Maybe some day they could "save" baseball by addressing ridiculous blackout restrictions and tv deals that push people away from using extra effort or money needed to watch any baseball at all. Especially when going to games is expensive as hell.

Could not agree more.

Yep just got blacked out of a regional game

It doesn't make sense to me. The tv deals make people not watch the game. If the MLB wants to make more money, make it more accesible.

Yeap. I paid for MLBTV and still can't watch local teams. Like, WTF! I have to use a damn VPN to get around the blackout restrictions

The ghost runner rule just feels like me and my buddies in our backyard making up rules because we only had 6 people wanting to play...

it's been a rule in games that are 18u for a long time. It's called the "texas tiebreaker rule". It's also been a thing in fast pitch softball for a long time

​@Meetra doesnt mean it's right

@Meetra and in sandlots everywhere for a long time

​@c c doesn't mean it's not good

😂 felt that frfr

I have never understood why pitchers never got more involved in pitch calling. Jimmy Key is the only pitcher I've ever seen that would give signs to the catcher. The catcher would give the initial sign and then Jimmy relay his sign back. If the catcher put down a "1" but he wanted to throw a "3" then he would "swipe" with his glove 2 times. It was very efficient and didn't require any technology at all.

Greinke on occasion will hand signal or even scream the signs to his catcher with the batter looking at him.

Ohtani calls his own pitches

Man, Jimmy Key was one hell of a pitcher, loved him in Toronto.

Tommy John did that .

Technology that kills human exchange of thoughts is not good for us. Speeding up the game is good, but having a computer system that essentially is a one way form of communication makes baseball even more individualistic than it already is. In a world where cooperation and communication are in serious decline - arguably endangered - it is a sad thing to see one of the most timeless and unique forms of communication and cooperation in sports, "the battery", essentially neutered by tech. It's just sports, but it's another area where we are losing what makes us special.

Save baseball by making tickets affordable, and letting folks watch it on TV, end blackouts.

If you end blackouts, then there would be no ticket sales.

@Ronald Mayle not if u made them cheaper and affordable

@Sinfinite Someone has to pay the millions of dollars in salaries of players and owners.

@Ronald Mayle more people watching and attending = more money

Underrated comment

I went to my first baseball game last week (yankees against blue jays at yankee stadium). It was just overall a great experience, even though it was a "boring" low scoring game. It seems to me (a complete novice) that the clock really made a difference and forced the game to flow at a nice pace. And it was not too quick, it still was a quite relaxing experience unlike every other sport I'm used to here in Europe.

I kinda like the long games, although it never seemed long to me

That's an interesting moment: https://youtu.be/Tivag5pOBhM I learned a couple of things there though. One is that the runner could still be out. If the 1st baseman can beat him home then right covers first and center covers second. Why? Loose change. Flat footed outfielders should practice shoe string on the run catches and all in one throws as well. Other than that it was 8 men out for various reasons 🤣. But the bottom line there Adam my friend happens at approximately 13 seconds and 15. The game mostly calls itself with no real penalties of ANY kind.

If you have no previous experience, how the hell would you know it makes a difference? I swear, every npc just says the thing they think they're supposed to say.

@Saul Speaks "If you have no previous experience, how the hell would you know it makes a difference?" Yeah I guess common sense or just thinking about it for longer than 4 milliseconds

@@coryselvidge8812  It is absolutely wild to me that you thought that was some kind response. Are you drunk or distracted? I don't like feeling second hand embarrassment. Edit your comment

When I was a boy growing up in Boston in the 60s, the game was great. There was plenty of day baseball and day/night double headers. The season and World Series ended in early October, not November. Also, as a boy growing up, almost all the Red Sox games were televised on UHF, which could watch without paying for it. My parents were poor and could not afford to pay for me to watch baseball. I never went to a game, but I was able to watch the games on TV or hear it on the radio. Also, the World Series games were in the daytime. Young kids have a hard time watching baseball at night if they have to go to school or their parents can't afford cable. Baseball has gotten ridiculous with its overpriced tickets and cable viewing. When I was a boy, I and all my friends' first love was baseball. Now, it's a sport for the rich, privileged middle-aged men. If they want to save baseball, make the sport available for young boys. Also, when I was a boy, I played whifle ball, baseball, and softball with my friends on the streets or the park. My parents couldn't afford to let me play little league. I grew up following my beloved Red Sox and watched their games on TV or listened to them on the radio. I feel bad for kids growing in Yuppie Suburbia, where they can play sports on the streets. No wonder why kids have no interest in baseball. Greed is killing baseball. Make tickets affordable for families, and put baseball on regular tv.

Zack Greinke shaking off his own pitches is one of the best things I have heard in my whole life.

It's a genius move because it inserts doubt into the batter's mind. At least half of an at bat is mind games by the catcher and pitcher messing with the batter.

If the question was name a pitcher that shook off his own pitch selection.... i would have guessed him.

