Americans are tired of baseball because its too slow. The fans look at their
video games then attempt to watch a baseball game. Take the Pirates, their
business model consists of many T-shirt games and fireworks show on Friday night
games. The Pirates still make money for the owners.
Ownership and to a lesser extent management are extraordinarily lazy,stupid,sort sighted. It would be so easy to institute change that will address problems that will arrive in force in another 20 years or so but are present now.
There's no mystery involved. Just end some of the nonsense and make things less cumbersome. If they don't they deserve what they will get.
Kisskiss, Bangbang
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Agreed.
shareWell ask them how do they want to speed it up then?
shareWhatever you do, don't ask that.
As an aussie, we had a great game in test cricket, a literal physical game of chess. Each one taking up to five days because you needed to out-think your opponent, not just outplay him. It was the thinking man's sport that everyone who took the time to understand respected. However due to its 'thinking man' aspect it was a little slow, not a great spectator action sport, and didn't make enough money.
... So they changed it. We now have 'one day' cricket which was a little faster, more conducive to adverts and spectators and players being paid in the multi-millions.
But even that wasn't enough, so they changed it again.
We also now have what they call twenty/twenty cricket, an action packed evening of sixes (homeruns) and... and... well nothing else really. No skills, no game plans, no nothing. Just batters swinging as hard as they can.
To be honest, I'm fully expecting the next change to be 'Extreme Cricket' where they just give each team their own bats and send them out into the field to beat crap out of each other with last man standing wins.
The complexities and skills required just don't matter anymore. It's all (and only) about the money and getting butts on seats.
They've already ruined cricket. Don't let the money whores do it to baseball as well.
Baseball's issues are different than cricket's. Baseball would actually benefit from simple changes like instituting a pitch clock, forbidding batters to step out of the batter's box while at bat or fidgeting with their gloves or uniform to waste time, and curtailing the number of trips a manager/catcher can take to the mound during a game. This has nothing to do with money and everything to do with cutting out basic nonsense.
shareBaseball is still America's national pastime and If you think baseball is "declining" then how about you look at the fact that voting for the All star game was the highest ever. Im pretty sure declining means going down not up
shareIn terms of paid attendance, auto racing is the most popular sport in the US. In terms on consensus acclaim, football owns America’s attention.
shareThe NFL, college football, and NASCAR all outdraw baseball on a regular basis, both at stadiums and in tv ratings. Baseball is only "the national pastime" because to say so is a traditional sentiment.
shareI'm English and went to a Red Sox game whilest I was in Boston on holiday and what I got from it wasn't that it was slow. It was that the fans didn't give a *beep* as they talked throughout the entire game instead of watching it which if it happened in a major British sport would probably lead to less interest in it
shareIt depends on what they are talking about. If they come to the game simply to talk about what's going on and the intangibles, well they have still bought a ticket.
Oskars problem with Eli is not her ambiguous gender, but her ambiguous humanity.share
As a Sox fan in boston, I totally agree with you. While some love the quaint history of fenway it's maddening to watch a game there these days.
shareIt hasn't declined at all for me. It's as good as ever, and better than it was in the 1980s and 1990s, because the juicing is all but gone and the entire roster is utilized more than it was before.
To fully appreciate baseball, you have to understand it. You first have to be knowledgable of the game and its strategy, then you have to be knowledgable of the players. Different pitchers have different pitches. They have different batters they like and don't like to face. Some batters are fast ball hitters, some like the change-up. Some can't face lefties. Some pull the ball, causing a shift in the defense. Some are base stealers. Some are terrible at getting on base. Some strike out a lot. Others crowd the plate. Some are power guys.
All of these characteristics change the strategy, which changes with each given pitch. If Aroldis Chapman (a notorious fastball pitcher) is on the mound and facing Adrian Gonzalez (a notorious fastball hitter), trying to close out a game in the bottom of the ninth, he may not want to throw his fastball. If the bases are loaded, though, and he gets behind 2-0 on Gonzales, guess what? He's going to throw the fast ball. Then the question is whether or not he can spot it, and, if he does, whether or not he can get it past the batter. If he does, and it goes to 2-1, then the strategy changes again.
When you understand the game and the players involved, the strategy becomes pretty fascinating.
The Constitution guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome.
I guess I'll have to get this said in the few days left...
The problem with baseball isn't the length of the game, it's the downtime between action. American Football is similar but at least one knows that when the ball is snapped, *something* is going to happen.
Back in baseball's heyday, an AB (at bat) was almost a singular event. The batter got in the box and the pitcher threw the ball. If not put in play, the ball was returned and the next pitch was on it's way in seconds.
In today's baseball, the competition between the pitcher and batter is several or many separate events (depending on how many pitches are thrown before the batter is retired or makes base). Pitcher throws a pitch that's taken or swung on and missed. The pitcher goes for a stroll around the mound while the batter steps out and goes for a short stroll away from the plate. Batter gets back in the box and adjusts his equipment and the pitcher looks in for the pitch sign, maybe shaking off several. Batter steps out and the process gets repeated. Repeat every 20 to 40 seconds. Yawn..
What I do is keep the remote in my hand. If the pitch is taken or if the pitch is halfway to the plate and it's obvious the hitter isn't going to swing, I hit the "flashback" button on my remote and catch 20 seconds of Shawshank or something else interesting.
In the old days, the pitcher/hitter battle was mostly a single event. Games lasted about 2.5 hours and many in just over 2 hours. Even World Series games rarely crossed three hours.
I realize that we have longer commercial breaks and more pitching changes/matchups these days, but the frustrating thing is the time between pitches. That's what makes the game truly feel "slow".
