Rule changes voted in Friday...

[Lip Man 1]

Three of them expected to pass with no issues:

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-set-to-implement-rule-changes-for-2023-including-a-pitch-clock-per-report/

[South Side Hit Men]

The bases are the only part I agree with. The shift rule is a complete debacle.

[hi8is]

11 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Three of them expected to pass with no issues:

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-set-to-implement-rule-changes-for-2023-including-a-pitch-clock-per-report/

The one I’m looking forward to is the ball and strike challenge system.

[Lip Man 1]

1 minute ago, hi8is said:

The one I’m looking forward to is the ball and strike challenge system.

I'm waiting for the automated ball/strike electronic system. Last I saw the umpires union agreed to it but MLB said it is still a few years away. Can't come to soon in my opinion.

[Lip Man 1]

7 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

The bases are the only part I agree with. The shift rule is a complete debacle.

I don't have an issue with banning shifts totally.

[hi8is]

2 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

I'm waiting for the automated ball/strike electronic system. Last I saw the umpires union agreed to it but MLB said it is still a few years away. Can't come to soon in my opinion.

Have you seen the strike zone challenge system in play yet?

[kitekrazy]

2 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

I'm waiting for the automated ball/strike electronic system. Last I saw the umpires union agreed to it but MLB said it is still a few years away. Can't come to soon in my opinion.

That might turn me off from the game.  Let's dehumanize sports as much as possible.

[chw42]

11 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

The bases are the only part I agree with. The shift rule is a complete debacle.

I think they need to get rid of having infielders in the outfield but you should be able to align your infielders however you like on the infield.

Either way, if they do change the shift rules it definitely gives Grandal a shot at being good next year. Same goes for a lot of left handed hitters. 

[Lip Man 1]

Just now, kitekrazy said:

That might turn me off from the game.  Let's dehumanize sports as much as possible.

If it reduces the impact bad umpires have like Angel Hernandez, the retired Joe West C.V. Bucknor and their ilk I absolutely have no issues with having it. 

[South Side Hit Men]

7 minutes ago, chw42 said:

I think they need to get rid of having infielders in the outfield but you should be able to align your infielders however you like on the infield.

Either way, if they do change the shift rules it definitely gives Grandal a shot at being good next year. Same goes for a lot of left handed hitters. 

Ted Williams was able to hit .406 against it.

Fun Fact: White Sox Manager Jimmy Dykes was credited with the first shift against Ted Williams, in 1941.

https://www.mlb.com/news/ted-williams-faced-defensive-shifts-in-1940s-c191605204

Quote

Looking for a different way to defend the eventual American League MVP Award runner-up, Chicago manager Jimmy Dykes reportedly set his defense in a way that wouldn't look out of place against present-day Boston slugger David Ortiz. The third baseman moved toward the shortstop's usual spot, the shortstop shifted to the right side of second base, and the second baseman played out in short right, with the outfielders also sliding in that direction.

The first shift in MLB history was tried in the 1920s against Cy Williams.

Edited September 8, 2022 by South Side Hit Men

[wegner]

Nothing on that forfeit rule for any team that uses any insurance Jingles during their broadcast??  Disappointing.

[Timmy U]

Banning the shift is ridiculous. It's going to look like the era of all those illegal defense calls in the NBA. If Tampa wants to stick 7 guys in right field, that's their right.

[Harry Chappas]

2 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

Banning the shift is ridiculous. It's going to look like the era of all those illegal defense calls in the NBA. If Tampa wants to stick 7 guys in right field, that's their right.

It's going to look like 5 years ago. 

[CentralChamps21]

14 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

Banning the shift is ridiculous. It's going to look like the era of all those illegal defense calls in the NBA. If Tampa wants to stick 7 guys in right field, that's their right.

I'm with you on this. Pitcher must be on the rubber, catcher must be in the catcher's box. Other 7 guys can be anywhere in fair territory you want to put them.

[gogosox1959]

I'm old enough, barely, to remember seeing Ted Williams and the shift.  My recollection is there were three infielders on the right side, but none of them were 40 feet into the outfield.  I'd prefer a rule that allows has many players as a team wants on one side of the infield but that one foot must be on the dirt at the time of the pitch.

[T R U]

I don’t get banning the shift. If you hit 70% of your balls to the right work on hitting to the left and beat the defense. Why is baseball the whiniest sport?

[Tnetennba]

38 minutes ago, gogosox1959 said:

I'm old enough, barely, to remember seeing Ted Williams and the shift.  My recollection is there were three infielders on the right side, but none of them were 40 feet into the outfield.  I'd prefer a rule that allows has many players as a team wants on one side of the infield but that one foot must be on the dirt at the time of the pitch.

That’s kind of where I’m at.  I’m not anti-shift, and think outright banning them is stupid.  But keeping infielders on or very close to the actual infield seems like a healthy compromise. 

[Sarava]

10 hours ago, T R U said:

I don’t get banning the shift. If you hit 70% of your balls to the right work on hitting to the left and beat the defense. Why is baseball the whiniest sport?

Or the pitchers should work on not letting you pull the ball. That argument works both ways. 

I don't know the specifics of the shift ban rule that will be voted on, but in general I'm for it.

[Leonard Zelig]

You don’t see it much anymore, but can teams still bring an OF to the infield?

[he gone.]

13 hours ago, hi8is said:

The one I’m looking forward to is the ball and strike challenge system.

Is this one on the table? I didn't see it in the CBS article. To me the simplest way to implement and keep both sides happy is to do what tennis does. It's super simple, efficient, and quick. I'd give each team 10 ball/strike challenges per game. Just like tennis they can pull that replay with ball going through the box and if it catches any bit of the box at all it's a strike. In tennis it takes absolutely no time and in baseball would be the same. There's always like 15-30 seconds in between pitches and if you challenge immediately it's reviewed and onto the next pitch with no time wasted. It allows the union and umps to keep their jobs. It allows the large majority of fringe calls to be corrected, and takes a good amount of human error out of the game while leaving human error which is good for the game. (imo). 

 

[chw42]

It's never been more imperative to get good left handed hitters. I think you'll see guys like Gallo have their batting average shoot up 30 points. 

 

 

[flavum]

With the pitch clock coming, every player/pitcher should be working on their routines over the offseason. It should be seamless in spring training. 

[chw42]

7 minutes ago, flavum said:

With the pitch clock coming, every player/pitcher should be working on their routines over the offseason. It should be seamless in spring training. 

It's great for minor league pace of play. Although I saw Keuchel pitch a month ago in AAA and he did go over the pitch clock once or twice. Some guys will definitely need to adjust, but waiting at least 30 seconds between pitches gets real old. 

[bmags]

I no longer have any objections to the rules. I'm excited for them. I think logically they are inconsistent and dumb with history but I don't care anymore. Just look at the thirst for banana ball, these rules are no longer highlighting any of the amazingness of position players ...only pitchers.

[ThirdGen]

17 hours ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Ted Williams was able to hit .406 against it.

Fun Fact: White Sox Manager Jimmy Dykes was credited with the first shift against Ted Williams, in 1941.

https://www.mlb.com/news/ted-williams-faced-defensive-shifts-in-1940s-c191605204

The first shift in MLB history was tried in the 1920s against Cy Williams.

1.  Williams was one of the greatest hitters to play the game. Rules should not be established based on the skills of the top .001% of players.

2.  Williams wasn't facing pitchers that threw breaking pitches 99 mph or pitchers who have data on every pitch a batter has faced with the ability to tailor pitch selection to that data.  If reincarnated, which I recall was a goal of his, no chance he would hit anywhere near .406 against shifts in 2022.