|
|
Post by WorcesterGray on Feb 14, 2020 6:53:47 GMT -5
New MLB rule to take effect this year will require a reliever to face at least three batters.
|
|
|
|
Post by hchoops on Feb 14, 2020 7:06:52 GMT -5
Analytics did this to baseball by making so many lefty-righty changes in late innings that it made the end of games interminable.
The DH was the first nail in the cross of the great baseball game of the past
|
|
|
|
Post by WorcesterGray on Feb 14, 2020 8:11:26 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 14, 2020 8:25:39 GMT -5
I like the "must face three batters" rule--will make for a significant change in strategies and in time used
|
|
|
|
Post by purplehaze on Feb 14, 2020 8:34:21 GMT -5
Batters stepping out of the batters box drives me nuts - once you step in, you should not be able to back out (the 20 seconds between pitches is part of this solution here)
|
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Feb 14, 2020 8:38:09 GMT -5
Maybe it will reduce the average pitching staff and increase the number of potential pitch hitters, expanding strategy options and placing more importance on a mamager's skill in making pitching changes. It may increase intentional walks to eliminate the chance of a reliever having a bad day really hurting the team.
|
|
|
|
Post by alum on Feb 14, 2020 8:46:27 GMT -5
Here are all the 2020 rule changes www.mlb.com/news/mlb-rule-changes-for-2020-seasonMajor League Baseball made its rule changes for the 2020 season official on Wednesday.
There are four categories of rules going into effect: the three-batter minimum for pitchers, roster limits, adjustments to the injured list and option periods for pitchers and two-way players, and a reduction in the time managers have to challenge a play. All but one of these changes -- the one addressing manager challenges -- had been publicly reported prior to Wednesday, but now they are all locked in.
Here's a breakdown of each rule change.
THREE-BATTER MINIMUM:
This is the big one that's been grabbing the headlines since it was first reported.
All pitchers -- both starters and relievers -- now have to face at least three batters (or pitch until the inning is over) before they come out of a game. The only exception is an injury or illness that prevents the pitcher from being able to finish his three batters.
The main effect of this rule will be on specialist relievers, who are often used for only one batter to give their team a favorable matchup -- for example, a left-handed pitcher who faces only left-handed hitters, whom he is most likely to get out (often nicknamed a “LOOGY,” for “left-handed one-out guy”). There will be no more of that in 2020. The rule could also impact teams that use openers -- typical relievers who start a game to match up specifically against the top of the opposing order. Now, an opener would have to face at least three batters even if he has a bad matchup in that run.
The three-batter rule goes into effect in Spring Training on March 12.
ROSTER LIMITS:
There are five parts to the roster limits rule change:
26-man rosters -- Teams' active rosters are being increased from 25 to 26 players for the regular season (through Aug. 31) and during the postseason. Teams are limited to carrying a maximum of 13 pitchers.
Smaller rosters in September -- MLB is adjusting the size of September rosters to 28 players, including a max of 14 pitchers.
Previously, when rosters expanded in September, any player on a team's 40-man roster could be added to the Major League club. And while teams usually didn’t use all 40, it was common to see 30-plus players active for a given game in the final month of the season. That often caused longer games in September with teams using a lot more relief pitchers or pinch-hitters in certain situations than they would have been able to with normal roster sizes.
Two-way player designation -- A "two-way player" -- someone who both hits and pitches -- is now an official designation. That lets them stay on the roster as a position player and pitch in games without counting toward their team's 13-pitcher pitcher limit. If you designate someone a two-way player, they have to stay that way through the end of the year.
This is for players like the Angels' Shohei Ohtani, a starting pitcher and designated hitter, and the Reds' Michael Lorenzen, who appears as a reliever and also plays the outfield. True two-way players essentially hadn't been seen in the Major Leagues since the days of Babe Ruth until Ohtani arrived from Japan in 2018.
Players have to meet certain criteria to qualify as two-way players -- in either the current MLB season or the previous one, they have to pitch at least 20 innings in the Majors and start at least 20 games as a position player or DH where they bat three or more times.
The two-way player designation for 2020 also allows players who met the requirements in 2018 to qualify this season. So Ohtani, who didn't pitch last year because of Tommy John surgery but did pitch as a rookie in '18, can still be named a two-way player for the Angels right away.
Position players pitching -- Position players are allowed to pitch only if a game goes to extra innings, or if their team is winning or losing by more than six runs. During normal circumstances in a nine-inning game, only the team's 13 designated pitchers -- or two-way players -- are allowed to pitch.
Teams were using position player pitchers more than ever before in the past couple of seasons. In 2019, more than 50 different position players pitched in at least one game, generally so teams could save their pitchers' arms if they felt a game was out of hand.
The 27th man -- What used to be the "26th man" is now a "27th man" thanks to the new 26-man roster size.
Teams used to be able to call up an extra player in special circumstances -- mainly for a doubleheader. They still can ... that player is now just the 27th on the roster, not the 26th. Teams are allowed to call up a 14th pitcher for these games.
INJURED LIST AND OPTION PERIODS:
Pitchers and two-way players are returning to a 15-day injured list. That is, once they're placed on the IL, they can't be reinstated for 15 days.
The injured list used to be 15 days for all players until the 2017 season, when it was reduced to 10 days. Position players will still have a 10-day IL under the new rules.
