach .400 again. It was Done multiple times before 1950. We will have to disagree again inger, including the relative popularity of football and baseball and whether most Americans prefer a league dominated by pitching or hitting. I think fewer pitchers means more tired pitchers means more hits. And no. I will not look up the 1968 team batting averages despite your clever little hint. Believe me, they were similar and some a bit lower. And with less home runs, so runs were very scarce… |
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Post by noetsi on Mar 20, 2022 17:50:44 GMT -5
I don't think it makes sense to compare one year to one year. A decade at least.
The AL thought hitting was so bad in the sixties to have the DH. It only took the NL half a century to follow.
Well in reality, and this lagged football by decades, there really is not a NL and AL as entities. They are finally becoming one league.
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