So in the independent Atlantic league some new rules will be tried.

Robo / radar ump

Base size increased by 3" from 15"x15" to 18"x18".

No shift

Pitchers face minimum of three batters or end of the inning.

No mound visits unless pitcher change

Mound will be moved back 2 feet at midpoint of the season.

I don't like the robot ump, the human ump element is part of the game. I like the increased base size, it favors the fast base runner. This will increase offense. I wonder how many trip and falls turned ankles will result. These guys have been running the same bases for a Lon time. The mound being moved back seems extreme, pitching is incredibly difficult and 2 feet seems like a lot. 6" maybe or 12".

https://www.baseballamerica.co...-pushing-mound-back/

I think moving the mound is a horrible idea.

Come to think of it, I think they're all pretty much horrible ideas.

If they want to "modernize" baseball, lose the instant replay as they have it now. It sucks. Have another off field umpire with all the monitors and what not. Give the umps, or at least the crew chief an ear piece to communicate with the off field guy. When there's a close play, the umps gather up to talk like they often do... meanwhile the off field guy is reviewing it. The fans both home and at the stadium don't even need to know when the off field guy is involved.

No, No and more NO!
Stop meddling with it! Leave it alone! You want a faster higher scoring game, go watch basketball!
Part of what has made Baseball unique and important as a sport in the US is the overall consistency of it over the years. (Hmmm, doesn't James Earl Jones say something along these line in "Field of Dreams"?)

Only thing needed to be changed in MLB season should be no more than 75 games including post season.

All these listed are nonsense.

In the words of "Woody" from the movie Brubaker...

"Don't fuck with tradition."

If they are trying to speed up the game, then the only changes that will do so, are the mound visits, and minimum number of batters faced. But they take away strategery from a manager.

The other changes are completely ridiculous, and not even worth discussion.

If they got rid of idiots like Joe West, Angel Hernandez and CB Bucknor, that would improve MLB.

The only rule change I'd like to see is eliminating the designated hitter in the American League. I love baseball for the strategy involved and the DH ruined it in the AL. Also, pitchers who throw bean balls should be required to face 95+ mph fastballs themselves!

Granted, it would shorten the careers of some decent hitters, but a real ball player plays offense AND defense!

quote:

Originally posted by Tooky13:
The only rule change I'd like to see is eliminating the designated hitter in the American League. I love baseball for the strategy involved and the DH ruined it in the AL. Also, pitchers who throw bean balls should be required to face 95+ mph fastballs themselves!

Granted, it would shorten the careers of some decent hitters, but a real ball player plays offense AND defense!

And they are actually considering doing the opposite and expanding the DH to the national league.

Stupid on steroids boys. Keep screwing around with the game and watch true fans walk. Everything listed above is absurd.

I'm actually not opposed to the strike zone being electronically called. This takes away the subjectivity of the strike zone. The plate is the plate. It can be automatically adjusted for different heights of different batters.

Making the bases bigger and moving the mount sound bad. These guys are so used to where things are. You play so much it is all muscle memory.

Pitching from 2' back is going cause problems I think especially done mid-season. At least between seasons so pitchers and get used to it before real games.

quote:

Originally posted by Tooky13:
The only rule change I'd like to see is eliminating the designated hitter in the American League. I love baseball for the strategy involved and the DH ruined it in the AL. Also, pitchers who throw bean balls should be required to face 95+ mph fastballs themselves!

Granted, it would shorten the careers of some decent hitters, but a real ball player plays offense AND defense!

I prefer the DH over watching (most) pitchers bat. I'll grant you there are a (very) few chukkers who can mash a bit, but most of them suck at it....they're as close to an automatic out as exists in the game. The DH makes for a better offensive game, imho. But I'm an AL guy. Let's go ASTROS!!!! Yes I remember when they were in the NL.....

Speed the game up, 15seconds or less to pitch from time pitcher gets ball back. No more than 1 mound visit per game without pitching change. If a batter steps out of the box, its a strike. A walk gets 2 bases. But for goodness sakes, make the game faster!

Stupid stupid stupid.
I really don’t think a curveball will break the same at a longer distance. It’s worked well so far. Why mess with it? Will there be asterisks next to stolen bases? Just to speed up the game?

No robo ump.

Base size.....um, why?

No shift? Again, why? Learn to hit opposite field.

Batter minimum for pitchers? Not a bad idea.

Not sure about mound visits.

Very sure not to move the mound.

I don’t think I’ve commented on anything this stupid in any forum Ever. Baseball must be run by Democrats.

The bases look fine from the bleachers and home at in HD.
Why not pitch underhand and make the bases shorter...

leave it alone. Except the shift. Hate the shift.

quote:

Originally posted by barndg00:
Speed the game up, 15seconds or less to pitch from time pitcher gets ball back. No more than 1 mound visit per game without pitching change. If a batter steps out of the box, its a strike. A walk gets 2 bases. But for goodness sakes, make the game faster!

No, absolutely not. There's a ton of strategy that goes into controlling the speed of the game. Pitchers like to pitch with a certain cadence, so batters step out of the box or take their time to change the pace of the game to unsettle the pitcher. Pitchers will wait out batters who like to get in and hit quickly. Pitchers who get out of synch can many times slow down and get back in the groove.

As I've noted many, many times, if potential fans don't have the attention span necessary to sit through an entire baseball game, let them go watch TV instead.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Except the shift. Hate the shift.

The shift could be rendered utterly worthless if managers would have their batters lay bunts down the third base line every time the opposing team shifts. Simple rule of thumb...games are won by getting runners on base.