The 2021 minor league season will see some new and altered rules at the various levels of playing, according to a statement from Major League Baseball. “Consistent with the preferences of our fans, the rule changes being tested are designed to increase action on the basepaths, create more balls in play, improve the pace and length of games, and reduce player injuries,” the statement reads.
Many of these changes have long been discussed or even already used in other minor leagues — Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper notes that fans of the independent Atlantic League will recognize many of these rules adjustments. It also isn’t necessarily the case that all of these new rules (whether in their current form or whatsoever) will ever appear at the MLB level, given the trial-and-error basis.
Triple-A baseball will see the size of the bases increased from 15 inches square to 18 inches square, a deceptively minor change that could end up having a notable impact on a game. As the league’s statement reads, “the Competition Committee also expects the shorter distances between bases created by increased size to have a modest impact on the success rate of stolen base attempts and the frequency with which a batter-runner reaches base on groundballs and bunt attempts.” In addition, larger bases will also reduce the chances of collisions on the basepaths.
Double-A baseball will experiment with a new rule that addresses defensive shifts, since going forward, “the defensive team must have a minimum of four players on the infield, each of whom must have both feet completely in front of the outer boundary of the infield dirt.” While shifting has been part of baseball for decades, teams have been using shifts more often and in a more elaborate fashion over the last few seasons, to the point that seeing a club deploy four or even five players in outfield for a particular batter isn’t out of the ordinary.
This initial rule will keep infielders within the infield, and the statement also hinted at further limitations to shifts in the second half of the Double-A season: “Depending on the preliminary results of this experimental rule change, MLB may require two infielders to be positioned entirely on each side of second base….These restrictions on defensive positioning are intended to increase the batting average on balls in play.”
Step-off and pickoff moves are the primary focus of the Single-A rules changes, as in High-A ball, “pitchers are required to disengage the rubber prior to throwing to any base, with the penalty of a balk in the event the pitcher fails to comply.” This was one of the rules instituted in the Atlantic League in 2019, as noted in MLB’s statement, and the altered rule “resulted in a significant increase in stolen base attempts and an improved success rate.”
The step-off/pickoff rules will be even more significantly changed for all Low-A leagues. If there is one or more runner on base, pitchers can only throw a maximum of two pickoffs or make two step-offs per plate appearance. The pitcher can attempt a third pickoff or step-off but the play must result in the baserunner being retired. If the runner gets back to his original base on this third pitcher try, the play is called a balk and the runner advances anyway. MLB’s statement said that the limitation could be further lowered to just a single step-off or pickoff attempt per plate appearance, seeing how the initial rule plays out.
The Low-A West league will adopt on-field timers “to enforce time limits between delivery of pitches, inning breaks and pitching changes.” An even more interesting electronic element will be part of the Low-A Southeast league, as the Automatic Ball-Strike System will be used “to assist home plate umpires with calling balls and strikes, ensure a consistent strike zone is called, and determine the optimal strike zone for the system.”
I don’t like the shift rule at all. If these guys can’t learn to hit the ball both directions then that’s on them. This is basically a free pass for power hitters.
It’s not a question of laziness or stubbornness. There’s a reason why shifts work: Biomechanically, it’s very hard for most hitters to intentionally produce a hard hit ground ball to the opposite field. Doesn’t matter how much they practice. It’s just very hard. The shift takes advantage of that, rather than hitter’s preferences, and thus there is no adjustment that will work (again, for most guys … there are a few like DJ LeMahieu who naturally hit balls that way, but that’s about how they’re put together physically).
Fine. It’s hard to change biomechanically. Shifts change the incentive structure to reward spray hitters.
You know what’s hard for me to do? Hit a 98 mph fastball. It’s hard for me to do that, biomechanically. That (and many other reasons) is why I’m not in the big leagues. Should we change the incentive structure so that a scrawny desk jockey like me has a chance? No way!
that’s not true though, spray hitters don’t normally launch the ball and have a flat swing so regardless of the shift, pitch velocity and the launch revolution disincentivizes the very flat swing that creates the all fields approach. I am not for completely eliminating the defensive shift but I think that there wouldn’t be a ton of harm in keeping the SS nd 3b and the 2b and 1b on their respective sides of second.
Ted Williams could not do it when two pitch pitchers threw In the 80s, I have no clue why fans think players can do it when four pitch pitchers throw in the high 90s. I don’t think some fans have a clue how hard it is to hit a baseball.
Halo11Fan- are you talking about hitting against a shift? Williams hit .344 over half his career he hit against the shift. If you are talking about spraying the ball to all fields, Williams easily could have done that if he was interested in doing so.
Yeah the Greats of the Game would laugh at your comment because it’s BS
They chose to hit the ball over the shift.
Except for the electronic ump, its total garbage and bad ideas. How does this stuff make it thru to the actual game?
The electronic ump idea is the only bad one in the bunch.
Agreed
Pete!!! We agree.
I really believe the use of automated ball, strike calls will improve the game of baseball, dramatically. Finally the player who is capable of good pitch and pitch zone recognition will be rewarded. I’m so tired of watching bad umpiring, year after year after year. Joe Wedt, Angel Hernandez – get out of town.
I also think the automated calls will speed up the game, because pitchers won’t be as willing to nibble on the edges of the plate, expecting the automatic strike calls on 2-0 or 3-0 pitches.
