It's officially that time in baseball season where sports writers write articles with a bunch of ideas on how to fix Major League Baseball's two biggest issues. None of those ideas will be taken seriously by the MLB but some of them should. So Josh and I started talking about what they can try to solve their two big problems:
1. Make the games faster
2. Keeps fans interest
The best way to keep fans interested is to improve scoring. I have noticed that the games that go faster have more scoring. Partially because there aren't extra innings. Focusing on batters stepping out of the box and pitchers taking a while to actually throw the ball help. But that only gives you 5 - 10 minutes back. That doesn't help in a game lasting over three hours and fifteen minutes. Rules to encourage higher scorings make a big difference in fan interest for the NHL, the NFL, and the NBA. It's become a pitcher's game but that gets frustrating for fans.
1. Add a 10th batter.
It's the best of both worlds. The pitcher bats in both leagues and both leagues have Designated Hitters. It reduces injuries in AL pitchers if they are trained for being batters as well. It also evens up the chances for the World Series.
2. Hit by pitch is 2nd base not first.
That runner in scoring position threat might make pitchers aim better. It also leads to more RBI opportunities.
3. Extra run point Home Runs.
If a batter hits a home run, their team gets credit for each player scored run plus a bonus run. 2 runs for 1 player, 3 for 2 players, ect....... and 5 for grand slams.
4. No second baseman
The short stop usually get the on base outs anyway. The first baseman can get more balls. This leads to more players on second base. Scoring position. There are still opportunities to get them out. But it increases RBI opportunities.
5. Extra Inning Home Run Derby
I got this idea from the below article. After the 10th inning go to HR derby mode until you get a winner. The pitcher can still be from the opposing team but he has to be fresh from the bullpen. As in, brand new to the game!
6. Non-adjustable strike zone
Different umpires have different strike zones. I say the strike zone should be defined as in front of the catchers chest pads. At least it would be the same size for all players!
I think most of these ideas would be easy to implement! It's important to limit stall time for pitchers and batters alike. However, these are ideas that would make a difference in speeding up the game. At minimum it makes it more interesting to watch and the time goes faster!
http://www.aol.com/article/2015/04/24/2-point-lead-five-ways-to-radically-change-baseball/21176314/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl14%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D272219900
That's the article I read that got us talking. A couple of my base ideas come from this article. But my ideas expand on the author's ideas. For example, he doesn't specify pitcher rules for a home run derby. I have read a lot of "fixing baseball" articles and like most of his ideas. The only one I don't like is the three pitcher maximum rule. What if the third pitcher gets injured? Mixing and matching pitchers with batters doesn't happen that much. It's most likely to happen in September with a playoff push.
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