It’s also the most Zack Greinke thing I’ve heard in awhile. 🤣

@Tom S “Hitting is all about timing. Pitching is about disrupting timing.”

Watched his game earlier. Weird to see the catcher agreeing or not on the called pitch

The rule to force batters to stay in the box is a good rule. The problem is not that they are a foot or two outside, but because some tend to wonder around in circles. Nobody wants to wait for them to get themselves together.

agreed. its ridiculous how much time those fools waste. One of the many reasons baseball has been declining in popularity for decades now, younger ppl would rather watch much more exciting Bball or football

I think the pitch clock will irrelevant as pitchers get used to it. Pitchers used to pitch at the pitch clock pace without the clock. Any baseball fan who is over thirty probably watched Mark Buerle pitch at least once. The bigger based only favor the runner on tag plays. They favor the defense otherwise. The ball gets there faster than the runner.

The biggest issue I had was with the batters and their constant re-setting after every pitch. The pitch clock saved MLB from implementing the mandatory use of Zoloft to treat the massive OCD that is prevalent in MLB. These batting rituals were getting out of control.

Larger bases means you can "round the bases quicker"... Making triples and going from 1st-to-home a lot easier. The trade off benefits the offense on any ball hit past the infield especially with runners on base. And in 2 out situations.

As a former baseball player, MLB players not being able to hit opposite field is just insane and lazy. To be playing at that high of level but not able to control where you hit it is ridiculous. I understand the MLBs reasoning for the rule, but if you suck at hitting one direction and they put a shift on you, maybe it’s time to learn how to hit the other way

There is word that the stadiums are losing revenue from the shorter game times. Less time equals less money being spent at the consession stands. From the discussions I'm hearing over my local sports talk air waves, there is a possibility that stadiums may end up opening the gates earlier which I like that idea. I never get to see my home team practice on the field and the gates always seem to open when the visiting team is practicing. So this would be a nice change if it happens. Spend more time at home away from home.

Long run there will be far more fans in stadium so the revenue at concession stands will be more than made up. Attendance has been dropping like crazy

Nobody practices in the big leagues anymore. Maybe once a month a couple guys will take some gbs/fbs but they don’t even use fungus now, the ball is shot out of a handheld cannon (dead serious). If you’re referring to batting practice though, every mlb park has always opened for BP.

@Snort Retort geeze I didn't think it was that bad. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, and annoyingly so far, only a few stadiums have extended beer sales into the eighth inning. Annoyingly the Giants here haven’t even though they probably have one the largest percentage of fans who aren’t driving themselves after the game.

People really aren't rushing to pay $7 for a hot dog after they've dropped $1,000 for their kids to come with them because we're paying Shohei Ohtani $1Billion.

I watched baseball as a kid and it bore the hell out of me. I love the game itself; I played softball for 15 years and all my daughters play too. This season, I just randomly started watching again and immediately noticed the pitch clock. The game pacing is sooooo much better. If they remove that pitch clock, the MLB is dead in the water.

For a sport that doesn’t exist you do a great job covering it

Sure does.

It doesn’t exist, so he’s covering his imagination. We are merely buying into his fantasy. Maybe someday _baseball_ will exist.

Man i confused this channel with Baseball's not dead often lol. I even thought the channels is own by the same guy.

what the hell is baseball?

Where can I buy this video game.

I have a few issues with the new rules but generally I think all that needs to be solved is tweaking, such making sure that pitchers don't get too exhausted too quickly with the clock; 15 seconds is a decent amount of time but MLB should probably change it if issues that to occur with it.

you definitely have never pitched before

these rules are horrible and made by people who have never played baseball and don't know pitching causes the arm a huge amount of stress and is very delicate and that the entire skill of baseball is based on pitching and hitting a ball someone is trying to get you to miss. It's like if they made a clock for golfing. The entire skill is being precise and not just swinging randomly

@Ricky The PGA has rules for this. In secret they calculate the slowest 10 players and make them average 60 seconds per shot over a round, the 10 players are given a warning for being slower than that. Any player taking more than 120 seconds on a shot will pay a fine of $50,000 per shot. Disc golf also has a 30 second time from when you are clear to throw, or you get a penalty stroke and this works fine, and feels fair.

@coast2coast00 I don't know if the first part was a joke, but I want to say something. I think it would be fine if they made the pitch clock like a minute or something to prevent people from being excessive. But anything less than 30 seconds is making pitchers into throwers. And the people who don't see the difference between pitching and throwing have never pitched before. It's the difference between baseball and slow pitch softball. A pitcher in slow pitch is a person to help get the ball in play, and a baseball pitcher is competing and using skill.

@coast2coast00 so what happened w Cantlay at the masters? This isn’t enforced

A lot of the drama comes from that time taken between pitches, expecially in the postseason during tight scoring games. I'll be interested to see if the new pitching rules take away from the postseason or add to it.

I agree, the best part of every playoff game was when the batter adjusted his nuts for 40 seconds. Shame all that excitement is now gone.