Dogbone- Some of my lifetime best friends are Cub fans. Always enjoy reading your posts
You couldn’t be more wrong than if you actually tried to be wrong because the pickoff rule is a bad rule as is changing the size of the bags is terrible
A wise man once said “Hit’em where they ain’t”.
And I be Wee willie never saw a pitch over 90.
Learning to hit the ball in one direction or another radically alters the entire concept of hitting. It’s not that easy. You want everyone to be Rod Carew? Ain’t happening. A league full of power hitters turning into slap hitters, yay fun (and not necessarily even possible).
They don’t need to become slap hitters, but they need to be able to take advantage of a shift, thus making it obsolete….
Cosmo2: Do you mean would I like to see more players that hit a career. 328, have a similar BB/K rate over their careers (1018/1028) obp .393 slg .429 (xbh 21%) nearly 67% success rate on stolen base attempts? Would I like to see more players like that? Yes. I’d also like to see more players like Dave Parker .290 avg, 526 2B’s, 75 3’s 339 Hr’s 2712 hits nearly 1500 rbi’s.
im not apposed to the hitter learning a workaround, but I just dont like the idea of guys moving well off of where you’d expect them. like are you still the 3B if your playing right of 2nd or are you still the SS if your playing in the 2B hole?
TJECK has mastered hitting opposite field with an inside corner strike.
I disagree. I love the idea of two infielders on either side of second base. It’s not good for baseball to force your best hitters to not play to their strengths.
i have a simple answer to the shift if a team wants to stack one side of the infield then as a hitter take the weak base hit to the other side or field an infield that actually play the position. if players started to trying to put good swings on the ball and just get a hit than trying to hit the ball 400ft every at bat extreme shifting might cease. also if teams start paying for complete players (players that can play both sides instead of just being one dimensional) maybe you wouldn’t have to extreme shift. seems like in today’s game unless the ball is hit about 3 feet to there left or right they can’t make the play
What happens if the pitcher purposely pitched you inside, forcing you to hit into the shift? (Like they do in the major leagues)
“It’s not good for baseball to force your best hitters to not play to their strengths”
So by that logic, should we limit the amount of off-speed pitches? Should we make it so that if a batter reaches base safely the others are also automatically safe?
It’s a ridiculous argument. Let’s just play homerun derby then. No infield, no outfield, just pitcher and catcher vs batter.
MLB:
-We need to limit pitching changes and introduce a pitch clock to speed up the game!
Also MLB:
-We need to prevent shifting to make it harder to get outs
Solid logic right here. MLB, as always, with no clear vision.
I’m beginning to see. Fans love the game. MLB loves the money.
They gut the minors, and then this clown show crap…
This isn’t a shift rule. Put your infielders on whichever side you like. This is an infield rule. I’m fine with that. 4 or 5 man outfield alignments are a bit of a farce and unnecessarily penalize perfectly hit line drives from beautiful swings.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stop rewarding players who won’t work on improving themselves. Shifting occurs because players don’t care about adjusting their approach. Rod Carew and Wade Boggs would defeat any defense alignment. It’s a good thing they took walks when offered. Otherwise they might not have gotten an opportunity in today’s computer type game.
Shifts would have worked against them too. Less, but they would have. They’d have both hit 400, but with all singles, and opponents would have taken that, and correctly so since they walked half the time anyway. Many of those singles would have just replaced walks.
I’d gladly take a base runner any time it’s given. The Sox for example never seem to have an issue scoring. An extra base runner means an extra run on a big fly. This game has become too hard to watch.
Also Carew would have simply bunted every time there was no one playing third. He was simply the greatest bunter I ever saw. Simply a magician with the bat. Boggs too. He’d simply foul off every pitch he didn’t like and wait for the one he could handle.
Victor Martinez did that in his last or second-to-last season. Watching him leg out that bunt single was reminiscent of an aging Tom Berenger in Major League, and it worked. That was the moment I realized any hitter can defeat a shift for a single. Do that 2 or 3 times in a row and suddenly snagging everything hit to the OF grass isn’t so important to the game situation.
Maybe shifting is a legit check and balance against the absurdity of only striving for the K, BB, and HR.
mlb.com/cut4/victor-martinez-bunts-against-shift-f…
I don’t think you understand how much more difficult it is to hit now as compared to the 1980s.
Rod Carew faced about four pitchers in any given season throwing 98+. Now, most teams have four guys who can do that.
There is a reason Ryan and JR Richard struck out so many batters, and it’s the reason strikeouts have gone up exponentially over the past ten seasons.
Pitch speed isn’t the only reason Ks have gone up…. Chicks dig the long ball!
Absolutely. That’s another reason the shift ban would improve the game.
There is a logic behind swinging for the fences when hitting hard grounders and line drives will end up behind outs.
But it just results in more absolute outcomes baseball, which is pretty boring.
And Rod Carew is in the Hall because what he did is something most cannot do. It’s a misunderstanding of the fundamental nature of the game to think they can.
He, Boggs and Gwynn developed their swing. anyone ever watch Boggs go deep in batting practice? He could have played in any era.
BS to that. Hitting a baseball has always been the hardest thing to do in sports. Players adjust to speed. it’s movement that makes it hard to hit. Ryan had a great curve to distinguish from his fast ball.
