Baseball rules reform

I welcome the universal designated hitter, though I am certain many disagree.

The upcoming new pitch clock rule (14 seconds with bases empty, 19 seconds with players on base) I heartily endorse.

A ban on defensive shifts I support, at least as I understand the rule to be.

Larger bases I support as well.

Those changes would not take effect until the 2023 season.

But the pitch clock rule is by far the most needed.

BTW, the penalty for exceeding the clock would be a called ball.

I hadn’t looked at any details of the new agreement. Banning defensive shifts would be the the most important part for me. The game has become almost unrecognizable because of this. There are very few hitters that actually care about hitting anymore, and every one of them thinks he’s a 40-Homer-a-year guy.

What’s the language about defensive shifts??

It sure would be nice if umpires were encouraged to call high strikes as well.

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Not a huge baseball fan, stopped watching years ago. But I don’t get banning a defensive shift. Teams aren’t supposed to adjust to certain batters/ teams? That’d be the equivelant of an NFL team not being able to put more D players on the line if they know a running play is coming or using that strategy the whole game if they know a team has no passing game.

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Instead of banning shifts, how about teaching hitters that every hit doesn’t have to be a home run?

Unfortunately this is what baseball has become…either strike out or hit a home run.

I bet a lot of pitchers don’t care either because they know they get paid for strikeouts, not pitch to contact.

I don’t know about 2020 or 2021, but I know 2019 set a modern day record for fewest balls put in play…and I think they broke the record by quite a bit.

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I don’t know. It didn’t really bother me at first. The game is always changing. And it’s not that it doesn’t make sense from a defensive standpoint.

I just think I’m missing a lot more than the seeing eye grounder trickling through a hole. I’m missing the pure hitters who could actually handle the bat and knew what situational hitting was. I miss the hit and run, stolen bases and Ozzie Smith style defensive highlights.

I miss the hitters putting the ball in play and not striking out 35% of their at-bats.

I miss the fact that solid singles to the middle of right-center field never used to be caught by the third-baseman.

All of the people who say, “hit the other way, against the shift”…yeah, okay…you try that.

I also would like to see pitchers allowed to pitch inside without getting a warning and batters standing at the plate without any protective gear. The hitters today love to crowd the plate and know that the umpire will make the pitcher throw it down the middle and eject them for brush backs and HBPs.

I still love baseball, but it really is a completely different game than it was even 15 years ago.

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Banning shifts was stupid. It’s just defense adjusting to hitters. There’s a reason they didn’t have to do this so extensively years ago.

I like the pitch clock. But that’s only going to work if they don’t allow the batter out of the box after every pitch. Make them stay in there unless they get shaved or some other extreme example.

I live the shift. I saw a video of a MLB hitter laying down a bunt down the third base line with no one on base. Defeated the shift with a STAND UP DOUBLE. YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO BAN IT IF HITTERS TRIED TO DEFEAT IT.

Back in the day I had learned the art of taking what a pitcher gave me. I would have killed to see a wide open hole in the infield.

What’s the deal with larger bases? Why?

More offense.

Shortens the baselines by a matter of inches. Doesn’t seem like much, but it could turn a number of throw outs at first base to base hits.

Hard no.

Agreed. Dimensions of the game should be sacrosanct. They have withstood the test of time.

So happy to see so many baseball fans in here. Hell yea. And thank god we’re getting a season. That was scary as hell for a bit.

I think the batter will have to stay in the box, no calling time out, no stepping out and a strike will be assessed against them if they do.

The pitch count rule is the one change out of everything that really has to happen.

I don’t understand the problem with defensive shifts.

Would appreciate some help with this one.

I wonder why 14 and 19 seconds … why not 15 and 20?