Around Baseball 2021

[Stangstag]

Yeah I really don't get the "old f***s" comment. As if young people are going to like this? This is done for one reason and one reason only. To compete without paying players what they are worth. No fans are going to like or defend this except the select few who cheer for front offices and get a boner fantasizing over the optimal point of WPA per dollar spent on salary.

 

Exactly. Its like the equivalent of hiring only part-time workers so you don't have to pay full-timer benefits. Its scummy business, penny-pinching BS just so the CEO can buy an extra house this year.

[Stangstag]

It's kind of weird the batters aren't yet looking at pitcher cheat sheets, in their helmets, in the middle of PAs.

 

Anyway, completely agree. The Rays would try to signal everything from the dugout still but the players are dumb so at least they would f*** up more often.

 

Its because pitchers police the entire game and they would never allow that. That's why the Astros only got dinged for the sign stealing... because it benefitted the hitters. Im sure there was stuff just as shady on the pitching side that they were doing that they never got punished for (sticky stuff?)

 

EDIT: also why homerun celebrations/bat flips are frowned upon.

[Brownie19]

EDIT: also why homerun celebrations/bat flips are frowned upon.

 

They are? HR celebrations and bat flips are skyrocketing. It certainly appears that Pitchers policing the game doesn't actually work.

[TheHurl]

Reports from the minor league rule changes. Sorry if some doesn't cut and paste this was Kyle Glaser article under the BA paywall so I couldn't link.

 

At a Low-A game between Rancho Cucamonga and San Jose in August, three high-ranking Major League Baseball officials sat in the stands and watched the league’s experimental playing rules unfold in real time.

 

Senior vice president of minor league operations and development Peter Woodfork and senior vice presidents of on-field operations Michael Hill and Raul Ibañez sat about a dozen rows behind home plate at Rancho Cucamonga’s LoanMart Field. They watched as Rancho Cucamonga and San Jose completed a nine-inning game in 2 hours, 28 minutes. The night before, they saw Lake Elsinore and Inland Empire finish a game in 2:24. Both games were played with a 15-second pitch clock, which was implemented in Low-A West earlier in the season.

 

After the final out in Rancho Cucamonga, all three officials couldn’t help but remark at the pace of play with the pitch clock in place.

 

Their enthusiasm is widely shared by MLB officials in New York.

 

“The pitch timer was one of the more successful experiments from this season,” MLB executive vice president for baseball operations Morgan Sword said. “We received very positive feedback on the timer from players, coaches, umpires, minor league operators, frankly everybody that was involved in the Low-A West league this year. We were very encouraged by how it went.”

 

MLB enacted six experimental rules changes in the affiliated minor leagues this season, staggering them at different levels to see how they played out in isolation. Now that the 2021 minor league season has largely concluded, officials are reviewing the effects of the rules changes on each league to determine if they should be kept—or expanded—moving forward.

 

First and foremost is the pitch clock. The 15-second timer was introduced into Low-A West on June 8, five weeks into the season, and led to a decrease of 21 minutes in the average time of a nine-inning game, as The Athletic's Jayson Stark first reported.

 

Games from Opening Day through June 7, prior to the implementation of the pitch clock, averaged 3:02. Games from June 8 through the end of the regular season, with the pitch clock enforced, averaged 2:41. As Stark also first reported, the introduction of the pitch clock also corresponded with an increase in batting average, runs and home runs and a decrease in walks and strikeouts.

 

R/G AVG OBP SLG HR% BB% K%

w/o pitch clock 5.13 .237 .333 .371 1.9 11.1 29.3

w/ pitch clock 5.86 .263 .347 .424 2.5 9.7 25.3

Source: MLB Research

 

“I thought it was really good,” said Inland Empire manager Jack Howell, who played 11 seasons in the major leagues. “I thought it really helped. It just kept the pace, the flow of the game going better. And it was better for our pitchers, teaching them to work quick. Get your sign and go."

