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[ConfusingJazz]

Haha. That certainly hasn't helped.

Truthfully, I'm more of a Blue Jays fan than an MLB fan. I get bored watching other teams play, because it gets to be so dry.

I think that's true of most fans though. I care about my team, then kinda care about my division if my team is playing for a playoff spot, then give zero shits outside of that.

I don't think any other American sport is as tribal as baseball.

 

[User 479360]

I think that's true of most fans though. I care about my team, then kinda care about my division if my team is playing for a playoff spot, then give zero shits outside of that.

I don't think any other American sport is as tribal as baseball.

True, it does seem that way sometimes. They advertise a lot of out-of-town Sunday and Monday Night Baseball matches between the Yankees and Red Sox, but I could just care less outside of the final result.

I don't just watch the Leafs play hockey, but I don't watch a ton of other games either. There's too much to do.

Then again, that's a much more active and entertaining sport.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

Pitch clock

 

[terrisus]

Haha. That certainly hasn't helped.

Truthfully, I'm more of a Blue Jays fan than an MLB fan. I get bored watching other teams play, because it gets to be so dry.

While I'm primarily a Red Sox fan, I'm a fan of the game in general. As long as the announcers aren't horrible (ESPN, Fox), I could watch (or listen, since I often just have the game on the radio) games from most any team. And, I love watching older/"classic" games.

Also, the 1993 World Series was one of my earlier Baseball memories. I got the old antenna television I had in my room for video games to pick up the signal for the local channel with it on, and watched it through the fuzz and static. Great series.

They advertise a lot of out-of-town Sunday and Monday Night Baseball matches between the Yankees and Red Sox, but I could just care less outside of the final result.

To emphasize again: ESPN and Fox are horrible.
Everyone is fully excused for hating to watch anything on either of those channels.

 

[Cuburt]

7 innings would be a change I could go for. Rather than 7th inning stretch, it's the 7th inning go home. More starting pitchers would probably be able to pitch a full game so I'm not sure if that would be a good or a bad thing, I would think good but it would be a big change to the metagame.

Shorter commercial breaks, less warm up pitches, etc. don't seem like they do much to really speed up the game imo. I mean, even if you shave off 20 minutes of a ~3 hour game, that's still pretty long. I think the problem people have with baseball isn't just the length of the whole game but the pacing of the game and I don't see how you can speed it up besides making significant a change to the rules.

But just for fun:
-5 innings
-2 balls, 2 strikes is full count
-shrink the infield- distance between bases

or just Blernsball

 

[FriedConsole]

The have talked about this shit for over 30 years and the games have gotten longer. Olbermen did a segment where he eviscerated the MLB on it.

 

[jerd]

Cut it to 3 bases, 4 innings and cut the bat in half.

.

And double the strike zone.

Get like 6 games in a day

 

[User 479360]

While I'm primarily a Red Sox fan, I'm a fan of the game in general. As long as the announcers aren't horrible (ESPN, Fox), I could watch (or listen, since I often just have the game on the radio) games from most any team. And, I love watching older/"classic" games.

Also, the 1993 World Series was one of my earlier Baseball memories. I got the old antenna television I had in my room for video games to pick up the signal for the local channel with it on, and watched it through the fuzz and static. Great series.




To emphasize again: ESPN and Fox are horrible.
Everyone is fully excused for hating to watch anything on either of those channels.

True. ESPN and FOX do seem terrible. Their announces are sleep-inducing.

 

[terrisus]

True. ESPN and FOX do seem terrible. Their announces are sleep-inducing.

Any time a game is on there, I mute then and put on the radio broadcast.

MLB Gameday Audio is only like $20 for the year, and no blackouts (obviously, since it's radio). It's an amazing deal.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Two things.

One of them is the main point: Cut commercials during half innings.

Second: GET BACK IN THE DAMN BOX! You just watched a pitch sail outside, you don't need to fix your damn batting gloves!

Yeah, that shit kills me. I'm not sure if it wasn't as bad when I was little or just didn't pick up on it but it's painful to watch, especially in the playoffs.

 

[DarkFlow]

Make the half-inning switch a LOT faster (no commercial break), no more than 10 pitches per batter MAX (if he isn't out by 10, then it alternates between a walk and an out), 7 innings total. Target game time should be <2.5 hours. 80 game season.

Similar idea for basketball: 30-40 game season, 6 teams from each in playoffs like NFL with byes, every foul under 2 minutes is a point for the other team.

For soccer: add two extra balls (and an appropriate number of additional refs) so there are three balls in play at once

These are literally the worst baseball ideas I have ever heard.

 

[bonesmccoy]

My suggestion:

Pitchers must throw strikes

Any pitch that isn't a strike counts as a 'ball'

After 4 'balls' the batter gets to take a base

HOWEVER to keep balance, if a batter swings at a 'ball' and misses, it counts as a strike

 

[chicagocubsfan]

Unneeded. The pace of the game is fine.
People complain about how long baseball games are, but at least I don't need to sit through 2 straight hours of Bud Light "Here We Go" commercials every NFL Game.