Additionally, pitchers who are optioned to the Minor Leagues now have to remain there for 15 days rather than 10. The option period for position players is still 10 days.
CHALLENGE TIME:
Managers now only have 20 seconds to decide to challenge a play instead of 30.
That shortens the amount of time they have to get information about video replays, which might allow them to figure out if they'd win a challenge before they actually challenge the play. Of the changes that were announced on Wednesday, this is the only one that hadn’t previously been reported publicly.
David Adler is a reporter for MLB.com based in New York. Follow him on Twitter at @_dadler. |
|
|
|
Post by WorcesterGray on Feb 14, 2020 9:05:55 GMT -5
Batters stepping out of the batters box drives me nuts - once you step in, you should not be able to back out (the 20 seconds between pitches is part of this solution here) There will never be another Mike Hargrove . . . at least I hope so.
|
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Feb 14, 2020 9:07:04 GMT -5
All good for a sport hemmoraging active fans. Except why do we need 26 players if we are going to need less pitching specialists? A concession to the Union I guess.
|
|
|
|
Post by WCHC Sports on Feb 14, 2020 9:24:49 GMT -5
Too much time between pitches, and between plays. I love watching the games from 30 years ago. The pitcher stands on the rubber (my favorite pitchers in the modern era such as Severino do this as well-- they tend to be the most aggressive and successful, hmm...) and the batter stays in the box. It's like the batter is eager to hit and the pitcher is eager to throw, rather than them both sort of meander around their respective areas with this slow and methodical build up to each singular pitch, rather than it feel like a comprehensive at-bat.
Time is constantly "out." Players reach base and reflexively are calling for time, walking halfway across the field to donate back to the first base coach their gloves, arm bands, shin guards, lucky rabbit foot, pine tar, buzzers, earpieces, etc.
The worst part about the sport. Time should only be out if a batter is hit by a pitch, someone is injured, or a ball clears the fence.
While I'm ranting at nothing, the replay use for the base stealer who is clearly safe but lifts their waist a hair off the bag as they continue their slide-- the defender holding the tag against their backside or leg-- and then is ruled out. That's completely against what I feel is the point of the game. There should be some grace, written or unwritten, that if the man beats the throw, or the throw beats the man, that governs them being "safe" or "out" until some reasonable time after that play moves on.
|
|
|
|
Post by Tom on Feb 14, 2020 9:32:38 GMT -5
I don't hate the rule.
I had a different take some years ago. Limit relievers to 10 warms ups total in a half inning not 10 warm up pitches each. It drives me cuckoo when a guy comes in takes his 10 warm up pitches, gets an out on the first pitch and comes out and the next guy gets 10 warmups. It's nuts to see a team use 4 pitchers in an inning and not give up a run. MLB's answer is more severe, but also more effective than the one I came up with years ago.
The pitch clock is coming too. I thought they had something that if average game time was over a certain threshold, it would be implemented.
|
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Feb 14, 2020 12:02:20 GMT -5
They ought to try a month of: at the three hour mark the game goes into extra innings at the next top of an inning no matter what inning it is. The team that's behind - oh well, catch up fast or lose. You had three hours to get a lead.
|
|
|
|
Post by timholycross on Feb 16, 2020 14:07:29 GMT -5
1. I think you'll still see the loogy, but only with two outs and the guy coming up 100% sure not to be replaced by a right-handed hitter. Obviously, it will be a bit of a gamble because if an out isn't recorded, you're stuck with the guy for one or two more batters.
2. I like the Japanese pro rule that if the game is tied after 12 innings, it's a tie ballgame. Games that extend further than that at this point are cruel and unusual punishment. Average time of a 12 inning game is over 4 hours; and even in a place like Fenway, the stands have cleared out. Regular season, of course.
|
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Feb 16, 2020 18:25:29 GMT -5
1. I think you'll still see the loogy, but only with two outs and the guy coming up 100% sure not to be replaced by a right-handed hitter. Obviously, it will be a bit of a gamble because if an out isn't recorded, you're stuck with the guy for one or two more batters. 2. I like the Japanese pro rule that if the game is tied after 12 innings, it's a tie ballgame. Games that extend further than that at this point are cruel and unusual punishment. Average time of a 12 inning game is over 4 hours; and even in a place like Fenway, the stands have cleared out. Regular season, of course. Baseball needs to adapt to the digital age of instant gratification without losing it's soul. The twelve inning rule moves towards that. |
|
|
|
Post by Sons of Vaval on Feb 16, 2020 22:02:32 GMT -5
This wouldn’t happen due to the commercial revenue that would be lost, but baseball games would become roughly 35-40 minutes shorter if the two minutes in between every inning (2:25 for nationally televised games) were eliminated.
Do the outfielders really need to play catch and the infielders take ground balls in between every single inning?
This would give a much better flow to the game, but we know it won’t happen as that’s millions and millions of dollars in advertising that the league would lose.
|
|
|
|
Post by timholycross on Feb 19, 2020 18:21:57 GMT -5
One thing they could do that would help a lot is make it 90 seconds and have the split screen for the first 30-60 seconds.
They have that now in the NFL some times during short time outs. You don't miss a pitch- if something big happens they'll replay it anyway.
|
|
