MLB looking at runner on 2nd in extra innings rule(to be implemented in lower minors)

[Terminator]

I prefer football to basketball, but NBA broadcasts are about a million times more watchable than NFL games. Football is a really interesting, fun game underneath all the waiting around and commercials, but wow is watching a game ever a fatty experience.

 

I love football but I think I watched dozens of NCAA Football games this year and probably only parts of a handful of NFL games and that includes the Super Bowl. NCAA Football is a way better game. You have teams that run the ball 90% of the time like the service academies and teams that throw the ball 70% of the time like Washington State. In the NFL, every single team runs basically the same offense with a deviation of only 15% between percentage of run/pass plays. There are also big cultural and traditional differences between NCAA teams. In the NFL, few teams have any discernible culture, the Raiders probably being the best example but that's not exactly a good cultural model for a fanbase. The majority of teams you could swap fanbases and jerseys and not even know the different. There's also 50+ games every weekend for NCAA compared to 15 for the NFL. There's more to pick and choose from.

 

That's not to say that the NCAA runs a completely commercial free setup but it is better than the NFL.

 

And I agree with you, the NBA isn't bad on TV at all. Takes the right team though with the right star players but the game will be fun to watch. The problem is that the games are pretty much pointless until the postseason and frankly there are only a handful of teams who could actually win it anyway. Getting to the playoffs isn't a big deal so truth is 90% of the games are pretty much meaningless. And then even the top teams merely try to coast through regular season in order to make it to the playoffs fully rested and without injury.

[TheHurl]

Gotcha. Well it does make sense based upon my gut feeling and I believe I saw a similar poll but a long time ago.

 

1. NFL

2a. NCAA Football

2b. MLB

3. NBA

 

At times it seems like the NBA is bigger than MLB. It seems to get more national press. I have a ton of friends who don't give a s*** about the NBA though.

 

you are forgetting auto racing which in most voting polls comes up in the top 5.

[o2cui2i]

Bring back Bud Selig.

 

that statement says how gross this is... every day there is more stupid coming from the commissioner's office

[Grant77]

Again this isn't about speeding up the game (yet). This is about giving the owners, MLBPA and TV Rightsholders something they want...while not effecting the fundamental aspects of the game. So fans are pissed because they are always pissed over change. Much like every other change that's happened they will just watch and enjoy. Next step is truly deal with something that is going to upset one or more of the three above.

 

We obviously disagree on what the fundamental rules of the game are, but I'll drop that for the moment.

 

Can you cite a source that says this proposed change is a priority for the MLBPA and/or TV rights holders? We can infer that there is at least one owner in favour of this rule, but I haven't seen anything else. Admittedly, I haven't looked either.

[Bobthe4th]

you are forgetting auto racing which in most voting polls comes up in the top 5.

 

Also depends on what is meant by popular. If it includes participation then golf would likely have a chance at top 5.

 

I heard on the radio the other day someone claim horse racing was the most popular sport in the world as he said it has the highest number of attendees (because you have multiple daily race meets). Off topic but I don't consider it a real sport, if gambling didn't exist, neither would horse racing in the form it does now.

[Terminator]

you are forgetting auto racing which in most voting polls comes up in the top 5.

 

So what NHL is 4 and NASCAR is 5? What about the PGA and MLS? I suppose there is UFC, Boxing and Tennis too. Would be interesting to see these polls. I'm going to look for some.

[Brownie19]

I love football but I think I watched dozens of NCAA Football games this year and probably only parts of a handful of NFL games and that includes the Super Bowl. NCAA Football is a way better game. You have teams that run the ball 90% of the time like the service academies and teams that throw the ball 70% of the time like Washington State. In the NFL, every single team runs basically the same offense with a deviation of only 15% between percentage of run/pass plays. There are also big cultural and traditional differences between NCAA teams. In the NFL, few teams have any discernible culture, the Raiders probably being the best example but that's not exactly a good cultural model for a fanbase. The majority of teams you could swap fanbases and jerseys and not even know the different. There's also 50+ games every weekend for NCAA compared to 15 for the NFL. There's more to pick and choose from.

 

That's not to say that the NCAA runs a completely commercial free setup but it is better than the NFL.

 

And I agree with you, the NBA isn't bad on TV at all. Takes the right team though with the right star players but the game will be fun to watch. The problem is that the games are pretty much pointless until the postseason and frankly there are only a handful of teams who could actually win it anyway. Getting to the playoffs isn't a big deal so truth is 90% of the games are pretty much meaningless. And then even the top teams merely try to coast through regular season in order to make it to the playoffs fully rested and without injury.

 

The problem I typically find with NCAA football is in seemingly half the games I'm able to watch, the score is 70-7 or something like that. That said I love watching NCAA football or basketball when two similarly ranked teams are playing.

