Post by TheWolf on May 10, 2021 12:47:02 GMT -5
A bunch of ESPN people wrote about the state of the game. Decent read if you like baseball.
In particular, I think Tim Keown's passage on time of game vs. pace of play was really well-said:
In particular, I think Tim Keown's passage on time of game vs. pace of play was really well-said:
Major League Baseball is on a mission to reduce the amount of time it takes to play games. Under Rob Manfred, it's been close to an obsession. Seven-inning doubleheaders, a three-batter minimum for pitchers, a runner on second to start extra innings -- welcome to the only industry intent on persuading its consumers to enjoy less of its product. After all, who among us doesn't want a raucous extra-inning game settled as quickly as possible by a clumsy schoolyard contrivance? Setting aside the particulars, there's an inherent conflict: MLB is confusing time of game with pace of play, and its efforts at acceleration run opposite to the skills that teams are prioritizing and incentivizing.
You want to make big league money as a hitter? Hit homers, draw walks and don't sweat the strikeouts. As a pitcher? Strike out as many guys as possible. The metrics employed by every front office dictate a style of play that leads to longer games. There are more pitches, fewer balls put in play and defensive shifts that take longer to set up and alter our perception of the game's positions. Are these fundamental problems that threaten to ruin the game, or will they be forgotten as soon as the next wave of analytics decides contact hitters are the new market inefficiency? Either way, MLB is addressing a pace-of-play disease with time-of-game treatments, which puts baseball, once again, in a distressingly familiar position: at war with itself.
You want to make big league money as a hitter? Hit homers, draw walks and don't sweat the strikeouts. As a pitcher? Strike out as many guys as possible. The metrics employed by every front office dictate a style of play that leads to longer games. There are more pitches, fewer balls put in play and defensive shifts that take longer to set up and alter our perception of the game's positions. Are these fundamental problems that threaten to ruin the game, or will they be forgotten as soon as the next wave of analytics decides contact hitters are the new market inefficiency? Either way, MLB is addressing a pace-of-play disease with time-of-game treatments, which puts baseball, once again, in a distressingly familiar position: at war with itself.