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men ~ F Douglassshare
Baseball is too long overall, but I agree it takes too long between pitches. Batters step out of the box, pitchers step off the rubber, catchers call time. It all takes too long. Pitch clocks may help, who knows. Baseball season is also so long. I am a baseball fan, but the older I have gotten the less I have cared about it before July. Young people aren't tuning in because its too slow, they want fast paced action, they want video games, etc. The demo for baseball is people 50-75, and growing older.
shareThey need to correct this at the Little League level. It's a vicious cycle. Kids see an MLB player do it, he does it. He grows up...
I know purists scream at a pitch clock, but all they're trying to do is restore the game to the way it used to be played. Today, players go for a stroll, take practice swings (they should know how to swing a bat by now), then unsnap and resnap their batting gloves. Pitchers do the same.
The two main issues is length of the game and pace of the game. Speaking only for me, it's the PACE that drives me nuts. Getting the pace back the way it used to be would also address the length.
When I was a kid, I would watch every inning of a double header (most Sundays). A double header was often done before 6PM -7 at the latest. 5 hours for two crisp game including the 25 minute break between games.
If games could finish under 3 hours that would be great. But now games take 4...5 hours. It's just too long
shareI don't think it's declined much at all, there's tons of people who still enjoy it.
shareIs it really declining though? I don't doubt that MLB has lost footing in terms of TV ratings for the past 20 years due to too many small market games, but the proof is in the pudding when the owners rake in hundreds of millions in TV ad revenue every season.
Aside from the NFL and maybe the NBA in some big markets, most young families don baseball team attire and watch games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at their favorite sports bar/venue.
Also, I was never a fan of baseball myself and found the obsession with it by people I grew up with very odd, especially the Baseball Card collector's market.
"market" is the key word. Its a collectors business, I bought baseball cards in the 80s hoping to Cash in some day. Still have them in my Closet.
shareBaseball has a charm and a rhythm unlike the other big market sports. It’s not fast and loud and gawdy. It’s cool and breezy on a summer evening....with moments of excitement and moments of fun sprinkled throughout.
The diehards who truly appreciate the game, and the inner-workings of what’s going on, pitch by pitch, will always enjoy following their team on TV...day to day. It’s almost like a soap opera...to be followed all summer long.
And even the non diehards will always enjoy GOING to a game (with their significant other or their buddies).....and enjoy being outside....on a breezy summer night.....with a cold beer and a dog....and enjoying all the atmosphere. It’s classic....and it’s a formula that feels good to the soul.
The people that need it to be faster and louder...don’t get it...and I kinda feel bad for them.
These are people who can’t make it through The Shawshank Redemption....don’t have the attention span for A Few Good Men. They prefer anything with The Rock in it.
SMH
You're right a lot of people don't want to sit for 3 hours and watch a game that will be played 161 more times over the rest of the year. And people don't want to see a pitch, then the batter readjust everything on his body, take 5 practice swings and then step back into the box while the pitcher stares for 10 more seconds. If you enjoy it then that's great, but equating wanting faster sports with less downtime to not enjoying good movies is pretty silly.
shareKen Levine has his own ideas in regards to "fixing" Major League Baseball:
http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2021/06/how-i-would-fix-major-league-baseball.html
First, I’d eliminate the shift.share
I’d eliminate walk-up music. Get in there and hit.
I’d install a pitch clock. It works in the minors. Get the ball and throw it. And if you’re a hitter, stay in the box and hit. No more “Human rain delays.”
With two strikes, you get two foul balls. Any more than two and it’s a strike out. No more fouling off pitch after pitch.
An announcer friend made this suggestion that I would use. With a runner on first you get one throw over there. You may say that gives the runner an unfair advantage. If you think he’s going to steal, pitch out. There were teams last year who never needed to pitch out once.
You want fewer home runs? Move fences back. That also means outfielders have to cover more ground. More balls might drop in for singles and doubles.
Eliminate the stupid extra-inning rule where a runner starts at second base. Two sacrifices and the runner could score. That’s an unearned win in my book.
Challenges must take no more than three minutes. And if that doesn’t work, eliminate challenges. I’d rather see arguments in front of the fans than everyone sitting around for ten minutes while umpires review replays in New York.
Lose one commercial break per half inning. Charge more for the commercials to make up the difference.
If a pitcher warms up to begin an inning he has to face at least one batter. None of this Tony LaRussa shit where a pitcher warms up, then a pinch-hitter is announced, and he pulls the pitcher to bring in someone else, thus causing another three to four minute delay.
Study analytics before the game all you want, but during the game, no note cards.
No seven-inning double headers. This is the fucking big leagues.
I would fire Angel Hernandez, an absolute disgrace of an umpire.
So, let’s agree: baseball sucks and is no longer the American pastime, nor has been for decades. NASCAR is the American Pastime in terms of paid attendance, but is the analog of Pro Wrestling in terms of bullshit yellow flags for “debris on the track,” artificial excitement for bullshit “restarts,” and near-complete orchestration of outcomes.
sharePaid attendance is irrelevant to American sports. What pays the bills is TV/radio/streaming contracts. Sports stadiums/venues have become like bars/clubs that only cater to one clientele: the very rich, who spend their time socializing or glued to their phones. The games played during the lockdowns demonstrated that the "fans" in the seats are really just props.
I attended MLB games for 40 years before it became absurdly expensive and a time-consuming ridiculous hassle to arrive at/return from the game. Last time I went to a movie theatre, I did not have to pay $15 to park my car, and I could walk right up to the box office and buy a ticket right then and there. The best place to watch sports is at home.
The best place to watch sports is at home.