[King]

I like college baseball but it gets 0 coverage in Canada

[GeorgiaPeach]

It's an international baseball rule already.

 

Remember when I think it was FOX put the stupid blue dot on the puck during TV broadcasts because Americans couldn't follow the puck? And Canadians lost their mind.

 

This is the same thing except in reverse. Baseball is America's game, not Australia's or Canada's or an island nations.

 

Rob Manfred's a f***ing bird if he wants to fall in lock step with other sports and what they do.

[Orgfiller]

I've tried watching NCAA basketball but it's just not very enjoyable for me. There's a pretty noticeable difference between that and the pros IMO, the good players love to jack up shots - contested or otherwise - like there's no tomorrow, some of the not-so-good ones also takes threes all game long like they're Stephen Curry; full-court defense for half the game is fun and exciting but it results in really sloppy basketball. It doesn't seem like the players have a whole lot of creativity outside whatever scheme their coach drew up for them, which would mostly be fine if the players were so good that it was flawless basketball on both ends, but it's just a bit too disorganized for my taste.

[GeorgiaPeach]

We would all still watch the games and it might draw more viewers in and make ESPN, fox sports etc a bit happier. Might make me watch less often though, to be honest.

 

I completely stopped following the NHL back in the mid/late 90's and I was just as big a hockey fan as baseball, and I've never gone back. The reason the trap (no scoring), Bettman trying to eliminate fighting. So what's the f***ing point of watching, nice crisp passing all game.....WOOO f***ING HOOO!!!!

[BlueJayWay]

Manfred is OUTTA CONTROL

 

Actually seriously while this idea feels gimmicky, it's not really any more so than the 3 on 3 NHL overtime. I can see the point in trying to end regular season games in some way so the fans that attend can see some kind of resolution without having to stay to all hours. At least it's not the baseball equivalent of a shootout, which I guess would be a homerun derby.

 

Problem is, if you start with a runner on 2B, it's going to lead to a lot of sac bunts and IBB, which are boring.

[King]

Actually seriously while this idea feels gimmicky, it's not really any more so than the 3 on 3 NHL overtime.

This isn't a standard MLB should hold itself to

[Terminator]

The problem I typically find with NCAA football is in seemingly half the games I'm able to watch, the score is 70-7 or something like that. That said I love watching NCAA football or basketball when two similarly ranked teams are playing.

 

Lol that's a great point. Turn on any NFL game it will largely remain competitive up (even if not close) until the end. College football has some really bad blowouts.

[Terminator]

I've tried watching NCAA basketball but it's just not very enjoyable for me. There's a pretty noticeable difference between that and the pros IMO, the good players love to jack up shots - contested or otherwise - like there's no tomorrow, some of the not-so-good ones also takes threes all game long like they're Stephen Curry; full-court defense for half the game is fun and exciting but it results in really sloppy basketball. It doesn't seem like the players have a whole lot of creativity outside whatever scheme their coach drew up for them, which would mostly be fine if the players were so good that it was flawless basketball on both ends, but it's just a bit too disorganized for my taste.

 

College basketball is the worst popular sport in North America during the regular season. Then in March it turns in to the best. Average it out and it's kind of meh.

[GeorgiaPeach]

The only way to increase Baseball's popularity is to dramatically decrease the number of games each season. We're talking like 100 games a season MAX.

 

162 games is just too much of an investment for some people, and its the reason Football will always be #1 in America. Its a sport you only need to commit 1 day each week to support your team.

 

They could go back to 154 like has been discussed. I'd be up for it, because it goes back to the old 154 game schedule.

[Terminator]

They could go back to 154 like has been discussed. I'd be up for it, because it goes back to the old 154 game schedule.

 

I wouldn't mind that. Once your team is out of it there are so many pointless games to be played. But still, is shaving 8 games off of 162 even noticeable?

[Orgfiller]

College basketball is the worst popular sport in North America during the regular season. Then in March it turns in to the best. Average it out and it's kind of meh.

 

Aside from the hype and the generally fantastic atmosphere at March Madness games, it's still the same kind of game, not enjoyable to me. And I'm someone who wouldn't mind watching the odd awful NBA game here and there.

[TheHurl]

Remember when I think it was FOX put the stupid blue dot on the puck during TV broadcasts because Americans couldn't follow the puck? And Canadians lost their mind.

 

This is the same thing except in reverse. Baseball is America's game, not Australia's or Canada's or an island nations.

 

Rob Manfred's a f***ing bird if he wants to fall in lock step with other sports and what they do.

 

Baseball's elitist "America's game" attitude is what has the game without young fans. f*** history, do what you have to do continue to build. Who cares if diehard fans hate it, we aren't going anywhere. Plus we will die eventually and there will be no one left watching/playing the game (I'm being extreme here because I'm talking to you and you always make your points to the extreme).