Rod Carew and Wade Boggs are HoFs of course they were able to do this, but a majority of baseball players don’t have that skill… even some of the great hitters! I imagine Ted Williams would have a significantly worse career if he played in the shift era. He was a HUGE pull hitter.
Oh boy, as I post and read I realize many of you are ahead of me on this.
They shifted on Teddy Ballgame every at bat.
They did shift whenever Williams came up.
Huh? The Ted Williams shift was the start of the shift era.
The first shift was against Williams. At least consistently. Are you kidding me?
The shift started solely to neutralize The Splendid Splinter. It’s been being done since 1948.
I think Lou Boudreau came up with the shift for Williams
I don’t recall exactly who came up with it, but in the “Baseball” documentary from 1994, they spend a snippet talking about the WS between the Cards and Red Sox and how the shift was a huge impact on keeping Ted Williams in check.
If you’ve never seen the documentary, I highly suggest it if you ever get snowed in and have an afternoon with nothing to do. Although dated by today’s standards, it’s absolutely excellent.
Rod Carew won a batting title and hit zero HRs. Rod Carew couldn’t do it. He seldom pulled the ball.
Spraying a ball becoming even more difficult when a pitcher and catcher gave data on a specific batter, and know what types of pitches they absolutely can’t hit to the opposite field.
A lot of guys who hit into shifts can go the opposite direction, but it is extremely difficult to do so on certain pitches, especially when a player’s bread-and-butter is pull power.
Higher velocity, advanced scouting, and Statcast did not exist when Rod Carew was playing. And again, you are talking about arguably the best pure hitter in the history of the game, and certainly one who is in the top ten.
Spray hitting in the modern game is not as easy as people are making out to be, which is why you don’t see a lot of people doing it.
You don’t see spray hitting today because players learn at an early age today it’s ok to strikeout. To paraphrase Dickie V, “just launch it baby”. Sad.. Not baseball.
Making baseball special.
I have suggestion to improve baseball. Put basketball net behind home base to 10 feet high. Then player must shot basket without running or jumping if they make it that is a single. If pass the basketball and make is a double. Different ways to get triple and home run too. If you miss it thats an out. The pitcher can also “Psyche Out” the batter to try and make the batter miss. Some pitchers I think would be good at psyching out include Bartolo Colon, Jake Arrieta, Trevor Bauer. Not sure what batters would be good for baseketball maybe tall players who can get the ball in the hoop. Anyways as long as the team does not have a batter start on second or only play for seven innings, I don’t think the game will be changed to much.
Ugh…I bet the playoff structure would take MONTHS to get through too, huh?
This is a good pull man…
How about making the bat a hockey stick?
love the basketball reference
I’ve said before. The NBA didn’t allow a specialized foul shooter when Shaq would keep getting fouled. Players should be required to improve themselves each off season. Their getting big money opportunities. The great ones continue to strive to get better.
while the inconsistency and some of the rules bug me, I think they are on to something here. more changes like this instead of silly doubleheader, extra inning, etc rules that fundamentally change the game.
The only rule I would be opposed to making it to the MLB is the shift rule. I think a team should be allowed to be as creative as possible. To stifle creativity because it is “too effective” is ridiculous. The pick off rule I really like because I think it is dumb that you can step towards any base except 1st and throw.
My problem with the shift is that it punishes hard contact and further makes hitting an equation of mere contact and luck. The idea that most players can just “adjust” and go the other way is an absolute myth. Plus, what’s more exciting? Babe Ruth back then, or a modern version beating the shift that collects 220 hits, all little bloop singles the other way?
who cares how “sexy” the hit is it’s still a hit and you got a guy on base i think the bigger issue is that every hitter thinks that there a 3/4 hole guy and approaches the plate that way. you need table setters and comp pieces for your big bats plus having traffic on the bases is stressful on the defense. it’s hard to perform when every play has to be perfect
Agreed Brodie. Those tweeners that fall in look sexier in the box score than those bullets that are caught. It’s what makes the game beautiful at its best. Batting is not just swing hard and hope. The game is 50% defense which is not just pitching.
i understand that thought, I just feel staking one side of the field takes away from the game to some degree.
@dark i don’t like seeing one side stacked but i think bb has become 1 dimensional it’s all about feast or famine. batters don’t seem to wanna “choke up” and just take the hit and let the next guy up drive you in. if hitters wanna keep being 1 dimensional and gms are going to pay for 1 dimensional players no amount of rule changes is going to stop the lack of action on the basses. i feel this is where advanced analytics has ruined baseball.
side note i don’t think advanced analytics are bad there a tool in the tool box to be used but not the end all be all. Analytics need to be used as just one tool on judging a player just like the non-quantifiable stuff should be taken into account.
This is nonsense. So is my comment. I guess that’s a paradox.
“Ben Casey and Kildare; that’s a pair o’docs”– Allan Sherman
All the women in my life were in love with Richard Chamberlain. Might have been a tad unrequited.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
And Vince Edwards played Casey.
Yes, I’m old. Must be off to watch “My Mother the Car” episodes….
Love all but one of these and wish they’d do them in the majors asap. The exception is the limited throws to first rule. If you can get the pitcher to throw over twice, you’re free to go at first movement and in that situation anyone with half decent speed will be successful 90% of the time. Don’t think that’s what they want.