 

While there were other elements in play, the pitch clock was the overriding factor in the reduction of the league’s average game time.

 

Another experimental rule designed to increase the pace of play limited pitchers to two pickoff attempts per plate appearance in all Low-A leagues. The rule made no significant difference in the game times in Low-A West.

 

Nine-inning games in the league (when it was known as the California League) lasted an average of 3:03 in 2019, with no limits on the number of pickoff attempts. Games lasted the aforementioned 3:02 through June 14 this year, a decrease of only 1 minute, when the pickoff limit was in place but the pitch clock was not.

 

This was not the minors’ first experience with a pitch clock, but it was its most effective.

 

Since 2018, pitchers at Double-A and Triple-A have had a 15-second pitch clock with no one on base and a 20-second pitch clock with runners on.

 

Despite those restrictions, the length of games has increased at both levels. The average time of a nine-inning game at Double-A rose from 2:43 in 2017 to 2:55 in 2021. The average time of a Triple-A game rose from 2:55 to 3:04.

 

There were two fundamental differences that made the Low-A West pitch clock more effective at reducing average game times. The first, simply, is there was less time on the clock. The pitch clock rose to 17 seconds with runners on base in Low-A West, compared to 20 seconds at higher levels. Batters were also required to be in the box ready to hit with eight seconds remaining on the clock, compared to seven seconds at higher levels.

 

The second, and more significant, difference was how the pitch clock was enforced. Pitchers at Double-A and Triple-A can step off the mound and have the pitch clock reset with no penalty. In Low-A West, stepping off the mound counted as one of the pitcher’s pickoff attempts. He could step off twice and have the clock reset, but the third time he’d be called for a balk.

 

“We removed a lot of the quote-unquote loopholes that existed in the Triple-A and Double-A pitch clock,” Sword said. “I think that’s why we saw such a better result in Low-A West compared to some other levels.”

 

The 15-second pitch clock will be used in the Arizona Fall League this year, but no additional commitment has been made beyond then. MLB is still gathering information and feedback on all of the rules changes and has not yet made an official decision on which rules will be kept or expanded in future seasons.

 

“We plan to discuss with the competition committee this offseason the results of each rules experiment and what, if anything, we’d like to do going forward with that rule,” Sword said. “We’re currently working through all the data and interviewing a lot of players and coaches and doing everything we can to provide a comprehensive report to the competition committee on how this year went. That will be a project for the next couple months, to start thinking about which of these rules should be advanced or used in a broader way, which should be adjusted (and) which should be dropped entirely.”

 

In addition to the pitch clock, here is an overview of the rest of the experimental rules changes that were implemented in the minor leagues for the 2021 season. This includes the results of those rules changes and what support exists for keeping them moving forward.

 

TRIPLE-A: LARGER BASES

 

MLB increased the size of the bases at Triple-A from 15 square inches to 18 square inches for half of the season in each league. The larger bases were used in Triple-A East for the first half of the season and in Triple-A West for the second half of the season. The goals of the change were to increase the success rate on stolen base attempts (larger bases equals a shorter distance between them), increase the number of infield hits and decrease the number of collisions around the bag.

 

The larger bases did result in higher stolen base success rates. Runners were successful on 76% of stolen base attempts at the Triple-A levels this season through Sunday. The success rates ranged between 69-72% each season from 2015-19.

 

“Not in a dramatic way, but it did kind of move the numbers in the right direction,” Sword said. “The other positive was the adjustment period it required of players was very short. Some players reported they barely even noticed the larger bases. And it had some pretty significant health and safety benefits, too, in terms of the number of injuries that occur on and around a base. That one, we also had a pretty positive takeaway.”

 

Farm directors and Triple-A managers echoed the sentiment that the change caused little noticeable disruption.

 

“There was nothing that stood out to me that was like ‘Wow, that really changed the game,’ ” Round Rock manager Kenny Holmberg said. “It wasn’t anything good, it wasn’t anything bad. It was just kind of indifferent. The bases just were bigger.”

