Was just about to post this. I don’t like the shift, but I hate at my very core the idea of banning it. It’s like banning the 3-4 defense because the offensive line doesn’t know which of the 4 LBs are coming. I’m fine with a pitch clock but I think limiting how many times you can throw over is a step too far and I think the timers need to be maybe 17-18 seconds and 22-24 seconds. 15 and 20 seconds is just too short imo
The throws over aren’t a timing thing, they’re a “make stolen bases common again” thing.
Will there be an official timekeeper to keep track of these, or is it up to the HPU?
Yeah I know. Thats what the bigger bases is supposed to do though
Both? Both. Both is good.
So 1B will be three inches closer to home plate. Think about all of those plays where a guy is out by that much, and those will be hits. And 1B and 2B are 4.5 inches closer together. Because nothing will shorten games more than creating more baserunners.
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Game time isn’t the only goal here. It’s also more action during the time played. Last time batting averages were this low, they lowered the mound. It’s not shocking to see changes.
I do think you’ll see some spring training work to hit the front of a bag that’s inches closer, though.
To be clear - I don’t have a problem with the pitch clock, or limiting pickoffs, or the bigger bases. But banning the shift is pure Manfred-grade BS.
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Also expect to see more back-pick throws from catchers, since those are not “disengagements”
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Will they fix thursday nights with no baseball?
Manfred would probably completely concede Thursdays and Sundays starting in September.
Yes they will fix it by eliminating all thursday games without adding those games elsewhere
Pretty much my view as well. Although I didn’t expect to see all the myriad pitch clock adjacent rules (like the catcher having to be in the box with 9 seconds left in the timer) which seems a bit on the nitpicky side.
I was very excited to see the limit on batters calling time
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I quit reading about a quarter of the way in. I imagine my interest in MLB will end up where my interest in college football is, which is zero.
I suppose this idiocy is irreversible.
I understand your deeply ingrained conservatism, but in some ways it’s good that the game is supple enough to accept rule changes, and always has. The real question is whether any of these changes fundamentally change the character of the game.
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One of the incidental benefits of the clock should be the demise of the Jeterian wait-for-me-to-be-ready arm.
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Official
So does the both feet in the dirt mean that Bagwell’s bunt defense would have been outlawed?
Fuck Manfred and all of this stupidity.
What a dumb fucking thing to ban.
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