I agree these rules are going to turn out to be amazing but the extra innings "ghost runner" rule is still god awful

The pitch clock needs to be adjusted. The pick off rules needs to be adjusted. The 3 hitter rule needs to be abolished, that one is just terrible. So is the ghost runner. The rule I actually really like is the bases being bigger. Encourages more running without making it too easy for the runner. I still see guys getting thrown out, but it emboldens them enough to run more. I like that one a lot...

The new rules suck I have no interest in watching the game I grew up watching and playing the game looks like rushed garbage now

Yup. It’s terrible. I hate it.

​@G-man Collections Yeah but adjustments are fairly easy to make. If we find this year that playoff baseball needs more time, then they can literally just change the rules for next year.

@Santumi they need to be changed now...we can see how they negatively effect the game already. Make a change at the Allstar break.

Love the new changes! The game of baseball is now played as it once was. ACTION, not computer generated boring game that had little to watch.

I won’t be surprised if they come up with a rule limiting outfield shifts, dividing the outfield into thirds based off the lines of 2nd base

Never seen an outfield shift and leave an entire side open. Infield shifts only work because they are choosing the wrong players to bat who can’t hit to all fields. And how much are they paying them not to hit away?

Incoming Rule Changes: 2024 - Two strikes for a strikeout 2025 - Maximum limit of 9 batters per inning 2026 - Infielders cannot move more than 3 feet in any direction to field a ball 2027 - Two outs per inning 2028 - Seven innings per game 2029 - No extra innings. Now a "tied" column in the standings. Hey, these are all rules that will speed up the game just like MLB wants and help with offense a bit.

Zack Greinke shaking off his own pitches is THE most Zach Greinke thing EVER.

😂 ❤ it.

God loves you all! The Father sent the Son to die for you and your sins so that you could experience freedom to the fullest! Believe in Christ's death and resurrection (which sealed the work done on the cross) for your salvation and the forgiveness of sins! Amen! God loves you all! The Father sent the Son to die for you and your sins so that you could experience freedom to the fullest! Believe in Christ's death and resurrection (which sealed the work done on the cross) for your salvation and the forgiveness of sins! Amen! God bless you, I will keep you in my prayers!

Was going to say, that is completely normal for him. No surprise. Lmfao.

I started laughing out loud at that…shows how ingrained shaking the catcher off is 😂

Your profile pic looks interesting 🤨

Let's face it, baseball had become a chore, not a joy. Love the new rules. Make it even shorter, if you can.

Anything that makes Jazz Chisolm mad is a win. Good job MLB. Now fix your ridiculous blackout rules.

Would love another analysis of this at the end of the season

I can't tell you how much I love these rules! It is honestly making baseball watchable again! Pitch Clock, No endless pick off attempts, the ghost runner! *Chefs kiss* I have been watching more games and enjoying it so much more! Going in a really positive direction!

Are you the commissioner in disguise?

Whatever, bot

I remember when Showalter first took over the Orioles, the shift was not only incredibly useful but it was fascinating to watch because it was so unique. I remember thinking how funny it was seeing the second baseman in right field. Then it became common practice. Then the shifts got even more pronounced. Then, before the end of the decade not even 8 years out it made the game entirely unwatchable (sure some might disagree but for me and most people I know they’d agree)

Two things people hate; change and the way things are.

Lol well said

People approve of comfort far more than change

LMAOOO facts

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

@Mal Funk Shin MLB is totally broken - people complained about game length in 1908 and it's only increased since then - and given people have the attention span of a goldfish these days....

I enjoy the new rules. I went to watch minor league games and they were actually fun to watch

Dude I haven't even liked baseball since the 2nd grade and yet I'm still invested in this channel.

Want that Robot Umpire since the first time I heard it mentioned in a game by the Yankee's Announcers. It really feels like the bad calls have shot up an insane rate the past few years, this year being probably the worse (from what I can tell while watching the game for both teams equally too.) My 2nd wish is for there to be actual punishment players with fines for unsportsmanlike conduct with threats of suspensions and bans from all of MLB for repeat violations. Manny Machado's getting a little better than his previous years where he cleated 1st basemans and middle infielders multiple times intentionally along with many attempts that weren't successful. That kind of garbage needs to be addressed more than just a few choice words from the opposing team's players, MLB should be involved. And my 3rd wish, kind of ties into the 1st one a little bit, fines for Umpires who have horrible report cards or with calls that are beyond a reasonable mistake. There was a pitch that was called a strike 5 inches out of the zone this year. No way of having that altered. Other bad calls unrelated to the strike zone are also getting out of hand, and there is no way to challenge some of these calls. Take the 15 second to challenge rule in the Yankees/Orioles game recently. Orioles manager didn't challenge a play, the fans see the replay on the jumbotron and boo and the umpires go to the Orioles manager asking if he wants to challenge the play, well over 15 seconds after the play. When the umpires were in the wrong and it was challenged by the Yankee's Manager the Umpires said there is no way to overturn that decision now, oops.