 

The exact number of how many additional infield hits or fewer collisions occurred with the larger bases is not available. Still, Sword said he agreed with the characterization that larger bases and the pitch clock were the two most successful rules changes enacted in 2021.

 

“I think so,” he said. “If by successful you mean had the desired effect with sort of minimal disruption, yeah. I think that’s probably right.”

 

DOUBLE-A: SHIFT RESTRICTIONS

 

MLB introduced a pair of rules limiting shifting at Double-A. In the first half of the season, all four infielders were required to have both feet in the dirt when the pitch was delivered. In the second half, two infielders were required to be on each side of second base in addition to being in the dirt.

 

The thought was by limiting shifts, more balls in play would get through the infield for hits. After compiling data throughout the year, however, MLB found no significant difference in batted-ball outcomes by limiting shifts.

 

The batting average on balls in play at all Double-A leagues was .309 in 2018 and .305 in 2019. In 2021, with shift restrictions in place, the batting average on balls in play was .307.

 

“I wouldn’t say that there was anything in the data so to suggest a dramatic effect of the shift restrictions,” Sword said. “We kind of rigged it up by righties and lefties, who are affected a little bit differently by shifting, and in terms of how hard the balls are hit. There’s slight differences, but generally there was not a large effect of those restrictions being in place.”

 

Year BABIP H/G

2018 .309 8.34

2019 .305 7.90

2021 first half .307 7.86

2021 second half .308 8.09

2021 overall .307 7.97

Sources: MLB Research, Baseball-Reference

 

Double-A managers’ experiences largely matched with those findings. Many noted that while some balls that would have been outs with the shift turned into hits, other balls that would have been hits against the shift turned into outs with infielders playing straight up.

 

“I didn’t see any advantages or disadvantages to it at all,” Pensacola manager Kevin Randel said. “In the end it all kind of evened out. You steal some outs and you give up some cheap hits. I think it was pretty much all the same.”

 

“I’m kind of impartial to be honest with you,” Mississippi manager Dan Meyer added. “The rule helped us at times and a few times it hurt us … As far as any strong feelings, to be honest with you, I don’t really have any.”

 

With no significant difference in batted ball outcomes by limiting the shift, such restrictions could be unnecessary moving forward. However, Sword noted shifting is less prevalent in the minors, and thus the restrictions may not have been as impactful as they would be in the majors.

 

MLB implemented the second-half shift restrictions in the Arizona Fall League and will continue to gather additional data.

 

HIGH-A: THE STEP OFF RULE

 

MLB required pitchers at High-A to fully step off the rubber before attempting a pickoff throw this season. The rule eliminated the Andy Pettitte-style pickoff move where a lefthanded pitcher could hang on his back leg in his delivery before deciding whether to throw home or attempt a pickoff at first base.

 

MLB experimented with the rule in 2019 in the independent Atlantic League and was originally set to implement it for the 2020 minor league season before the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

As happened in the Atlantic League, the step off rule led to an increase in the number of stolen base attempts and stolen base success rates. From 2015-19, teams averaged 2.4 stolen base attempts per game in High-A. In 2021, they averaged just under 2.85 attempts per game. The success rate on stolen bases rose from nearly 68% from 2015-19 to just under 76% this season.

 

Year SB Att Pct. Att/G

2015 3569 5220 68.4 2.51

2016 3491 5113 68.3 2.47

2017 3342 4958 67.4 2.41

2018 3112 4628 67.2 2.25

2019 3255 4845 67.2 2.37

2021 3821 5040 75.8 2.84

While there were concerns about stolen bases becoming too easy or too prevalent with the rule change, the result was less than one additional stolen base attempt every other game.

[Brownie19]

You brought up an excellent point about how baseball is turning into golf. 2 minutes to line up a pitch, calculating the slope, axis and yardage.