 

[terrisus]

My suggestion:

Pitchers must throw strikes

Any pitch that isn't a strike counts as a 'ball'

The 1860s called - they want their rules back.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

This should have always been enforced. Less commercials by not having a break between the half-innings would be nice, but I don't expect that to happen.

Also, get rid of interleague play and create the office of the NL and AL again. Have each NL/AL team play every other NL/AL team equal amount of times or as equal as possible. Top four teams from each league compete in the playoff. Boom, you've got your pennant winner.

Maybe interleague play is good, I don't know. But then what's the point of the separate leagues anyway.

yeah I'd say interleague's time has come and gone.

My suggestion:

Pitchers must throw strikes

Any pitch that isn't a strike counts as a 'ball'

After 4 'balls' the batter gets to take a base

HOWEVER to keep balance, if a batter swings at a 'ball' and misses, it counts as a strike

I'm...not sure I see what you did there.... >_>

 

[FyreWulff]

The first pro baseball league to institute inning and pitch clocks and speed up the game will eat the MLB's lunch.

 

[terrisus]

The first pro baseball league to institute inning and pitch clocks and speed up the game will eat the MLB's lunch.

"Inning clocks?"
What?

"Hey guys, you've been up too long and scored too many runs - give the other guys a shot! Oh, and Timmy's mom brought lemonade and chocolate chip cookies!"

 

[lazybones18]

it's fine the way it is. fuck the complainers

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

The first pro baseball league to institute inning and pitch clocks and speed up the game will eat the MLB's lunch.

GET. OUT.

 

[FyreWulff]

"Inning clocks?"
What?

"Hey guys, you've been up too long and scored too many runs - give the other guys a shot! Oh, and Timmy's mom brought lemonade and chocolate chip cookies!"

As someone that lived right outside Rosenblatt where the College World Series are held..

the games are too fucking long. Nobody wants to have to think about writing off an entire night because your team refuses to just lose the damn game.

I'm just throwing ideas out there.

 

[bonesmccoy]

I'm probably most amenable to a 'pitch clock' and a limit to how many times a batter can step outside the box, but... I dunno. I don't really have an issue with the game length as is.

edit: Actually, I think I hate the idea of a pitch clock.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

As someone that lived right outside Rosenblatt where the College World Series are held..

the games are too fucking long. Nobody wants to have to think about writing off an entire night because your team refuses to just lose the damn game.

I'm just throwing ideas out there.

you would write off an entire night when you go to a Basketball or Football or Hockey game too. that is your night, you went to see a game. it's not like basketball or football or hockey end in exactly 48 minutes or 60 minutes. they don't.

 

[hie]

Get rid of instant replay. I wanted it at first, but...ehhh. It doesn't work.

I don't want faster games though. I love baseball.

 

[devilhawk]

Pitch timer and preventing batters from stepping out multiple times are both likely to happen.

What they should also do is limit the number of mound visits where no pitching change occurs.

 

[pa22word]

Cut 3/4 of the games played and I might watch baseball. Maybe.

It's crazy how they've made such a boring, unwatchable mess out of such a fun sport.

 

[terrisus]

As someone that lived right outside Rosenblatt where the College World Series are held..

the games are too fucking long. Nobody wants to have to think about writing off an entire night because your team refuses to just lose the damn game.

I'm just throwing ideas out there.

So give teams the option to forfeit at any point during the game

Spoiler:

Spoiler

No one will.

Spoiler

Ever.

 

[EulaCapra]

Make it one inning. And put circus animals on the field! And a ferris wheel! And landmines for suspense!

 

[FyreWulff]

you would write off an entire night when you go to a Basketball or Football or Hockey game too. that is your night, you went to see a game. it's not like basketball or football or hockey end in exactly 48 minutes or 60 minutes. they don't.

well, i think the NHL needs to shorten their season, and basketball has gotten very slowed down too.

Baseball is the most obvious sport to pick on for this though, because the game has so much ritual/stalling that built up over the years that nobody dealt with.

you'd have to figure out how to make a pitch clock work with the fact that both runners and the pitcher can see it. right now runners would just try to steal a base when there's 2-1 seconds left on it and the pitcher locks in on throwing it at the batter.

 

[Sir Alemeth]

 

[jblank83]

Welcome to 20 years ago, MLB.

Good luck with your little committee thing.

 

[terrisus]

Make it one inning. And put circus animals on the field! And a ferris wheel! And landmines for suspense!

I have a surprise for you...

 

[speculawyer]

Maybe they can find a way to make the game so mind-numbingly boring.

 

[Lathentar]

Any time a game is on there, I mute then and put on the radio broadcast.

MLB Gameday Audio is only like $20 for the year, and no blackouts (obviously, since it's radio). It's an amazing deal.

That's what I get. Great deal and let's me listen at work!

My suggestions for speeding up the pace of the games:
1. Cut a single commercial between each half-inning.
2. Reduce warm up time on the mound when coming out of the bullpen, and disallow going to a commercial during this time.
3. Other than the first pitch, the batter must be in the box and ready within 5 seconds of the pitcher being ready (unless physically affected by the previous pitch), and only get one time per at bat.
4. The pitcher must be on the rubber within 5 seconds of the batter being in the box.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Get rid of instant replay. I wanted it at first, but...ehhh. It doesn't work.