I got into baseball recently and I must say I’m having fun. I actually watch games and then if I can do that, I watch highlights. The pitch clock makes the game more engaging to watch. P.S. Like others have said, end blackouts. I have ESPN+ and I’m lucky if I can watch one game a day.

What a quality video. Your speed and succinctness while sharing a ton of relevant information earns you a sub. I’m a judgemental POS and I’m impressed with you. Thanks.

This is way better than the new rule explanations all the RSNs are airing.

Baseball is in its own horror movie rn

Loved your Midsommar video!!!

I just started watching baseball last year. I would watch when I had nothing to do cuz the games were so long. Now when watching, I have to actually stare at the screen because they pitch so quickly and I love it as a new fan. Biggest complaint before I even started watching was the time and now games have consistent action. I know old fans said these changes won’t bring in new fans but it certainly has hooked me

Same goes for me. I’m not a huge sports person but I like baseball because it’s easy to keep up with. Faster action makes it real fun too

Same here

Tell us more about your lack of patience and inability to understand strategy...

@Mal Funk Shin so every other sport lacks strategy because they’re faster paced? Taking 2 minutes to throw one pitch is not strategy. A batter taking a stroll and tightening his gloves after every swing is not strategy. There’s still strategy with the picked up pace so your attempted dig sounds unnecessary

Same. It used to feel like it was wasting my time. Now I can’t stop watching.

As a relative baseball outsider, all of this seems like reasonable methods to both speed up the games and make them more exciting. Heres hoping that it does just that

Im a baseball traditionalist. But I just don't understand how the game has gotten so long. Seems the changes are good from what I can tell so far

Look, in the long run this is going to help baseball. Games completed in under 3 hours are much easier to watch, especially on TV. Games over 3 1/2 and 4 hrs. were becoming way too commonplace. I like it when a pitcher can keep pressure on a hitter by throwing quickly.

The rule changes are fantastic, especially eliminating the shift. Baseball should have never allowed players to shift positions like that. Play your position as intended. Also, limiting mound visits…….. great! Other suggestions; stop raising and moving the fences back. Fans want to see home runs! Finally, implement electronic balls and strikes. It’s time.

At this point watching baseball is like watching a group of statisticians discuss a complex board game. There’s a bunch of percentages for obscure actions, and a lot of meticulous rules.

Luckily all of these rules shouldn’t be able to make the viewing experience worse. The viewer doesn’t have to keep track of how many pickoffs there have been, what the timer is, or how large the bases are. But they definitely notice games taking less than 3 hours, more steals, and more scoring.

yup

@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ Wow, rule 3.16 seems extremely odd. And who is this Jesús fellow? Is he one of the Dominican players? Dan is right, baseball rules are getting confusing.

All most as bad as watching Golf.

More like a group of Statisticans vs Lawyers organizing a complex board game. 😖

the thing I don't like is the shifts banning but I guess I'm not like most of the fans out there, I do like defensive games and I do like the possibility to use strategies that need the use of stats and lot of observation, it was pure mental skills like counting cards in black jack

I actually don’t like it either for the same reasons but I see why they did it and I’m fine with it now.

The new rules made my sister enjoy the game. She actually loves going to games now. She says they’re not boring anymore.

MLB has gotten super greedy and is run by people ignorant of why most fans love baseball. The TV deal and the homegame blackouts are unspeakably shortsighted. I DO NOT CARE how long a game is. I DO NOT CARE how many pickoff attempts are made, nor should it matter. There's a very simple solution to making baseball more popular: Make it easier/cheaper/free etc. to watch on TV and make games cheaper. I guarantee this would increase baseball's popularity. RIP MLB :(

They should have introduced these rules but not enforced them for a season. Spent the season monitoring teams counting the infractions & imposed a sanction of the 3 teams who broke them the most. This would have meant the coaching staff had time to get the players in the the swing of things.

This is just so weird. I want to get back into watching sports but seeing how the MLB is trying to speed the game up artificially through the use of digitality is just so stupid. Another issue I have that is very controversial is that players should be paid less and the teams with the most money shouldnt be able to dominate the sport since it makes the game more about access to capital then skill.

Well there isn’t really too much correlation between spending a ton of money and winning titles. Houston won in 2022 with the 11th highest payroll. Atlanta won in 2021 with the 13th highest. In most cases whilst a high payroll can take you to the playoffs, it usually doesn’t mean a world series

Max Scherzer on the mound could be diagnosed as psychotic. So him using the pitch clock as a weapon is on brand. Zack Greinke using PitchCom in Spring Training and not taking it all seriously is totally him as well. Zack calling his own pitches must have been wonderful for him.

People with social anxiety like Greinke are going to absolutely love the additional control it gives

Shaking off his own pitches is the most greinke thing ever

Scherzer 100% on brand with the pitch clock.

Love me some Scherzer.

How long before Scherzer gets a second amendment to his own rule? If there’s a way to break it, he’s the one to figure it out

I went to a Rockies game this past Sunday (Apr 30th) and it felt like baseball but even my wife who isn't a baseball fan commented that the game was flying by. It felt like baseball though.