I thought that as well
It would mean there would be no more “check up” throws over to 1st. The pitcher would be limited to making them only when he thinks he has a legit shot at a pickoff. Otherwise as you say, after two you’re basically giving up a steal.
Why try anything that artificially changes the game? Yes stadiums have changed as have equipment. That said, part of baseball’s fabric is the ability to compare Pudge to Pudge for example. Change the rules and the comparisons become harder to make.
And it’s not hard to take a big lead while leaning back to first and diving back on first move, just to force a couple of step offs (if it had to be actual throws it’d be slightly more reasonable). They can do it every time without fail. Pretty much free stolen bases for anyone with moderate speed. I just hope the class A baserunners are smart enough to expose it.
Man, I hate all these rules. #1 being the base size change. I dont like changing the aspects of the diamonds and the distance between the bases. opens up a huge can of worms. Also I don’t see a problem with the inside move on pick offs either. I’m wondering why MLB picked steals as a focus point at all. Seems k’s, which is tough to “fix”, and HRs should be more of interest. Especially after changing the ball this year, or at least openly admitting it for the 1st time, cuz its happened before…
If they hadn’t told you the bases were bigger, you never would have noticed.
You are absolutely right. Still don’t like it.
I’d have rather they not told me honestly. They failed to mention the changing of the ball over the years but did for this year. Maybe MLB is turning over a new leaf?
to be fair, this corresponds with guys like Griffey and Theo joining the commissioner’s office, so maybe.
Going to create more infield hits. I don’t buy the injury argument.
I’m not sure that’s true. 3 inches isn’t insignificant…. At least, that’s what my wife tells me.
6 inches bro
Because the first base bag is against the foul line, that would add 3 inches. The second base bag would be 1.5 inches closer to first base, not the full three inches. So really it is 4.5 inches.
Makes it easier to steal a base in the world series for free Doritos locos tacos!!!!
Bases were originally 17″x14″, until the 1877 season. We could just go back to that and be traditionalists.
There’s a lot of diversion going on here, even though some of the changes seem to be sound. There’s only one way to increase in-game action; get rid of the flippin’ super ball. Triples are more exciting than home runs; sadly, the “suits” just never caught onto that. Yes, 3-outcome baseball might be more “productive”. But baseball is entertainment, and the modern game is anything but entertaining.
Theo was right. They we so “right”, they killed the golden goose.
to be fair, they said they were doing that already
They have changed the ball this year.
Hopefully they’re serious about that. Watching 3-outcome baseball is as exciting as watching paint dry. The wider bases seems to make sense, and may stop the idiocy of a runner losing a stolen base because he takes his hand off the bag before he can call time out; that’s completely inane.
That and the new balk rule should bring the stolen base back. Might even bring catcher and infield defense back.
Actually it’s always been a rule if a Base Runner loses contact with the bag & gets tagged the runner is out & the Runner shouldn’t be given an advantage of being safe if he is tagged & is not in contact with the bag.
Supposedly the ball is deader this year but it’s hard to tell by watching spring games this year (so far).
Triples are harder to achieve than over-the-fence HRs. Teams should get credited with a run if a player hits a triple, and two extra runs for an inside-the-park HR. Similar to the 3 point shot in basketball.
These changes will do exactly what you’re asking for. Disallowing infielders in the outfield, bigger bases and restrictions on pickoffs (the requiring a stepoff one is okay, the other one not so much) will get rid of three true outcome baseball. You’ll see more fast players because stolen bases will be easier, and those fast guys will hit more triples when the second baseman isn’t plugging the outfield gap.
Triples will not be coming. The fences will have to be pushed back and the fence height will have to be raised in-order to bring back the triple. No chance in this story will have any positive affect for the triple.
Rather than eliminate the shift, if MLB wants to really improve batting averages just start playing on a cricket pitch with those rules.
I like all the changes.
Shifts make the game boring, and just about every other professional league has rules pertaining to illegal defensive formations.
The loss of the stolen base is another issue that has made the game less exciting.
The brand of baseball that has been created by analytics is only interesting to people who think science and computers should dictate how the game is played. These simple changes will bring back some of what the game has lost.
Only game I can think of that has illegal defense is basketball, and they created/modified(3 sec rule) that rule in the nba to improve offense. I think in the 90s, that rule and the no hand checking came in around the same time. Killed the NBA for me, on a side note.
NFL has changed rules often on defense. Back in the day a defensive back could mug a wide receiver with no penalty. Look up Jack Tatum.
Look up Darryl Stingley when you look up Jack Tatum
And that was a legal hit back then.
The NFL has changed defensive rules frequently, and illegal formations are already cooked into hockey and soccer.
All you are really talking about is the equivalent of a lane violation in basketball or offsides in football. It’s not a complicated change, and can be easily enforced.
Hockey changed the lines placement years ago and more recently the icing rule.
MLB already has illegal defense. Defenders aren’t allowed to be in foul territory when the pitch is thrown.
How does liking to watch strikeouts and home runs equate to thinking science and computers should dictate how the game is played?
It’s an admitted overgeneralization, but absolute outcomes baseball has become the preferred brand among many statheads. Generate OPS through the air, strikeout batters, FIP is more important than BABIP, stolen bases are dumb.
This has turned a game that once had much more strategy and diversity among the skillsets of players into a really great beer-league softball contest.
@maximumvelocity Well put.
The only rule change that is really needed is robot umps, and it obviously is the lowest priority.