 

Honestly maybe it's my love of management that allows me to take a non fans view on these things.

[GeorgiaPeach]

Shortening/quickening games will do nothing to attract new fans.

 

To the proponents of the change.

 

Manfred comes out and makes a Breaking News Announcement.

 

"Major League Baseball games are an hour shorter so to all you casual/non-fans, come love our sport I made it quicker."

 

What a f***ing sell out.

[TheHurl]

We obviously disagree on what the fundamental rules of the game are, but I'll drop that for the moment.

 

Can you cite a source that says this proposed change is a priority for the MLBPA and/or TV rights holders? We can infer that there is at least one owner in favour of this rule, but I haven't seen anything else. Admittedly, I haven't looked either.

 

A quote from CBS

 

Needless to say, though, players and managers would almost unanimously be in favor of all but eliminating that games that span 17, 18, 19 innings or so.

 

As for TV rightsholders this was explained during the NHL playoffs. TV ratings go way up in the OT (Extra Innings too) but the ad time is sold ahead of time at minimum ad rates for "Extra ad time". So they are selling the OT time at what they sell ad time for poker and darts at. I'm going to assume this is also how they do it in the states. So there is no benefit to anyone but the fan to have long extra inning games.

[GeorgiaPeach]

Football games are just as "slow" as baseball games, and they get pretty brutal when there is like 3 minutes remaining in a close game, which ends up being extended to 30 minutes because of all the timeouts. The average length of an NFL game is actually longer than the average length of an MLB game.

 

People are so wrecked at games due to the tailgating no one cares how long the game is.

[Terminator]

A runner on 2nd base starting with the 12th inning of a regular season game isn't going to hurt anything. Those 15+ inning games can be brutal. But I don't know how it helps either. Perhaps it creates a little bit of buzz for MLB?

[Terminator]

People are so wrecked at games due to the tailgating no one cares how long the game is.

 

Yeah football is much more reliant on fan participation too. Everyone screaming while your team is on defense can and does have an actual effect on the outcome. Each game means a hell of a lot more too. You lose even 2 games in a row and your playoff chances take a big hit. You lose 2 in a row in baseball and it doesn't even matter. So showing up and cheering in football is actually meaningful because it can help and because its more incentivized because each game means a lot more.

 

And like you said, Tailgating (Which is a BBQ where you eat good food and get tanked before the game) is something people do even without football involved. That helps make it more fun too.

[TheHurl]

Also depends on what is meant by popular. If it includes participation then golf would likely have a chance at top 5.

 

I heard on the radio the other day someone claim horse racing was the most popular sport in the world as he said it has the highest number of attendees (because you have multiple daily race meets). Off topic but I don't consider it a real sport, if gambling didn't exist, neither would horse racing in the form it does now.

 

For Participation I was only quoting team sports numbers. When I was talking about Auto Racing it was a Poll for what if your favourite sport to watch on TV. As for Horse Racing (A sport IMO, but I grew up with it in my family). I don't count viewership for it worldwide unless it's at the highest level. Some tracks are putting out horses that would have the baseball equivalent of 12 year old house league. I know Terminator was looking for a poll. Harris does one every year and results come out in February or March.

 

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/56eafd6c91058428008b71f6-800-600/01.png

[Grant77]

So baseball participation really hasn't seen any decline in the past 15 years, interesting.

[Terminator]

I wonder what 2017 numbers would be. NFL might have slipped some the past two years.

[GeorgiaPeach]

This isn't game changing for anything really except for the Baseball fan who traditionally can't handle change.

 

I can handle change. But radical change is just plain dumb.

[John_Havok]

This feels a lot like the shootout in the NHL: nonsensical idea that actual hockey fans hate, but that the league incorporated in an ill-advised attempt to increase their appeal to a broader audience and attract new fans.

 

Nobody is being turned off of baseball because of the odd marathon game.

 

While I think you're probably right that baseball fans are not being turned off gy long marathon games, that's not what Manfred is concerned about. He's concerned with attracting the next generation of baseball fans.

 

TheRe is absolutely nothing wrong with trying it rule changes in the low minors to see how thye play out before even thinking about trying it at the major league level

[GeorgiaPeach]

I'd recommend reading the part about enforcing existing rules to those in favour of gimmicks that change the way the game is played.

 

I'm strongly in favour of enforcing the one foot in the box rule, reducing mound visits, and fixing the replay system.

 

If those don't work, I'm somewhat open to strike zone changes (though I don't think the proposed changes will help or be enforced consistently) and some sort of way to make pitchers speed up (no leaving the mound, automatic walks, fewer warm-up pitches).

 

I'm strongly against gimmicks like this 2B rule. It's like the shootout in hockey, as BTS mentioned earlier. We can make the game faster without stupid things like this.

 

Agree with everything you said