The Cavs March to the playoffs, the Delly problem, and homemade luge: While We’re Waiting…
March 3, 2015Brian Hartline to visit Browns today
March 3, 2015I repeat: Baseball is not broken. Baseball is as beautiful a sport as it has ever been. The art of hitting a baseball with an elongated, rounded bat has amazingly persevered through the generations as something that is worth attempting. The drama that builds during crucial games is incredible as every single pitch can have more meaning than the last one. And, the ability to watch the rest of the games while chatting with friends and family on beautiful summer days and nights has also not lost its luster. So, please do not mistake the thoughts presented here as implying that baseball itself is broken. However, MLB could be better.
Last week, we discussed some ways to improve the MLB experience for the fans. I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of agreement among the commentariat in the suggestions from that column. Today, may be a bit more contentious as we tinker with the rules of the game.
So, here is how to fix MLB (Part 2 – the game itself)1 …
The Neighborhood Play
A force out in baseball is simple. A fielder has control of the baseball and touches the base ahead of a runner that is forced to run there on a batted ball that is not caught on the fly. It is true at every base. It is simple except when it is ignored. You see, for years there were rumors that the shortstop or second baseman did not actually have to touch 2B when turning a double play for the umpire to award an out2 . This unwritten rule is called the neighborhood play and, in my opinion, it undermines the integrity of an out.
I understand the idea behind this unwritten rule is to protect the middle infielder from the runner barreling towards him attempting to break up that double play. It just seems to me that it would be easier and better to enforce the rule that does not allow the runner to go out of the basepath or to interfere with the fielder3. Instead, umpires often award outs where no out actually occurred. Is there another unwritten rule in another sport that so blatantly violates the rules of the game and is supported by the officials?
The good news is that MLB does seem to be making progress. Umpires used to pretend that the neighborhood play didn’t even exist. However, instant replay has at least forced them to acknowledge it in some capacity. There has even been at least one occurence of an overturn though it is not technically supposed to be reviewable. But, this needs to be a rule that is actually enforced.
A positive benefit of enforcing this basic rule is that it would make turning a double play more difficult, which would lead to more runs being scored at a time when run scoring is at a premium.
This play is a neighborhood play where Austin Jackson was called out in the 2013 ALCS Game 4:
http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/visual/whatshot/grades-game4-alcs.jpg
On the other hand, this play was not a neighborhood play…
Speed Up the Game
One of the chief directives that Rob Manfred has taken up since becoming the MLB commissioner is to speed up the pace of play. And, for good reason as many have been noticing the game keeps getting longer. Whether it is due to more teams adopting a reliance on the three true outcomes in baseball4 or players develop stalling techniques to think through the next pitch, something should be done to keep the game moving along.
MLB has been testing out these pace of play initiatives in the minors, Arizona Fall League, and has pushed the first set of rules to the MLB level this spring as we discussed. However, if Manfred stops at merely reducing the time spent idle between innings, then he has not succeeded. I believe that this first set of is a good first step towards easing into more drastic changes in future seasons.
Here are some of the rules MLB has already tested out and have my full support:
No Pitch Intentional Walk
Sure, something crazy can happen on an intentional walk, but I do not think that warrants stalling the game for the pitcher and catcher to largely play a quick game of catch.
Pitching Change Clock
Similar to the between innings clock that is being implemented now, it would provide a specific amount of time between changing pitchers5. If it can be done between innings, then it should be able to be done on a pitching change when the reliever is already warmed up.
Time-out Limit
The rule they have tested in the minors is a three time out per game rule. Players, managers, and coaches may only conference at most 3 times during the course of a game6. Pitching changes fall under the pitching change clock and do not count as a time out. Why do baseball players build a complicated set of hand signals if they still need to talk it over with each other?
Pitch Clock
The most controversial rule among players is the proposal to institute a pitch clock into the game. The basic implementation of the pitch clock is that the pitcher has 20 seconds between pitches in order to pitch again and that the batter must be prepared to bat during the duration of the 20 second clock. If the pitcher does not pitch in that time allotment, then the umpire shall declare a “ball” for that phantom pitch. There would likely be some negotiation on when the pitch clock starts and stops, but the rule for the minors was written that once the pitcher starts his delivery, that is sufficient to beat the clock.
I mean, aren’t we all tired of waiting?
Expand Replay
Instant replay in the NFL is extremely difficult. There are a ridiculous number of things that can happen almost anywhere on the field. Cameras may not provide the perfect angle to see the particular play of interest. However, the advantage that MLB has over the NFL with instant replay is that the vast majority of replayable plays happen in specific spots on the field. Television is already quite good at ensuring that the proper angles are seen at each base, on the mound, and on the foul lines7.
MLB did good to expand instant replay at the start of the 2014 season. Managers were given the opportunity to challenge most types of plays other than called balls and strikes. There are weird rules around how often a challenge can take place8 , but MLB has largely done it the right way. A separate MLB sanctioned team covers the challenges and makes calls quickly enough to not slow down the pace of play.
My suggestion is to take it a step further. If the MLB sanctioned official watching the game is able to discern that a call was incorrect, then why does there need to be a challenge filed? They should be able to notify the MLB officiating crew and take proper action promptly with less disturbance than the challenge initiated replays because there is only a one direction communication. However, it may prove to be overly cumbersome for that crew to cover the entire game. Perhaps, start off only covering the 7th inning through the end of the game to test it out.
Fix the strike zone
Before 1968, seatbelts were not standard even though it was evident that they could save lives. It’s just the way it always had been. It did not mean that there wasn’t a better way.