I think they are scared that the slippery slope will lead to robot players, then to robot owners and robot fans
Analytics are are kinda robotics, n’est ce pas?
Right because we all know that technology never, ever errs and is perfect. One of the great myths of our age.
Are you saying that human umps would be more accurate than automated?
Where did you read that?
I noted that technology errs though we want to believe it does not. Technology gives the illusion of perfection, where it does not exist.
If you are for eliminating human umpires from the game as they make mistakes, what about those batters? Face it, they are massively error prone. Even the best of batters fail due to error more than they succeed. Why not replace human and deeply flawed batters with robotic batters? Fewer mistakes.
I’m looking for the most accurate results from the umpiring as possible. Hittlers fail because pitchers are trying to get them out. Umpires (and I only want robotics at home plate, with reviews on the bases) don’t have anyone trying to make them wrong…well, there’s “pitch framing”…but they regularly miss calls. If they miss half of the close calls, and robot umps are right 90% of the time (and it’s probably closer to 95%) then that’s a plus. I’ll take a low-level major leaguer getting the right result over Angel Hernandez EVERY time.
i like the human umps because of there imperfections and how the players adjust to there imperfections. yes it sucks when they miss a call especially when it goes against your team but the players know most of the umps and tendencies. bb is a human game that should remain that way if you want to watch a “perfect” game go buy a ps4/5 and mlb the show and watch the computers play each other.
Again. I’d prefer the human element be in the players, not in the ones giving undeserving advantages to someone who doesn’t do their job.
eddiemathews…We should all hope that Hittlers fail.
AMEN
If the technology errors, the home plate umpire overrules it and calls out what he thinks instead of what the voice in his ear said. On what planet is it better to prevent the human from having the technological information available for his consideration?
i don’t mind umps being off on balls and strikes all i want them to be constant i.e if your going to call a high strike the call that same pitch all game. i think as fans where we get frustrated with blue is a lot of them call an inconsistent zone. also let’s all not forget every team has benefited and has been burnt by bad calls.
Guess they are trying to get the real game back.
Nice.
Home run derby wasnt much fun.
I’m okay with the pickoff rule – not being engaged with the rubber before throwing over
I’m not okay with the shift rule – don’t change the rules to prevent good coaching/planning
I’m almost okay with the base rule – if you want to reduce collisions, you can make the bases rectangles, First base stretches into foul territory, second base stretches toward right center, third base stretches toward left field. Basically each base stretches to the right (from the runner’s perspective). In little league (younger age groups), first base was a double bag. In play was white, out of play was orange. The batter would run to the orange bag to prevent interference while the kids were figuring it out.
On field timers – I have no opinion on this one. I don’t care.
I agree 100% with everything you just said.
I agree 100% with you agreeing with everything that was just said
The Pickoff move rule change will penalize the Pitcher’s who have developed an extremely great pickoff move & give an advantage to the base runner
These changes won’t attract a single new fan. They’ll just further alienate the ones they’ve somehow managed to hold onto.
Honestly that’s what I fear. I forget who disagreed with me a while back but it was an older poster who seemed to think the game was invincible and would never lose popularity. Kids these days are not flocking to baseball and old school fans who played the game their entire life are getting annoyed and watching less.
I got into baseball as a little kid watching the 80s Cards, Astros and players like Henderson and Raines. I loved seeing stolen bases and guys hustle for infield hits.
A kid today will see a bunch of beer leaguers swinging for the fences and striking out a lot. And guys getting thrown out from center field by a third baseman.
The game is becoming dull, and of no interest to kids who may otherwise be interested, especially if they are better in other areas of the game that have been eliminated over the past 20 years.
I agree. I grew up in the 80’s also watching the Phillies. I love the NL style (or what was the NL Style) of ball where speed and defense were paramount. I love the 1st-3rd on a single. The “get’em on, get’em over, get’em in” mentality.
It’s lost in today’s game. Watching a starter go 5 innings on 100 pitches and either a BB, HR, or K as the most likely outcomes of an AB are what is turning me off from the game, personally. It’s boring. There are other things also, but these are the primarily reasons.
i love watching 80’s games even thou i can only watch the ones i can find but i have slowly watched the excitement fade away. just because a game is low scoring doesn’t make it a boring game imo i think it makes it more exciting especially if it’s late and it’s a tight 1-2 2-3 game and a speedster on first less than 2 outs. that game is much more exciting than a 10+ run slugfest where i’m bored because everyone is swinging for the fences.
these rule changes are likely to provide more univerally accepted benefit and alienate less fans then rules like the DH rule, extra innings rule, or DH would.
These Rules will alienate millions of fans & they will mostly alienate Traditional Baseball fans
Boston.. I disagree. Baseball fans just love to complain. In just recent years alone, fans have said they would quit watching when the catcher slide rule, the second base slide rule, no pitch intentional walk, instant replay etc. etc. was implemented and they still watch and they still complain.
They need to incentivize winning and this all will work itself out. How you do that? I have no idea.
Can’t blame players for targeting the stats that get them paid millions as opposed to actually trying to win the game anyway they can.
Also, change the season format. I wouldn’t mind seeing tournament style baseball or something else spicy. Regular season stats have no meaning anymore anyway. Pitchers will never come close to putting up the innings of past pitchers and the steroid era wiped out almost every meaningful record on the offensive side. So why cling to the traditional scheduling format?