 

I think you're overstating this. We accept the time it takes for a coach to send a signal to a 3rd base coach, who then sends a signal to a batter after every pitch (with runners on base)...but the catcher can't check his cheat sheet during that time?

 

We also give the batter time to step out, adjust his s***, collect himself and think about the patterns this pitcher has (which he just studied off an iPad before coming to the plate), but the pitcher/catcher shouldn't be given the same opportunity?

 

We have a pitch clock in place - whatever you do in that time should be up to you.

[TheHurl]

Yeah I really don't get the "old f***s" comment.

 

Purely a joke as it's always said that the old people hold back change in baseball. As one of the oldest people here, but also one of the most open to change in the sport (one of the more realistic/pessimistic when it comes to Baseball's future). As someone who believes baseball needs change, I love what Tampa does (no will drive more change than a non money making team who is going to win). I don't think Tampa is good for baseball in any way, but baseball needs changes.

 

If I see 3 Rays outfielders take the binder out of their back pocket, flip through it and then jog into different spots on the field, I'm turning the game off.

 

It's already bad enough with catchers and pitchers having the hot/cold zones, wind direction, spin axis of the earth, etc. literally written on them. And Manfred wonders why there was no offence.

 

so are teams supposed to ignore the data they have? Or should baseball make the changes to give offense back advantages?

[TheHurl]

No!

 

Keep all of the s*** in the dugout. Let Montoyo send the signals to the catcher if he wants something called. Good luck with that. People want more contact in the game? Well it'll help if every pitch wasn't perfectly optimized to generate a swing and miss. Let Montoyo send in the "perfect" pitches then and we'll see contact back in the game, I guarantee that.

 

Batter checks ipad before coming to the dish, fine. Pitcher and catcher can check ipad when their team is hitting. That's fine too.

 

If the pitcher is smarter than the other team's pitcher and can remember all the cold zones, then advantage to him!

 

That I can agree with and pitch clocks did up offense probably for this reason. Data would be tougher to relay in time.

[glory]

The pitch clock is the single biggest change they can make that will improve the game. If they changed nothing else besides that, they'd still see a dramatic improvement. Hopefully they implement it next season. It might force the Dolis' of the world into retirement, but I'm sure the game will survive without them. I also like limiting the pick off attempts. That will not go over well with the older crowd, but will definitely cut some of the dead time between pitches, and stolen bases are one of the most exciting plays in the game so adding more of that will help.

 

I think all the rules will help the sport become more visually appealing. Baseball doesn't need a huge change, just minor adjustments. None of these changes hurts the "integrity of the game", so even the ones against it will probably get over it soon enough.

[Brownie19]

No!

 

Keep all of the s*** in the dugout. Let Montoyo send the signals to the catcher if he wants something called. Good luck with that. People want more contact in the game? Well it'll help if every pitch wasn't perfectly optimized to generate a swing and miss. Let Montoyo send in the "perfect" pitches then and we'll see contact back in the game, I guarantee that.

 

Batter checks ipad before coming to the dish, fine. Pitcher and catcher can check ipad when their team is hitting. That's fine too.

 

If the pitcher is smarter than the other team's pitcher and can remember all the cold zones, then advantage to him!

 

Do you say that because you think Chuckles is a moron? Obviously if they implemented new rules and pitch calls had to come from the bench - they would hire someone who's sole responsibility would be to 'call games' - just like you see in football with defensive and offensive coordinators. These guys would have an iPad in their hands with even more information available to them. I fully suspect it optimize pitching even more.

 

If your primary purpose for eliminating this is to increase the amount of contact at the plate and offense across baseball, then I suspect there are better ways to go about that (as I fully expect if you remove cheat sheets, you'll see pitching coordinators on the bench calling games - which would be counter productive to increasing offense).

[Brownie19]

I don't think many pitchers would love this, especially with a pitch clock breathing down their neck. But even then, you can easily mandate against this. Manager has to signal in the pitches, simple as that. Hey guess what, you have to hire a smart manager now, not just a guy that takes the data sheet from the nerds in the office.

