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The games are too short. They aren’t taking long enough. The other night the Reds game was over nearly 30 minutes before the game out on the west coast started. I had to kill some time.
Here are some ideas for making the games last longer so me and everybody else can enjoy them more.
1) Longer commercials
2) Pitch clock. The pitcher cannot pitch the ball until at least 30 seconds has elapsed since his last pitch.
3) Batters clock. The batter cannot get into the batters box until at least 30 seconds after the previous pitch.
4) Allow twice as many mound visits.
5) Allow three trips to the mound by team personnel (pitching coach, manager, etc)
6) Allow the pitcher as many throws to 1st base as he wants with a runner on 1st.
7) Eliminate the stupid ghost runner on 2nd in extra innings.This should do for a start. We can finally get back to a three hour game the way it used to be.
r/Esteemed Rat
The only proper way to kill time is to work it to death.
Next time this situation arises I need you to give me 30 minutes of push ups, sit ups, and squat thrusts.
If you are still bored you can cut the grass or do laundry.
Problem solved
Early data from Forbes:
In 2022, over half of the population saw games are too long. Heading into this season, that has dropped nearly 10 points to 43%. Even avid MLB fans see game length as an issue. While 61% said that games were too long last year, 54% see games as too long heading into 2023, a sign that MLB sees the pitch clock as not just a mechanism to lure new fans, but to retain those already in place. The majority of hardcore MLB fans, 57%, said they would watch more games is they were shorter.
I love the shorter games with less farting around by both the pitcher and the batter.
It also helps that a pitcher must face three batters.
I like limiting visits to the mound
The games actually get into a rhythm now and I find myself watching more.
Nobody can disagree with the less farting part, especially since the infielders have to actually stay in the infield now.
Thanks, Rats. It’s nice to see a bit of sanity in a world that often times takes on the atmosphere of a lunatic asylum, however you neglected to insist that both Morgana and Front Row Amy be allowed on the field of play at regular intervals for the purpose of reapplying eye black, pine tar, and to check the proper function of those…er…uh…pitch.com thing-a-ma-jigs.
Watching maybe a couple dozen games so far, including two live, I really like the quicker pace. The game resembles the type of baseball that was played in my youth, which was ‘60s & ‘70s. Batters got in the box and stayed there – none of this nonsense of stepping out between every pitch and going through some silly routine.
Pitchers get the ball and throw. It keeps a good rhythm going and I would think the players like it much better. You keep your head in the game and are not standing around so much, which keeps you sharper, more focused, and on your toes as the saying goes.
The first Rockies-Cardinals game I attended on a Monday night, I told my wife I would be home around `10:30. I looked at the clock when I got home and it was 9:38. The game zipped right along.
And Rats, next time you have a break between games, while doing the push-ups and squats, throw on an episode of “Andy Griffith” or “Petticoat Junction”. You will likely need to laugh to help forget about the just completed Cardinal loss.
Rat indirectly raises an interesting point. Should game start times be adjusted in light of the shorter run times? Should night games start around the time afternoon games end like has been the case?
IMO, the most important consideration is that the game start time is convenient to fans in the in-person zone who are making a decision whether or not to attend. The time gap between games in different locations should be irrelevant. For TV watchers, on most weekend days, there is some game going on somewhere from afternoon until night due to the time zone differences. Maybe just before the Sunday night games are an exception, but if so, an exclusivity window is probably written into the national contract.
While the game plays better with the pitch clock and batter-step-out restrictions, just like basketball with the shot clock and football with the snap clock, I am in favor of getting rid of the extra inning ghost runner.
A comprise would be okay, like say if the game is still tied after 12 innings then do the ghost runner. But back in the day the occasional 19 inning game was kind of cool. Course that kills your pitching staff. Way back when you had a couple of guys on the staff that could go 6-7 innings in a pinch. Or the starter might go 10-11 innings. Not the case anymore.
More change may be coming.
MLB To Experiment With Designated Pinch Runner In 2023 Atlantic League Season https://t.co/AsQyWB4yna pic.twitter.com/pR0EUeDFN0
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) April 18, 2023
Here is a scheduling example. Four televised games in one day with two of them having to be joined in progress. I don’t see an issue of too much time between games.
4 games coming your way today on MLB Network! ⬇️⚾️ pic.twitter.com/0W2pYSiSqn
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 20, 2023
As someone who goes to 20/30 games a year for business and personal. I hate the shorter games- sorry. Absolutely hate. For business its harder to get a conversation in while watching the game, and even if going to pleasure good luck taking a leak and grabbing a beer and a brat- its takes 1.5 innings. Then you have to deal with traffic feeling like you just got there.
For TV watching sure- but overall i despise.🤙
I used to be able to catch the last of games a couple times a week when I skated out a few min early on Friday but that is no more. It’s really just weekends for me now. Hell even as I settle in back home last night the game was in the 9th around 11pm and not in doubt.
That’s really my main complaint but baseball doesn’t care about me or most other people. So I’ll just stick to highlights or replays during the week.
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