Finally….Bud Selig did his best to murder the game for every penny possible, Manfred seems to be trying to finish the job….I have nothing to contribute besides that, both of them are vile men and should never have had any access to the integrity of the game.
Joe Momma – “Finally….Bud Selig did his best to murder the game for every penny possible, Manfred seems to be trying to finish the job….I have nothing to contribute besides that, both of them are vile men and should never have had any access to the integrity of the game.” With this I have to agree.
I’m not sure about the shift rule. I’ll need to wait and see what Meagan Markle thinks about it before reaching a decision.
I’d rather see hitters get hits than fielders get extreme shifted.
Extreme shifting also makes each shifted fielder have such a small area to cover that it takes away from seeing exceptionally rangey fielders flash their skills. And I wonder how much effect it has on fielding metrics.
It would affect every team equally so it’s not like anyone would be cheated out of an advantage if shifting went away.
Holy crap… just STOP this nonsense.
Stay tuned for dozens of catchers having TJ surgery in the not too distant future.
Yes, by all means lets complicate an already complicated game with more complicated rule changes so baseball can attract more casual fans. lol
In what way is baseball more complicated than the other major sports? Football seems way more complicated and has tons of casual fans.
Every sport is complicated in it’s own way
Are you sure they’re not making these changes to make the game easier to understand? It’s a lot easier to understand balk rules if they simplify it to the pitcher having to step off to throw to first. It’s less complicated to understand that there’s 3 outfielders when the Rays don’t suddenly put 5 guys in the outfield. It’s easier to understand ball and strike calls (and why they can’t be reviewed) when they bear a relation to the reality of where the pitch was and you don’t have a different strike zone for every umpire.
Who told them the biggest problem with baseball was not enough stolen bases? And changing the dimensions of the diamond – which is what they are doing by enlarging the bases- is heresy; again designed to increase stolen bases. This is incredibly stupid.
a lot of traditional fans are big on SBs, and I’d imagine most prospective fans, while perhaps preferring things like homers, would also find steals interesting.
Steals are more entertaining that HR’s
As a Traditional Baseball fan I can honestly say that I am opposed to the 3 inch increase of the bases & I am opposed to the step off rule because it penalized the pitchers who have developed a very good pickoff move & both of these proposed changes gives a distinct advantage to the offense & hurts the defense
The balk rules change every other year to make good pickoffs illegal. You’re just noticing it now?
I don’t think they’re changing the dimensions, just the size of the bases. It would still be 90 feet between bases when measuring at the mid-point of 2nd base and as long as the (extended) side of the bases are still square with home plate at 3rd and 1st. It’s true that distance between the pillows will be shorter, but the diamond would still look the same..
Okay how about 10 foot bags then
If the distances are shorter, they’re changing the dimensions, I don’t care how they do it. I am in favor of “runner’s base” on First Base, as they have in softball, because that would cut down on injuries, but make the edge of Second a few inches closer and it gives runners a significant advantage when stealing. Add the pickoff restrictions in and your are handing the game over to base stealers and making it even harder for pitchers to be successful than it already is.
“Consistent with the preferences of our fans”?
Which fans? I have never been asked. I have not seen a poll on these rule changes.
Where are they getting the info to form the basis for a statement like this?
Amen. I’d like to know how fan preference influenced all those cochamamie rule changes last season. If they were only done with a pandemic in mind how come some carried over into 2021 when MLB and the MLBPA had no qualms about playing a full 162-game schedule?
Every poll I’ve seen shows most baseball fans prefer a universal DH. Where is it?
Conversely, a vast majority of baseball fans can’t stand the new extra-inning rule yet it remains intact for at least one more season.
It’s evident to me that MLB actually doesn’t give a rat’s ass about what their most ardent fans really care about.
manfraud must think he is a baseball fan!
I have written letters to the commissioner’s office before regarding several things. One thing I wrote about was limiting warmup pitches for pitchers coming out of the bullpen in the middle of an inning. Why do they need to throw warmup pitches on the main field when they have been warming up in the bullpen? The answer is it provides a commercial break to make money. I think the game would be shorter with less pitching changes and interruptions if this were the case.
Now it’s a simple answer for why a Reliever gets warm up pitches & it’s because the mound in the Bullpen is different than the mound in the middle of the Diamond. It takes longer for a Reliever to walk in from the Bullpen than it does for them to take a few warm up pitches
So football kickers should get some practice kicks on the field before it counts? And hockey goalies should get some warmup shots before the period starts? How about basketball players getting a practice free throw before they count? Give me a break. The mound isn’t that different.
I am absolutely 1000% fine with shifts. The baseball teams paying hitters for an all or nothing results approach has brought us to where we are. I would like to bring back the art of hitting and watch the shifts go away. Simply legislating them away will not change any approach to hitting and will make the game much worse.
The base size thing is interesting. I think some research on different sizes in all three of the dimensions could be useful.
Maybe we could allow pitchers to bring their own home plates out to the field when they pitch?
I have seen some broad sides of barns where I think even I could hit them. That could help.
OK, the last suggestion is just being silly but wouldn’t it be fun to see a pitcher come in from the bullpen with a giant slab of plywood?