Currently, MLB is facing a similar situation with regard to their strike zone. You see, while MLB has a defined strike zone, umpires have always been able to determine what they want the strike zone to be on a particular day or even pitch. When MLB hinted at fixing the issue similar to how tennis uses their Hawk-Eye Officiating to make line calls the baseball community rejected the idea9 .
Recently, the strike zone has also been creeping bigger, which has obviously helped aid in the current era of pitching dominance. A big part of that seems to be more teams paying more attention to catcher framing results. Over the years, analytics have helped demonstrate that some catchers are especially good at framing bad pitches into being called strikes.
The expanding strike zone has been at least partially attributed to the umpires having more extensive video analysis on their calls10. The video analysis noted that umpires were not calling enough low strikes, so it appears that they now have over compensated to call more than necessary. The idea to do video analysis and help umpires with their calls is a good one, but it is incomplete since the technology exists to get the calls nearly completely consistent and correct. We have the technology, let’s fix it for real.11
Part 3 Teaser
Helping the small versus large market dynamics, amateur draft, international non-draft, and other more CBA-specific components to MLB.
- Part 3 will talk about more CBA type things that some of you got a jump start on in the Part 1 comments [↩]
- and the existence was denied by the umpires [↩]
- and, most good middle infielders can use momentum to get out of the basepath to complete the double play [↩]
- homerun, strikeout, and walk [↩]
- likely with an exception for when being replaced due to injury [↩]
- again, exceptions for injuries [↩]
- sure, they can always be better [↩]
- Managers have 1, if they win the challenge, they get 1 more. After the 7th inning, they can request the officiating crew to challenge themselves or the crew can challenge on their own at that point if the managers are out of challenges. Like I said, weird. [↩]
- even though it wouldn’t completely replace umpires, they are largely good at their job and would still be needed [↩]
- and variance on umpire to umpire strike zones has gone down [↩]
- interesting point in the article — strike zone expansion has grown much more for RHB than LHB, which may be one reason the Indians stay away from RHB so much [↩]
17 Comments
Now these are ideas I fully endorse! Somebody start a change.org petition!
always good to find some common ground.
I think Belle got a minor suspension for that hit, terrible.
“Is there another unwritten rule in another sport that so blatantly violates the rules of the game and is supported by the officials?”
– half of contact in the key in the NBA
– huge # of calls in soccer
– a ton of the hits on QBs
The reaility is you harshly enforce those calls at 2B and you’re going to have a lot of hurt 2B and SS. I think there are times to be lax with it and other times to be tight about it, but as always, complexity and nuance are failed on the general consumer.
just about any contact on QBs is penalized these days, so I am unsure what you mean there.
yes, officials could call fouls on almost any possession in the NBA. it is better now with the hand-checking than it was, but I don’t think it is anywhere near as egregious as the neighborhood rule allowing outs where no out occurred.
I think if you penalize runners who run over 2B/SS, then you won’t. there is no reason to not enforce the interference rules. But, that is the main argument to keep it.
Nice to see you writing Bodie and nice work.
NOW THEN.
In my opinion, the stepping out of the batter’s box after each pitch is a much larger factor in slow play than anything the pitcher does. Pitcher doesn’t even start his routine until delicate flowers like Nomar and Jeter and the familiar guy below are all safely tucked in.
It’s gotta start with some umps not granting timeouts and calling some strikes on the batters.
http://youtu.be/8tGm_JajqLo
And wait,,, you want to expand replay to speed up the game?
I agree on the batters, but that rule is supposedly going to be enforced this year, so I didn’t include it. We shall see.
And expanding replay was a separate category than pace of play but taking the arguing out of it makes the time effect negligible as shown on that article link.
and, thanks man.
Now we’re getting somewhere! The strike zone/umpiring issue has long been a pet peeve of mine. All this talk about different strike zones for different umps as if that’s some sort of baseball tradition. Pitches being called strikes that are six inches off the plate (see World Series 1995). Pitches right down Broadway that are called balls (hear Tom Hamilton ask several times per game, “Now where was that one?”). That’s a real denigration of the phrase “baseball tradition.” Three NYT articles from 2014 all show that umps are not really capable — humans are not capable — of reading those pitches accurately without error rates that should be (and are) unacceptable. We’ve all seen games on TV with the strike zone technology on the screen and we can all see that missed calls are routine. The technology exists today to get those calls correct virtually every pitch. The home plate ump would still be there, but a system, for instance, with one little light that flashes for a strike … think what that would eliminate. There are plenty of MLB hitters, like Miguel Cabrera, who don’t believe that any pitch they take is a strike. The posturing and sulking and walking around outside the batter’s box … oh brother, spare us. Talk about unnecessary delays. Take up your argument with the computer after the game.
great point on the batter tantrums. another thing that can be learnt from tennis since they used technology to make line calls, you don’t see the players throwing John McEnroe fits at the line judge if they do not agree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Nyc9jzSDg
I think the umpires should be graded and they should get new ones if the guys are not performing. There has been some bad ones and pitchers adjust but why should they need to.
They are graded. Every night. Not sure about the processing of firing an ump, but they are suspended for egregious calls.
I cannot find it right now, but there was an article on how they are moved off home, not fired. The MLB umpires are the best in the world at what they do, but even getting feedback ends up causing a bias in where they call strikes as they are only human.
What are the pitchers going to do when they nod off too many pitches? No more step off and start over.
Less nodding off by pitchers = less nodding off by fans
“Why do baseball players build a complicated set of hand signals if they still need to talk it over with each other?”
One reason for pitcher-catcher meetups is to discuss runners on base, which can’t be discussed through hand signals. I completely agree with you on the other points, however.