I went form 3-5 hot dogs a game to 2, max. Not enough time to go to the food stand. Might miss three innings!

I'm loving it! Not saying i don't love a full day MLB game but not much i like to do for 2hrs straight... ever

These new rules will be a HUGE net positive for the game . Baseball, not just at the MLB level but overall is really starting to make the right moves to ensure future popularity. We can even look at this channel as proof. The last three videos are already at over 1 million views each and it hasn't even been a month yet.

Well said. Love the new rules. The players don’t like change, but the guys from the minors coming up with the rules will be ok. Reminds me of when hockey made helmets mandatory. The guys coming up we’re fine with helmets

Or its because the videos are about a topic that has a wider net appeal than most of his other videos, the algorhythm syncing well with the keywords used on these videos, a spike due to a shoutout or cross promotion or any other number of reasons that make more sense than "MLB pitch clock directly drives interest in hearing about world baseball classic." You know, that thing MLB players didnt take seriously for years and the league didnt want players to participate in? Totally linked when talking about administrative rules changes. You could draw a much more convincing line to back up your logic if you said that videos about current baseball issues have routinely higher viewership than those about past players. It wouldnt be that solid because there's no control group to test against to say that its not just that his videos about past baseball subjects do a significantly worse job covering them than other channels (which is true) but it would at least begin to follow a trail of logic. Think back to your first day of 8th grade science class. Correlation does not equal causation.

@Mal Funk Shin More stolen bases are fine, it’s not like it matters record-wise cause no one is ever touching the records set by Henderson. As for the pitch clock strikeout, well maybe players should stop being lazy and get in the box. I’m there to watch baseball, not grown men doing nothing.

The only change I’d make is adjust the pitch clock so it doesn’t determine the outcome of a tied 9th inning game with bases loaded and full count

But it dictates all other 8 innings? That's illogical... The players have 1 job they've been doing their entire life. Lmao😅 throw ball, hit ball... Keep it simple and its much more enjoyable. Keep the drama for the Real Housewives please...

That doesn’t make sense man a rule has to be applied at all times or it’s not a rule. Almost every other sport can end on a penalty even a delay of game penalty so if it ends a big game that’s unfortunate but it’s not hard to follow the pitch clock so players need to just pay attention

I love how much work is put into this vidoes. Lots of respect. Godbless

Overall I'm interested to watch the impact of the rule changes over the course of the season. The only issue I have at the moment is MLB going after bat boys, that's just not cool.

Bat boys need to be on point, no more lazy focus

The should all be like tennis sideline kids. Also they should be kids and not fat adults who tear their ACLs tripping.

Yeah going after bat boys is over the top. You'll save what, a couple seconds per game at most? It's silly and I'd feel bad for an overweight kid who's a bat boy and can't run very fast.

Don't see it as going after the BB. The manager may give the kid instructions to dilly-dally or drag his feet executing his duties. Using the bat boy to manipulate the rules is something that about half of the managers/players would do.

I saw the pirates play the dodgers in a 6-2 win and it took less then 2 and a half hours. That’s one of the fastest games I’ve ever been to and it was a decent score. I think the pitch clock and shift restrictions are great for the game and the only people hating on it are not looking at the advantage.

Only complaint I heard today from visitors to Oracle Stadium was that they went to get a beer and missed a bunch of action because it moves so quick.

Vendors and concession stands were not taken into account when speeding up the game. The game was sped up for tv (which most can't even see because of blackout rules), but the speed of the game takes away from the in the stadium experience. In my opinion.

Welcome to sports buddy. Baseball games are boring as fuck. And that’s why the MLB is making changes

​@You Got Baited if you think they were boring then you very obviously have no clue about the game or what's going on

@Mal Funk Shin There is absolutely nothing exciting about a hitter that steps out of the box, unvelcros his batting gloves, adjusts his fingers in them, revelcros his batting gloves, readjusts the stickum on his bat, taps the bat to his helmet, steps into the box, scuffs the ground, and taps the ground a few times with the bat, and then is ready for the pitch. And then he does that, without fail, after EVERY pitch. There's absolutely nothing exciting about a pitcher who waits 30 seconds doing nothing, nothing at all, before a pitch because he wants to bore the hitter, throw off his timing, and "slow the game down" so he can be in control. Nothing exciting about that at all. I've been a baseball traditionalist and I have hated new rules like the DH, the ghost runner, the juiced balls, maybe even the bigger bases. But the pitch clock is a wonderful, wonderful change. Games had gotten slower and slower over time. It's about time they made this change.

Once sales slump, they will increase the time between innings. It's all about the money.

Provide evidence that this is "saving" baseball, and that ratings and attendence will be going up

The pitch clock is the best thing that has ever happened to Baseball. They brought it all on themselves. Frank Robinson did everything he could to speed up the game and ignored all his suggestions. Deal with it.

exactly, most people who dislike it are basically people who have no life and want a 5 hour game

I can see the new rules effected the Diamondbacks in a positive way

MLB holding batboys/batgirls being held to a higher standard than their umpires is crazy...

