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Eugene Church · 02-21-2018, 02:54 PM

Come on, MLB and Players Association, work together on getting more action into baseball... I have heard that there is only 5-6 minutes of action in a baseball game (ball in play)... compare that to the NFL and NBA... HANDS DOWN, THEY WHOOP MLB'S BEHIND... remember, 40 years ago BASEBALL USED TO BE AMERICA'S GREAT PASTIME.

The NFL and NBA take actions to improve the entertainment content of their sports... MLB is ridiculously slow and archaic to make changes.

Here are my recommendations... they will offend the purists

... but they will speed up the game and give the fans more action... WITHOUT AFFECTING THE BASIC GAME.

1. Pitch Clock... as Spartacus showed in his excellent link, this might cut down 30 minutes in a game.

2. Cut one 30-second spot per break... just charge more for the others to make up the revenue... this cuts about 10 minutes a game.

And now EC gets lowdown and nasty and messes with the glorious rules of baseball, which is total and absolute heresy to the purists.

3. 3-BALL, 2-STRIKE RULE

20 years ago I got a slow-pitch softball league to change it rules so that we could play more innings... we had a 1 hour and 10 minute time limit... we rarely played more than 5 innings.. we changed the rules to 3 BALLS AND 2 STRIKES... also a 2-strike foul was a THIRD STRIKE.

This 3-ball, 2-strike rule GREATLY SPEEDED UP THE GAME WITHOUT CHANGING THE BASIC GAME OF SOFTBALL AND ITS STRATEGY.

We almost always got to play 7 innings with the new rule... and sometimes could play 1 or 2 more extra innings, if needed... the purists totally opposed this move initially, but it worked so well, everybody in the league loved the change... hey, man... we got to play more softball.

The 3-Ball, 2-Strike rule would definitely create MORE ACTION as players would not be able to take so many pitches... the smart batter would have to hit the first strike he got... they would not want to get a 2-strike count for fear of fouling the ball and striking out.

It would definitely SPEED UP THE GAME... probably cut 30-45 minutes off the game time.

If MLB made these changes, it would cut AT LEAST AN HOUR OFF THE TOTAL GAME TIME... POSSIBLY MORE.

And IT WOULD CREATE MORE ACTION and less dead time.

And IT WOULDN'T DESTROY THE GAME... strategy would have to be adjusted, but the game would still be about the same.

Wouldn't it be great to have more action at a baseball games instead of the endless and useless delays and dead time they have now.

WE JUST MIGHT SEE A REJUVENATED GAME... AND THE RETURN OF THE 2-HOUR BASEBALL GAME.

I am a baseball fan, but it really got tedious to watch 4-hour games in the playoffs last year... average fans won't watch long games like that.

02-21-2018, 02:54 PM	#23
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,149	Come on, MLB and Players Association, work together on getting more action into baseball... I have heard that there is only 5-6 minutes of action in a baseball game (ball in play)... compare that to the NFL and NBA... HANDS DOWN, THEY WHOOP MLB'S BEHIND... remember, 40 years ago BASEBALL USED TO BE AMERICA'S GREAT PASTIME. The NFL and NBA take actions to improve the entertainment content of their sports... MLB is ridiculously slow and archaic to make changes. Here are my recommendations... they will offend the purists ... but they will speed up the game and give the fans more action... WITHOUT AFFECTING THE BASIC GAME. *1. Pitch Clock... as Spartacus showed in his excellent link, this might cut down 30 minutes in a game. 2. Cut one 30-second spot per break... just charge more for the others to make up the revenue... this cuts about 10 minutes a game.* And now EC gets lowdown and nasty and messes with the glorious rules of baseball, which is total and absolute heresy to the purists. 3. 3-BALL, 2-STRIKE RULE 20 years ago I got a slow-pitch softball league to change it rules so that we could play more innings... we had a 1 hour and 10 minute time limit... we rarely played more than 5 innings.. we changed the rules to 3 BALLS AND 2 STRIKES... also a 2-strike foul was a THIRD STRIKE. This 3-ball, 2-strike rule GREATLY SPEEDED UP THE GAME WITHOUT CHANGING THE BASIC GAME OF SOFTBALL AND ITS STRATEGY. We almost always got to play 7 innings with the new rule... and sometimes could play 1 or 2 more extra innings, if needed... the purists totally opposed this move initially, but it worked so well, everybody in the league loved the change... hey, man... we got to play more softball. The 3-Ball, 2-Strike rule would definitely create MORE ACTION as players would not be able to take so many pitches... the smart batter would have to hit the first strike he got... they would not want to get a 2-strike count for fear of fouling the ball and striking out. It would definitely SPEED UP THE GAME... probably cut 30-45 minutes off the game time. If MLB made these changes, it would cut AT LEAST AN HOUR OFF THE TOTAL GAME TIME... POSSIBLY MORE. And IT WOULD CREATE MORE ACTION and less dead time. And IT WOULDN'T DESTROY THE GAME... strategy would have to be adjusted, but the game would still be about the same. Wouldn't it be great to have more action at a baseball games instead of the endless and useless delays and dead time they have now. WE JUST MIGHT SEE A REJUVENATED GAME... AND THE RETURN OF THE 2-HOUR BASEBALL GAME. I am a baseball fan, but it really got tedious to watch 4-hour games in the playoffs last year... average fans won't watch long games like that.