 

It's not that hard to leave the data in the game but keep the essence of the sport intact.

 

Don't even get me started on the managers phoning some guy to watch a replay before they decide to challenge and get the umpires to watch a replay.

 

You're going to mandate against teams having bench coaches who send in signals to a catcher? It has to come from the Manager? All because you want more offense in baseball? I think there are much better ways to tackle this 'issue'.

[Brownie19]

Offence, pace of play, skill gap, intelligence, athleticism (more balls in play). Let me ask you what's the positive to the current environment? Does anyone enjoy it? Would anyone be dejected if pitchers just took the ball and threw it?

 

Fine. Anyone can send in the signals. I suspect a pitch clock would solve a lot of this s*** anyways. Hire a f***ing guy just to send in signals (because we absolutely NEED this right?) but he gets 15 seconds.

 

As Hurl said - do you expect teams to just ignore this information? I'm not saying we 'need' it. I'm saying that is what's going to happen if you ban the cheat sheets. Next you'll ban signals from the bench to give an advance to those who can memorize data better than others? I just don't see it happening. As pointed out, a 15 second pitch clock probably helps curve a lot of this and keeps the game moving - which we all agree would be awesome.

[TheHurl]

Offence, pace of play, skill gap, intelligence, athleticism (more balls in play). Let me ask you what's the positive to the current environment? Does anyone enjoy it? Would anyone be dejected if pitchers just took the ball and threw it?

 

Fine. Anyone can send in the signals. I suspect a pitch clock would solve a lot of this s*** anyways. Hire a f***ing guy just to send in signals (because we absolutely NEED this right?) but he gets 15 seconds.

 

I would like to see the mound moved back as well. MLB does have to be careful of too much offense though as high scoring games will likely end up slowing down the games again. I still think MLB will be a 7 inning game in our lifetime though. Well probably not my lifetime...but some people here

[ChrisS]

Seattle half a game back of us despite having a run differential that is -224 compared to ours..

[glory]

I would like to see the mound moved back as well. MLB does have to be careful of too much offense though as high scoring games will likely end up slowing down the games again. I still think MLB will be a 7 inning game in our lifetime though. Well probably not my lifetime...but some people here

 

7 inning games and less than 162 regular season games + expanded playoffs. Wouldn't be surprised if that happened at some point. Not any time soon, but someday.

[BCZ]

Seattle half a game back of us despite having a run differential that is -224 compared to ours..

 

[Deadpool]

The pitch clock is the single biggest change they can make that will improve the game. If they changed nothing else besides that, they'd still see a dramatic improvement. Hopefully they implement it next season. It might force the Dolis' of the world into retirement, but I'm sure the game will survive without them. I also like limiting the pick off attempts. That will not go over well with the older crowd, but will definitely cut some of the dead time between pitches, and stolen bases are one of the most exciting plays in the game so adding more of that will help.

 

I think all the rules will help the sport become more visually appealing. Baseball doesn't need a huge change, just minor adjustments. None of these changes hurts the "integrity of the game", so even the ones against it will probably get over it soon enough.

 

Pretty sure he did that all on his own...

[Scion]

Seattle half a game back of us despite having a run differential that is -224 compared to ours..

 

Instead of just writing this off as luck, I've love to read a deep dive into how Seattle has managed to outperform their run differential so greatly. Maybe there is something they are doing that is not being properly attributed as skill.

[Jimcanuck]

AFL details - starts Oct 13

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/arizona-fall-league-2021-schedule

 

Jays on the roster:

 

Maverik Buffo, RHP

Mike Ellenbest, RHP

Jackson Rees, RHP

Graham Spraker, RHP

Cullen Large, Inf

Kevin Smith, Inf

Logan Warmoth, Inf

 

Blah. Surprised no Moreno but could change.