The batboys need to unionize. Pay their dues in gummy bears.

@PAGoTribe1963 everybody is pro union Starbucks, pro union Walmart, pro union this and that until they watch sports

@Microsoft Spam I don't think those people overlap.

​@Microsoft Spam there's a difference between unionizing against shitty corporations and unions in sports

The shift is the rule that upsets me the most. It is absolutely insane to me that professional batters aren’t able to avoid hitting into a shift. You should never see a shift in the MLB, not because it’s against the rule, but because the batter should be good enough to avoid it. So the defense wouldn’t do it. It’s that simple!!!

Implementing rules and the rules producing the expected outcome does not mean that they are “saving baseball”. It means they are achieving their goals, and I have yet to meet a baseball fan who likes these new rules.

I only know 1 baseball fan and he likes the new rules he's an older guy so the games going quicker helps him watch

Who hates it? No more stupid shift, faster games, easier to plan nights at the ballpark, it's great.

I just wish that with the success of the pitch clock in shortening games, the banning of the shift increasing base hits, and the increased amount of steals, we can get rid of the awful extra innings rule.

I think 20/25 is a good sweet spot, no rushed time, but no stalling either

Today I watched the O's vs Red Sox and honestly? The 3 hours flew by. Felt SOOO fast, despite it being so long from it being a 10-9 game

same with the jays cardinals game

I'm a Rays fan. Rays beat the Tigers today in 2:14. Never seen a shorter Rays game.

That game would've taken 4.5 hours last year, especially with it being a high scoring AL East game!

​@Carl Pacquing and it would have been great. It's a different game might as well create new records

I never minded a 3+ hour game. It was the lack of action. And these rules seem to have fixed it.

The new rules add to the excitement of the game, for sure. One drawback, though, is all sorts of records will be broken because of these rule changes, and all these new records will need an asterisk next to them.

Nah, leave them as is sans asterisk, and have an asterisk next to the old record with how many times Garciaparra adjusted his batting gloves that game

Who cares, get in the box and swing the bat let’s gooooooo!!!

There won't be any asterisks when old records inevitably get broken and new records are set. Let's be real here! That would be bad for baseball.

what's bad for baseball is giving the runner a shorter basepath, a countdown to when he can take off and knowing that there's basically zero threat to be picked off after 2 failed attempts

None of the records will be broken. People who think anyone would catch Henderson with stolen bases really underestimated how far ahead he is of everyone else and how impossible it will be to break any of his records.

Pitch Clock, don’t mind it The Shift Ban, don’t mind it Base size, don’t mind it This being said, nothing can save baseball until they figure out how to broadcast their games. It is maddening being told I’m out of range for an Atlanta Braves broadcast from Athens a Georgia, an hour’s drive away.

Wdym? I love not being able to watch The Blue Jays because some rando AL team doesn't like the fact that a Canadian wants to watch an away game. That and going to Toronto for a game is doubly expensive cuz I have to actually drive there (please bring back a Montreal franchise)

There are plenty of free streams on the interwebs. Their loss

A balked-in run had happened before. I believe the Braves had a walk-off balk against the Mets a few years ago.

Maybe he meant that never before had a runner scored on three balks in one at-bat. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠( ツ ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Automated umpires are something that should've been implemented as soon as the tech became available.

Personally I'm liking SOME of these rules so far. I remember one time, I went to the kitchen to get a cold drink, served myself some snacks, went back to the TV and the batter still hadn't hit anything. Also I agree with most of the comments, it should be more baseball on TV, or at least make the stadium tickets a tadbit less expensive.

I'll voice my opinions on the rule changes after I've seen what it does in the next few months. However, the one thing I can't stand is the extra inning ghost runner. That to me is atrocious. I do like how they dropped the defensive shifts though. Lefties AVG will skyrocket.

The ghost runner rule is so bad man

The ghost runner made me turn off what game I watch off after 9. If the teams don't care and just want the game over with, why should I watch.

The ghost running is outrageous to me, and slightly behind that is everything to do with the pitch clock. They are talking about punishing bat boys... heaven forbid teams have something fun and memorable for a child or fans. The shift rules seemed half baked and don't go far enough.

@Greg Penismith far enough as in "they dont let clubs freely do whatever they want because this is baseball not "Rob Mannfred's penny squeezing simulator?" Because I agree, not letting teams play ball smarter and artificially restricting them is lame as fuck.

It should only be implanted after they've played ad least two real innings. Like the 12th.

I go to baseball games frequently and I never went to a game on time because damn they used to take so long. this pitch clock absolutely saved the pace of the game. I absolutely hated when a pitcher takes over a minute to pitch and pick off several times.

Ryan Braun stepping out of the box to redo all his uniform was bull. I'm so happy that baseball is going faster.