I’m okay with keeping infielders on the infield and forcing two on each side on 2B. The other rules—with the exception of robo umpires—seem kitchy. I just want to see the ball put in play. I want runners running. I’m sick of batters swinging for the fences all the time, which leads to HRs & strikeouts; they’ve flatten the game.
I really like the bigger base rule, but I don’t like the disengaging to pick-off rule. Gotta go, but I wanted to get some quick thoughts down.
I’m not sure I like the larger base.. I’m certain players will adapt fairly quickly but in my mind I see a lot of ankle injuries first few months ( players going on instinct and rounding the bases the way they always have but now instead of edge of bag they go sliding across the top or vice versa).
On this point, I agree. It will require a lot of muscle memory reprogramming.
changing the bag size probably should be at the highschool level. First bigtime prospect that snaps an ankle this rule change will disappear
That’s what I hoped they’d do with the shift if they wanted to mess with it. That’s the least stupid solution.
They need to ban the shift completely & require 2 players on both sides of the bag
These rule changes are ridiculous. Manfred has to go! He is ruining the game.
if he goes it will more likely his lieutenant that will take over. he seems even worse!
We went from bad Bud Selig to worse Rob Manfred
Well see a more fluid, action packed game. There’s already 162 of these why the hell would you want to watch 5 hours of baseball a night heading into extras.
Plays with your dogs
Girlfriend
Videogames.
There’s things more important than long drawn out games.
Go Dodgers tho
Nobody says you have to watch a baseball game which means if you do watch a game then you chose to watch it
They can keep the robot ump at the A level. The others, we’ll have to see in action.
manfraud really hates baseball! what young generation don’t necessarily hates long games in baseball but hate inequality of it more
huh, lol
so, you like that your team loses an important game because of missed call by an ump. if the ump keeps doing it over time and he still has the job you must love the kind of baseball. besides, younger generation have been schooled the greatness of fairness in society
seriously, huh?
Sounds like they probably hate everything in this world, then.
He learned extremely well from Bud Selig
So no more of that stupid left handed pitcher pick off move? Good, half the time they are balking when they fake to home.
Seems like baseball wants more offense added back into the game… seems like a way to improve the appeal to younger fans.
Maybe the problem is the young people, not the game. We should be changing the kids.
More offense has yet to help the game. Maybe focus on the player holding the baseball than the ones trying to hit it and the game will be more appealing.
I like the automated strike zone. I’m tired of pitch framing and how big of a deal it has become. If a catcher is set outside but the pitch is right down the middle and the catcher has to back hand or something similar, more often than not it is called a ball.
Also, batters stepping out of the batters box after every pitch and readjusting their gloves or whatever. Batters need to stay in the box.
Another one is need to relax on players stealing/sliding a base and their momentum carries them for a split second off the base after clearly beating the throw and the tag is applied they are out. Should be some one second rule or something like that
No, if you are off the bag you are out. Simple as that. The issue is the replay should be in real time speed. Do not slow the video down. If you can’t tell in real time then the call is perfect.
They are turning my favorite game into a video game – damn them.
The ideas are intriguing. I like that they are at least testing them before considering implementation. A few random comments… Fans always boo when the pitcher repeatedly throws over to the base and sometimes they don’t even throw over to try and pick them off.. I think that will help the pace of play limiting it. Stolen bases are more exciting, but lately it seems like a majority of challenges revolve around them which I hope won’t be an effect of increased stolen bases. I don’t mind the shift, so not a huge fan of that rule.
I don’t hate this article nearly as much as I thought I would when I first read the title.
More changes to benefit hitters and not pitchers.
Address the growing number of arm injuries on the pitchers mound. Do something to help pitchers. For once.
I suspect there is a correlation between the increase in pitching injuries and the increased emphasis on throwing hard. I would suggest the best way of reducing pitching injuries is to change the emphasis from power to finesse, but that is just me.
Or start going back to what helped pitchers stay upright in the first place in-order to facilitate finesse pitching…
-raise the mound back to 15 inches
-ban all arm guards
-push fences up and back if-possible
-high seams on the baseball for enhanced grip
Pitchers won’t need to rely on power with these changes. Hitters will have to learn contact like they did 30 years ago. Makes for a quicker, cleaner game with more action plays on the field.
these all suck
Why don’t they just adopt the rules of Calvinball now and get it over with. They will tinker with the game until they destroy it.
(For those of you too young or too grumpy, Calvinball was a game played by Calvin and Hobbes. Look it up.)
.“Consistent with the preferences of our fans…”. Who the hell are the people MLB are polling? Cant say I’ve ever heard anyone say “gee I wish the bases were bigger”
I have an idea. Let’s go back to the way it use to be when every ballparks were packed every day. No DH. Break up the double play by going into second with your metal spikes high. On the play at the plate if the catches in your way just bowl him over. I miss the good old days. Do you kids now think everyone should get participation award also. Makes me sick about all the changes that have happened. We use to have Major League Baseball for men and little league for the kids.
Sounds good. Except one problem: ballparks won’t be packed every day nor was it always packed in every stadium every day. That part will be a challenge.
Get off my lawn!
Grandpa, the attendance numbers show that ballparks were waaayy emptier back then than any recent season except for 2020.
Punk kids. Look at the pictures of the filled ballparks back in the day of Ruth.
In 1930, for example, the Cubs led the majors in attendance with under 1.5 million. 3 teams topped a million. These days we’d be talking about contracting them for that.