[Stangstag]

Instead of just writing this off as luck, I've love to read a deep dive into how Seattle has managed to outperform their run differential so greatly. Maybe there is something they are doing that is not being properly attributed as skill.

 

I mean they do have a much better bullpen, a full 6 WAR more than ours. But a lot of it is luck. Its the type of s*** that you definitely don’t repeat 2 years in a row.

[Spanky__99]

This is filthy AF.

 

 

Wow... no likes for that gif? That was filthy AF at 99 MPH???

 

17" armside run at 99 blows my mind!

 

Diego Castillo s*** right there.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Spanky99

[Spanky__99]

He probably starts a fist fight with Chatwood the second time he does it in Cleveland

 

Gibby never started fights, both players admitted fault. You don't fight the skip, it's pretty easy... take the earful and walk away.

[Stangstag]

Gibby never started fights, both players admitted fault. You don't fight the skip, it's pretty easy... take the earful and walk away.

 

If you watch the podcast that Shea Hillenbrand was on about a year ago, you can tell how much of an absolute douchebag he is. I don’t blame Gibby at all

[Spanky__99]

The Rays are everything that is wrong with Baseball

 

lol... love it.

[Spanky__99]

If you watch the podcast that Shea Hillenbrand was on about a year ago, you can tell how much of an absolute douchebag he is. I don’t blame Gibby at all

 

Shea admitted it was 100% him there, I give him credit for that, he's an *******. Also admitted Gibby is a players manager, and he simply f***ed up. Same thing with Towers in the tunnel.

[Spanky__99]

Exactly it leads to stubborn old f***s to tell everyone that baseball is now terrible.

 

Finding how to game the rules are great, but I don't see how that bugs old folks? It's forward thinking and brilliant.

[Spanky__99]

The Cubs and Rays did some variation of this a few years back....but the RP just stayed in the game while a new RP came in...then they went back to pitching after a batter or two. Similar, just without using a positional player to pitch.

 

Yes, Maddon did it for sure.

[Spanky__99]

I'm glad the MLB clamped down on the Rays. This isn't rocket science to be lauded. Anyone with a bit of baseball knowledge can come up with all sorts of schemes to skirt the "unwritten rules" that teams have abided by for decades. It's not smart. It's cheap. And it hurts the integrity of the game for a minuscule advantage. Here's a novel idea. How about draft and develop pitchers who are good enough to get batters out in all sorts of scenarios? How about fielding players who are actually good in all aspects of defense? Oh yeah, I forgot. That would involve paying players with actual talent, something that the Rays can't do, but could if they weren't such a garbage franchise nobody cares about.

 

None of what they are doing appeals to a younger demo, so even if the old farts hate their ways, it's not like the young ones are going to gravitate to it, so who benefits from it? Not the sport, and not the fans. The league has to (justifiably) alter rules just to avoid the Rays making the game longer and more boring. Not a single positive comes from anything they do. If the players buy in to their BS, then good for them. I hope they enjoy being underpaid and/or thrown away the moment they make more than six figures.

 

Agreed. Can't blame them for trying, all things considered.

[Spanky__99]

If I see 3 Rays outfielders take the binder out of their back pocket, flip through it and then jog into different spots on the field, I'm turning the game off.

 

It's already bad enough with catchers and pitchers having the hot/cold zones, wind direction, spin axis of the earth, etc. literally written on them. And Manfred wonders why there was no offence.

 

Every team in the MLB literally do this? You must turn off lots of games, including Toronto?

[Spanky__99]

Have you heard about this awful accident, that poor father, lost his wife and son in an instant at a ball game!

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-2-year-old-son-son-dead-after-falling-concourse-n1280104

[Eat My Shatkins]

Have you heard about this awful accident, that poor father, lost his wife and son in an instant at a ball game!

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-2-year-old-son-son-dead-after-falling-concourse-n1280104

 

Holy s***.

 

"Appeared suspicious"??

 

What the hell? Somebody pushed them maybe?