Dinger Whiff Analytics

[frankbmd]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/s...trikeouts.html

The New York Times must be eavesdropping on the Dinger Whiff thread.

Total hits vs strikeouts is neck and neck this year in MLB.

Batting Average is the lowest since 1972.

So what's the fix from a rule change point of view.

Increasing balls in play is suggested in the article to generate more appeal in viewing the game and I guess I agree.

So, ......

why not move the mound back a bit to decrease the effectiveness of the 100mph fastball

Or .......

reverse the the ball strike count so that four strikes are required for a strikeout and three balls get you to first base

Or.......

Both of the above.

[drcy]

Beachballs

[celoknob]

I think there are too many strikeouts AND home runs getting to the point of boredom. To me, this means you shouldn’t just disadvantage pitchers because that will increase home runs even more.

I would consider making the ball a little bigger and heavier. Small changes there could make a big difference. That would slow down pitches, put more balls in play but also fewer home runs. The fences are too close in some parks. Unfortunately, I think baseball will only address the strikeout issue without addressing home runs.

[Butch7999]

Much as we long to see most starters again throw 300+ innings and 30+ complete games every year,
the sensitive, finely-tuned mechanisms that are modern pitching arms would collapse and implode
throwing an even minutely larger / heavier ball. Keep the ball the same size and weight but install
a softer, deader center. Part of the reason that strikeouts are up -- aside from control pitchers with
overpowering speed -- is that every hitter, not just guys with killer power, is swinging for the fences.
If a deader ball reduces that tendency, strikeouts will decrease as well.

[brass_rat]

Great thread, guys.

I'd like to see two things --

1) Reduce the mound height.
2) Move back the fences (where possible).

I agree that changing the ball could potentially have similar effects to #2, but if you create more space in the outfield, you'll have more balls dropping when hit on a line. Fewer batters could reach the fences, so people would drop all of the talk about launch angles for #8 hitters...

If you only changed the ball so that it couldn't be hit as hard/far, you might just find that you have more outs. (Fly balls that aren't HR --> outs, and softer grounders --> easy outs.)

Thoughts?

[frankbmd]

Moving the fences back to 600 feet would all but eliminate the over the fence home run, but would be a boon to perhaps the most exciting play in baseball, the inside the park home run. "Shift" analysts could position an infielder or two in the wide open spaces to curb this eventuality.

Teams, however, would be forced to lower the price of those bleacher seats in the next county.

Lowering the mound is certainly a more doable modification, and could also be repeated as needed until the pitchers were literally standing in a hole to pitch.

The ball itself need not be deadened to prewar specs, but could it not be infected with a virus of some sort that made it a bit more mushy in the core. The diameter and weight could remain the same.

And finally how to handle the epidemic of "Tommy John" surgery. One suggestion would be to require rehabbed Tommy Johners to get 4 outs/half inning rather than three, and begin an early education program in elementary school to teach little leaguers sound pitching mechanics and techniques to avoid the strain on their elbows that would predispose them to become a Tommy Johnner later in life in their early twenties.

Rule or equipment changes always have consequences, both intended and unintended. Baseball has been tweaked many times in the past and will continue to be tweaked going forward. The overall balance of the game between pitching and hitting has remained relatively constant, but seems to be heading away from the balance and equilibrium. Some ideas expressed in this thread are more reasonable than others and I doubt if the powers that be on the rules committee are getting their input from Net54. Let's, at least, hope they are not.