Too many distractions. I don’t want to hear manager interviews or conversations between broadcasters and players on the field. Don’t need a strike zone box drawn in. Don’t need side graphics about statistical blah, blah, blah.

Just throw the da**ed ball and try to follow the play with the cameras - which seems absolutely impossible because they are so obsessed with close up views.

Rule changes that made the game move along were good. The second base runner in extra innings doesn’t work for me either.

And with hitters with great numbers on the back of their baseball cards.

I think th

I propose (as a senior) that one extra senior pinch hitter be allowed at games.

For the Giants, this could be Barry Bonds.

So very tired of batters whiffing with the bases loaded.

I think that when the Giants have the bases loaded, and 3-0 on the batter, the opposition has to be saying “We’ve got them exactly where we want them”. Prove me wrong.


Naturally, this is not the fault of the rules. They’re just haunted and need a baseball exorcism.

Look, the Munsters had the “dreaded Fregosi curse”. I’d be checking into that, with someone other than Jim Fregosi.

STIKE THREE CALL, or
STRIKE THREE LOOKING.

Gets tiresome.
Rules? Oh well, I suppose you’ve got to have rules.    ⚾️

Of larger bases and limited disengagement. It makes stealing bases too easy. If they would double the disengagement limit to four, that might help a little.

Here are SB totals I found from Baseball Almanac, going back about 15 seasons.
2010 AL: 1,505. NL: 1454
2011 1,600. 1,679
2012 1,502. 1,728
2013 1,428. 1,265
2014 1,394. 1,370
2015 1,184. 1,321
2016 1,149. 1,388
2017 1,272. 1,255
2018 1,259. 1,215
2019 1,148. 1,133
2020 453. 431. (Covid year)
2021 1,148. 1,066
2022 1,226. 1,261
2023 1,681. 1,822. (New rules)
2024 1,655. 1,962

So yeah, the number of successful stolen bases has gone up some, but the totals are also similar to those from the 2010-2012 period. I could argue that the forces that led to slowing the games down before 2023 also suppressed the running game.
I’m sure other arguments could be made, pro and con, depending on what you like to see and what statistics you use.

But it’s not like base runners are running wild on the bases. There are catchers with darn good arms, pitchers with great pickoff moves, and even the best base stealers are getting thrown out sometimes.

I like the cat-and-mouse game of good baserunning, so I like the new rules impacting this part of the game. But I follow the Brewers and the Tigers, currently two of the best baserunning teams, so I’m admittedly biased.

It doesn't seem like they have, though they might as well keep them.

Those defensive shifts were horrible for the game, glad to see them go.

I also like the pitcher checks.

I don't like the ghost runner rule.

Sounds like something we used to do on the sandlot.

before the first batter gets up. By rule, the guy who made the last out in the 9th would be the runner, but he can be substitued for under normal rules, meaning he's replacing the other guy and has to take that place in the batting order for the rest of the game or until he is subbed for under normal rules.

The "official" term used by announcers is "automatic runner." Ghost runner is kind of a fan based term.

The info I found said the average elapsed time for a mlb game in 2023, the year the timing rules were implemented, was almost 24 minutes shorter than for average games in 2022. The time of games had hovered around 3 full hours for several years prior to ‘23, then dropped to about 2:40. It further dropped to about 2:36 in 2024.

So yeah, those timing changes have had the desired effect, and players seem to have adjusted to them pretty well. In the games I’ve watched, I haven’t seen more than a couple of time violations called in any single game.

Attempting to head off the rule changes, players & managers "self-policed" the year before the change and shaved 7, 8, 9 minutes
The 24 is on top of that.
If we take average game time for THREE years prior to the clock, the difference is closer to 34 minutes.
The clock (and some other rules) has had a substantial positive impact.
Believe it or not though, game times are still nearly a half-hour longer than in the 50s through the 70s.
Games FLEW by then.
The Cubs had a pitcher named Bill Hands. It was rare for a game he pitched to last much more than 2 hours. He caught the ball from the catcher and was in the set position instantly. Guy really moved!

...the average of 3 years prior to the rule change.
Still way longer than the 50s, 60s, & at least half the 70s, but much shorter.
I agree with you on the shift, but part of what screwed things up was the refusal of hitters to hit to the opposite field. Perhaps, with a more aggressive running game, that tactic would have been employed more, but hitters just tried harder to pull and lift, defeating the shift with a home run. Geez a simple bunt down the first base line would be nearly an automatic single.
They needed to change the rule because hitters & managers were too stubborn.
I'm ambivalent on the ghost runner, since only about 1 in 12 games go to extra innings. I'm not nuts about the rule, but I think the impact is minimal.
I too, am good with pitcher checks.f

A foul-out can't be the third out of an inning. Especially if there is a RISP. It's a ridiculous way to end an inning. Just count it as any other foul ball out of play.

I don't like the pitch clock/batter clock; I would vote to get rid of that one.

The playoffs are too long. Only the World Series should be best-of-seven. And can the extra round. No wild-cards--win or go home.

Too much money to be made!

I love the ghost runner rule. Saves your bullpen, mostly. Unless you do 3 extras in a row like the Mariners just did in Texas.

I agree that there should be more callups in September. Like that it is limited, so teams don't just turn September into a second spring training if they're out of contention. 3-4 would be better IMO.

Love the limits on shifts. Was killing the game.

Bigger bags is a plus for me. I like that there are more steal attempts.

Pitch clock is great. Definitely speeds up the game. A lot less players standing around adjusting their jockstraps between pitches.

Love replay. Was a long time coming. Looking forward to the auto-umpires with challenges of balls and strikes. I thought it worked well in spring ball. Lots faster than I imagined, so doesn't slow the game much.

Ditto, ditto and ditto!

Especially the naughty stuff that gets you tossed.

Link to tweet

Their leadoff hitter (who didn’t even stop to talk with the ump before he was tossed, after taking a called third strike… he musta had something juicy to say!) followed quickly by their interim manager, no doubt for “arguing balls and strikes”… but I’ll bet he had a few choice words too.

And with two outs in the 9th, leading by one run, Brewer pitcher MeGill gave up a solo HR to Arcia to tie the game (blown save). The camera then focused on MeGill for just a second, which coincided with him clearly saying a single word, one that my mother didn’t approve of.

I’d love to hear the audio tracks, at home plate and at the bases!

the expanded postseason.

I grew up with two leagues and two pennant winners to produce one World Series champion. When they went to two divisions in each league and a best-of-five playoff between the two "mini pennant" winners, that was okay -- except it created some geographic weirdness (Atlanta in the NL West??).

Now, the idea (sez MLB) is to generate more "playoff fever" among fans of runners-up. I just don't go for that. You finish second, you should go home.

I'd like to go back to two divisions per league with a best-of-five playoff between division winners. Oh, and no fucking imterleague.

Major League Baseball has had a 162-game season longer than it had a 154-game season. It's firmly established. If the number of games were cut back, the record books would have to be adapted. Again. (Remember Roger Maris' asterisk?)