It had gotten to the point where I only watched the highlights on YT after the game so I’m glad to see the rule changes. If I was driving I’d listen to it but sitting through a game wasn’t happening. Certainly not every day or even a couple of times a week.

I agree. Youtube gives the highlight of every game back-to-back. It feels like I've seen enough of each game. I'm not paying for cable MLB games.

No problem with any of the new rules EXCEPT for the shift. Pull hitters just need to learn how to go the other way sometimes. That's like penalizing defensive backs because the QB keeps throwing into triple coverage.

The shift got ridiculous in recent years and used far more than ever before. It didnt even look like baseball a lot of the time, more like slowpitch softball. In addition pitching is better than its ever been so saying just hit it the other way is a dumb argument when hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. There's defensive restrictions in football too. All the shift restriction is doing is making guys play the position they are intended to and making defense important again. I think its a great rule

@Fly The W It's been awhile but we were taught to "hit the ball where they ain't". I guess modern hitters aren't smart enough or talented enough to do that when necessary, so they need extra rules to force fielders to stay in certain areas. That's just sad.

@Southern Grey Shark it's sad that you can't understand that it was WAY overused. Plus you gotta be trolling that they aren't talented 😂 c'mon dude. Defense wasn't even going off intuition or anything. They were told where to stand by a group of analysts and didn't even think for themselves. Just look at a card in your pocket and move where you are told. That's not baseball. Now defensive ability is important again and they actually have to make plays. They are playing the position that was always intended. How is that a bad thing for baseball?? It's going back to how it was traditionally played

@Fly The W Outfielders use computer analytics just like hitters and pitchers do. Baseball is a game of adjustments. If the entire defense is playing you to pull and the other side is wide ass open, who's fault is it that the hitter won't/can't hit the ball to that huge open space? Again, it's like an NFL defense sees that your QB throws most of his passes to the right side and is far more productive doing so, do they roll their coverages to the right side. Duhhhh. You don't see the NFL saying that you can't do that do you?

@Southern Grey Shark Theres plenty of things in NFL on defense that you cant do. Restrictions on positioning and others. You cant compare football to baseball, they are completely different. All im saying is that guys have to actually play the position they are supposed to be in. Why is that a bad thing???

Despite living in Seattle, I have seen exactly one major league baseball game. That was twenty years or more ago. I was doing repairs for a hotel, and the Concierge had an unused ticket which he gave me. I saw most of the game in the "old" domed stadium ----a magnificent piece of architecture that should never have been blown up. The most amazing thing about the game was how FAST those pitches are thrown! Watching on television is deceptive. That's my MLB experience!

Damn I don’t like the changes exactly but this is definitely going to be the most exciting year in baseball in a long time by sheer chaos alone. It’s like a huge balance patch in a videogame 😂

I guess whether real life or virtual a game is a game.

It's only exciting if the games actually matter, which they can't if the game is distilled to a series of gimmicks

As someone who doesn't regularly watch baseball, I look forward to the brawls that come out of these new rules

the shift change is gonna make such a negligible difference nobody even gonna notice.

no lol its already a lame season with the crap rules

People will complain about the MLB losing viewership and then get upset that the MLB actually made a strong move to improve the game experience for fans. They had to do *something* to speed up the game and a pitch clock seemed like the perfect idea but I guess some people value "tradition" too much

Yeah the reason this never works is the more rules you introduce, the more disputes and arguments you get from it. This isn't about making games faster, it's about making them "more exciting" by having coaches and players lose their minds. Which draws in crowds and attention, much likes Fights in Hockey.

I think it's to get more people to watch it honestly I've never sat and watched a game before this season but now I'll occasionally watch them and enjoy it

I really don't see what the issue is, The minor leagues have had the pitch clock for years, and all the rules had been played tested with the minor leagues before the MLB adopted them. I love the new rules as it makes baseball games more snappy and enjoyable.

The drama and behind the scenes of baseball is more entertaining then baseball itself

I think it would be better of the pitch started after an accepted sign with runners in base, but was only eight seconds at that point.

Longest game from opening day was Cardinals/Blue Jays at 3 hours 38 minutes. Mostly attributed to 384 combined pitches thrown, 19 combined runs, 12 pitching changes.

Yeah, as a Jays fan, who watched that game. The length of that game was NOT due to general delays. Something was happening every half inning.

Well you wanted more offense....

Certainly longer than what people want, but at least offense was happening. People have no problem watching 3 hour football games because things happen pretty consistently in that time.

Yup. The second longest game on opening day (BAL @ BOS) also had a combined 19 runs, 26 hits, 3 errors, 10 pitching changes, 344 pitches, and was only 3:10. Average game opening day was 2:45, median time was 2:38, and only 5 games over 3:00 (only that one over 3:10). Shortest games (two) were 2:14. Not a bad start.

"Game is longer because of a ton of action" isn't a problem.

I think the pick-offs at first base has a particular loophole: The Hidden Ball Trick & Fake throws.