Obviously you’re only looking at pictures of the world series.
Fan preferences? Not this fan.
It would be nice if MLB experimented with televising spring training games.
And not charging for access to them.
The MLB Network is showing spring training games everyday yes most of the games are taped delayed since they can’t show more than 1 game live at a time
Shifts should be banned entirely. It’s literally Anti-Baseball. Why would you want any policy that deletes balls in play based on analytics? I can believe it was ever a thing in the history of the game.
Defense is anti baseball? Weird since it’s kind of integral to the game…
BS
Other than the 15 sec pitch clock, I like it.
Now if you like these rule changes then you hate the traditional game of baseball
all these years and first base wasn’t even 90 feet from home plate
Getting rid of the super ball will also have an effect on shifting. The analytics which play themselves out with the shift are all based on launch-angle swings. If more players start hitting down on the ball (not exactly a revolutionary concept), the percentages will change. Physically, there’s more variance in ground balls than fly balls, and reaction times are shorter. Shifting will essentially go out of vogue.
The Ball has been changed for the 2021 Season in hopes it would cutdown on the Homeruns & force hitters into trying to use the entire field instead of just trying to hit the ball as far as they could
I despise the shift, if teams want to shift 24/7 you should be able to sub a hitter in and out repeatedly to combat it, then it would be fair. Kinda like teams did and still do with pitchers even after the 3 out rule. (Which doesnt even apply at the end of an inning)
Eliminate outfield fences and all the stands and make it so the ball can just keep rolling. That would be fun.
143 comments to this article so far and not one mention that “bunting” is the easiest way to defeat the shift. We’re not talking about drastically altering a players swing to hit the ball hard to the opposite field. Just bunt to get on base – most shifts I’ve seen against lefty batters the 3rd basemen is positioned 3/4 to second base. It doesn’t take a perfect bunt to find all that open area. Bunting used to be a fundamental skill that’s almost totally neglected nowadays. But the bottom line is when a runner or runners are on base the defense goes back to normal alignments.
this sport has become such a joke.
It’s death to baseball by a thousand cuts. All the changes are novelties for the new generations that want bells and whistles and no game strategy.
The slightly bigger bases idea is pretty clever, actually.
Someone had a similar idea for hockey, to make the blue lines a bit wider, which would make the offensive and neutral zones effectively bigger, but it was never adopted.
Actually, another good idea to keep the nets 6 x 4 but make the pipes smaller and thus increase the scoring area.
Small changes can be big changes.
These rules are not small changes & it’s an attempt to ruin the game of baseball for millions of baseball fans
FLUCK the electronic ball & strike calling it’s one of the biggest blights on the game of baseball if it ever reaches the Major Leagues.
FLUCK the pickoff attempts rule because it penalizes Pitchers who develop a great pickoff move.
NOT wild about the increase in the size of the bases.
MLB is trying to destroy the game of baseball & telling Baseball Fans you prefer the Old School game that they don’t want old school fans.
How about MLB create a new league & just have robots play the game.
1st Bud Selig & now Rob Manfred have been slowing destroying the Game of Baseball & these trail rules is an attempt to further destroy the game.
Remember people Baseball is a Kids game & nothing more & every player in MLB will admit that Baseball is a kids game . .
This is no longer about old school vs new school. Since the strike, the game has been offense-driven. Has it improved the game? Has it improved ratings? Has it brought more fans? I would argue no.
No rule change or tinkering by the commissioner’s office has helped pitchers in any way. Even the mild attempts have been a disaster. Yet we continue to watch pitchers go down and I wonder if that is by decision. It is atrocious.
High scoring baseball games is now old school. They’ve had over 25 years.
I’m glad MLB’s Dumb Idea Committee has been able to keep up the good work over the off-season.
Enough with timers. The minor league game experience has already been ruined with the hair on fire pace between innings. Might as well set a clock for 30 minutes and whoever leads when it runs out wins and the stare at my phone crowd can get on their way.
Terrible. Stop spending your money. That’s the only way this stops. I literally hate no human being on earth more than Rob Manfred. Stop spending your money on baseball. No rule change can be good. Any change that changes something or attempts to change something is bad, no matter what it is. It’s absolutely impossible to have a positive rule change, literally. There can be no such thing. Send them a message by not giving them your money anymore.
be like softball and use two first bases
Free balk? That is straight up the dumbest thing I’ve ever read
AAA- great small change, will improve safety and slightly improve SB.
AA- another good change, there would be less reason to swing for the fences if singles were easier.
A+ – this is also good, harder pickoffs means less attempts and more stealing.
A – the pickoff limit is stupid, 15 seconds is too quick, robo umps are very flawed currently but maybe a test season helps.
Shifts should be eliminated. They rob the fans of excitement by taking away would-be base hits, thus reducing action and future scoring opportunities arising from having a man on base. The rules should be clear, 2 infielders on each side of 2nd base, with all 4 infielders required to be on the dirt when the ball is pitched.
The pick off rules only make sense if a base runner is not allowed to lead off after the pitcher has thrown over a second time. I don’t understand this at all… if the runner knows the pitcher can’t throw over, he can take a huge lead off.
Pick off rule will not save any time. Once teams figure this out they will save the second throw over, because they have to, and after the first throw over the pitcher will start running the ball over near first to force the runner back to the bag.