I think it worked out well enough, and hopefully things will improve. The postseason in particular got some calls properly overturned.

 

[Dryk]

A) Test is the only real cricket, limited overs is bullshit! Or something, I dunno. Pitch count seems a weird way to determine length

No it's the perfect way to determine length in cricket because the game is structured around it. It wouldn't work at all in baseball because hitting the batter's goal is hitting the ball, once, well.

 

[terrisus]

That's what I get. Great deal and let's me listen at work!

I fell in love with Gameday Audio in 2013 after my stroke, when I had to spend a month and a half in the hospital bed and couldn't even really see the television and definitely couldn't see well enough to tell what channel it was on. But I could just lay in the hospital bed and listen to Gameday Audio. It was great.

 

[M.W.]

First to 3 wins. Aluminum bats included.

 

[kess]

"Shorter" games, longer seasons, uh, thanks Bud.

 

[kess]

And lol instant replay, like Baseball of all things needs more litigious shit

 

[hie]

I think it worked out well enough, and hopefully things will improve. The postseason in particular got some calls properly overturned.

You are correct, but I expressed that wrong. I meant I didn't like it in the game. I like the human calls. Wrong or right. As stupid as it sounds.

 

[dehydratedbabies]

The most exciting part is when they're running bases, so focus more on that. Get rid of the boring parts where they're pitching and batting. Just have them run around the field. They could do it one by one, but it would be cooler if they all start running at the same time. Both teams, even. The fielders aren't needed once we get rid of batting. But, then I guess the score would be really high, so make the diamond a lot bigger. And make them run hundreds of laps instead of just one. Although, I guess they'd get tired then, so instead of making them run, put them in really fast cars! Cars are exciting!

There. Those are some good improvements, NASCAR MLB. I'll take my check now.

Lol'd at this and that Futurama clip.

I like baseball.

 

[BobLoblaw]

Don't expect fewer innings or anything like that. Baseball fans/purists would rage since a lot of them are so stat-driven. Pitch clock sounds like a good idea. Batter's get like a countdown after a pitch to get their ass back in the box. Those should shave a decent amount of time out of a game (probably 20 minutes).

 

[terrisus]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12200989/new-mlb-proposal-shorten-breaks-innings

Under a new proposal by Major League Baseball, pitchers would be required to finish their warm-up pitches and be ready to make their first pitch of an inning 30 seconds before the end of all between-inning commercial breaks, sources told ESPN.com.

Similarly, hitters would have to be in the batter's box, ready to start their at-bats, 20 seconds before the end of each break.

Both proposals are designed to tighten the time between half-innings, which has grown, on average, to more than three minutes, even though regular-season commercial breaks during games that are not nationally televised are supposed to last just 2 minutes, 5 seconds.

Notice something missing?

That's right.

No shortening of the time actually spent on commercials.
Can't lose a second of that commercial time.

What this likely means is that there will be a number of instances of play starting before the television feed actually kicks in.
Plenty of picking up the action on an 0-1 or 1-0 count, or with a ball in the air going somewhere.

Great thinking, MLB!

 

[helloresolven]

Random, bad ideas:

1. Once a batter has entered the batter's box, he is not allowed to leave -- except on the first instance of a full count.

2. The pitcher (fielding side) is given 10 minutes to get three outs. Once the 10 minutes are up, a pitch clock is initiated (must throw a pitch every ~15 seconds or something.) The current batter is awarded a ball if they pitcher doesn't meet the clock.

3. A team may only use at most, barring injuries, 2 (3 in playoffs) pitchers an inning.

4. A team can forfeit the game after 7 innings. (No one will.)

5. Commercials are only allowed during inning change (3 minutes), half-inning (2 minutes), and pitching change (2.5 minutes).

6. Have computers calling calling balls/strikes. Enlarge the strike zone.

7. Managers are not allowed on the field during an inning. Immediate ejection otherwise.

 

[kess]

One strike and you're out.

Bam.

 

[Sephzilla]

-Time limit on how much time a batter can spend outside of the batters box between pitches. This way people who pull Nomar shit between pitches have to speed things up.

-Limit the number of pickoff attempts / step-offs pitchers can do.

-Limit the number of pitching changes. One pitching change for every three at-bats. (Injuries obviously being an exception)

-Shorten time between innings

 

[RumblingRosco]

These are literally the worst baseball ideas I have ever heard.

I'm so glad someone called him out. I figured he was just being sarcastic, but damn, if he was serious then that's just the worst bunch of ideas ever.

 

[420 Blaze It]

First to score wins or bust.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Not trying to be funny, but I read the thread title as 'MLP convenes committee to shorten games.'

 

[terrisus]

I'm so glad someone called him out. I figured he was just being sarcastic, but damn, if he was serious then that's just the worst bunch of ideas ever.

A bunch of these ideas are basically just people who don't really like Baseball wanting there to be less Baseball, or people who only care about the last month and the playoffs wanting to "cut to the chase" with things.