Oh, damn. I never thought of that. The first baseman could just hold the pick off ball forever... huh

The Time rule change is the best thing to happen to MLB. I'm back to watching baseball again. No more 4 hour games, watching guys looking around the stands and scratching their balls doing nothing but wasting my time. Thank you Baseball.

If changing baseball for the better means seeing most fans out and upsetting the rest, then maybe you need to reevaluate the situation. Pretty much nobody agrees. You can't just say things and have them be true just because you want to argue and be right. Baseball doesn't need to become a different sport. It needs to strengthen the sport it already was. Siding with executives who just want to make more money and deliver less experience is a losing battle. Good luck with all of this.

Love the checking runners on 1st rule.

agreed. the changes have saved baseball.

Joey Gallo still getting shifted in shallow right by loopholes is hilarious to me

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I love the shift. I'm mad it's gone frankly. So far the pitch clock has worked out to speed up games, but if they still allowed the shift you'd probably shave another few minutes off the game, which I wouldn't mind frankly.

Thanks to this year's WBC and the new rules (shorter games), I'm now a fan of Baseball, so yes we do exist guys

Baseball is beyond saving, players are 90% of the problem, and dans don’t understand defense is a bigger part of the sport then they want to admit, fans just want there to be a home run derby every game.

Wow, that was really on point and informative. Thanks!

I like the idea of the pitch clock but a tie (or close) game in the later innings not being rushed and allowing tension to build is one of the best things in sports. I don’t want to see a bottom of the 9th in the playoffs get rushed. I wouldn’t mind maybe seeing the pitch clock not being used if the tying run is on deck in the 8th & 9th innings. Just an idea

No! The beginning of the slippery slope.

Baseball, to me, it’s very different as a fan, from regular season to postseason. Regular season, it is a game made for radio. The slow pace and long season are made for story telling and really showcase the abilities of good radio broadcasters. As a fan, you listen all summer long and get to hear all kinds of interesting stories, including about the old days, from the color commentator. Post-season is a different beast. Postseason baseball is great tv. The slow pace again becomes a feature, but instead of for storytelling, it’s for suspense. Some of the most memorable visuals in my sports-watching life are MLB pitchers staring in to get the sign, coming set, and summoning up their focus and energy to make the pitch, on a cold October night. Is baseball slow paced? Yes. But so is golf. So what? It’s not for everyone. How long do cricket matches take? But they still have their devotees. That’s just a little defense of the slower pace. I will say, the points for wanting to shorten the game are not invalid. MLB just needs to understand that suspense and story telling are part of their product too.

Nope!!!

@James Drake very good point.

Playoffs this year will be a shitshow. Just wait for games to be decided by the pitchclock

I don't mind the shift or the pickoffs, or the bigger bases. I do however mind the pitch timer and think that has zero place in baseball. universal DH? sure, fine. extra innings runner? don't like it, but i understand how *that* makes games quicker. i do hope they drop the timer, at least.

Honestly more action in a game is great but part of me thinks that if I'm going to spend so much at a game I don't want to leave so quickly.

The pitch clock is a much needed improvement

I would like you to do a video talking about why Sammy Sosa is not a HOF and why the MLB has forgetten about everything he did for baseball.

💉

The new rules are amazing. Loving it!!!

I've enjoyed the changes so far. I think a faster game with more regular action is good. I think these changes will mature well when the summer gets here.

I noticed a pleasing change in feel after one game. All they did was address players and their egos and rituals, ffs catch and throw. Once you're conscious that there's a clock you just get in a new rhythm and never think about it, and suddenly you realize that you dont need even the 15 seconds which are alloted. No player in history was who he was statistically because he was allowed to adjust his f'ing helmet for no reason and wave the bat with one hand several times before setting up to hit. That's all horse **** that no one pays to see. It's clear that we don't need all this idle time. It's so nice to force it out for good.

Let's get tp the real reason the shift was eliminated. The Tampa Bay Rays were better at it than any other team, and it was irking everyone that the Rays were one of the 4-5 best teams in the league even though they have a low payroll. So the teams that are lazy and just buy players after they already peaked decided that it was just too hard to learn analytics and they eliminated all these things to try to level the playing field. Just one thing. The Rays are still the best team at finding talent through the minors and know just when to get rid of the ones they have, eg. Austin Meadows for Paredes.

"games are too long" said no one who actually enjoys the game. This is a TV network thing, so they can schedule other programs but mostly so they can plan the right amount of commercials to add to a game.

And that's the bottom line right there....less game, more commercials. They're killing baseball. This shit doesn't even remotely resemble the baseball I grew up loving.n

Love every change. Got tired of watching batting glove adjustments and pitching changes for 45 minutes a game. Now we can watch baseball not navel gazing.

It definitely shouldn’t be deciding the end of a game. I understand speeding up the game but there should be limits to that b/s at the height of the game.

I mean, a violation only ended a spring training game once. The players are finally getting used to the rule changes. If you change the rules in the 9th inning, you're just asking the batter to ice the pitcher repeatedly.