Some Baseball “Research” …

I am back from a great visit with old friends in the Phoenix AZ area and the opportunity to see 3 Spring Training baseball games.  It was an enjoyable time all around and I got a chance to do some “research”.  When a reader knew of my plans for earlier this week, he sent a note wishing me safe travels and said he would “look forward to reading what you think of new baseball rules.”  This is not a disc-jockey show; nevertheless, I am open to requests from the audience; so, I took that as a reason to take some notes during the games.

The goal of the new MLB rule changes is two-fold:

1. Shorten the total time from first pitch to final out.
2. Pack more “baseball action” into the time of the game.

So, here is the methodology of my “research”:

• I broke each game into “thirds” and timed the start of each third and the final out of the game.
• I also recorded the gross results of each third – – and by extension for the entire game.
• I tracked things that can slow down the game such as pitcher changes within an inning.
• I recorded any violations of the new pitch clock.
• I recorded any base stealing attempts – – and successes – – because the larger bases are supposed to encourage that “action-creating strategy.”

Now, let me be sure to lay out clearly the limitations of my “research”:

• Clearly this is a small sample size.
• These are Spring Training games not critical games in a playoff run.

The “Bottom Line” for my “research” is that the games move faster than before and there is more action packed into the compressed playing time.  For the 3 games I saw, that is clear and obvious to me; here are my data:

Guardians 12 Cubs 4: 

• Total elapsed time for the game was 2 hours and 46 minutes.
• The combined run line for the two teams was 16 runs, 21 hits, 5 errors
• There were 3 pitching changes within an inning and 1 mound conference
• The teams combined to attempt 6 stolen bases and were successful 3 times.
• There were no “clock violations” in the game.
• The Guardians attempted a hit-and-run once.
• [Aside:  Roman Quinn hit 2 home runs in this game.]

Padres 7 Giants 5:

• Total elapsed time for the game was 2 hours and 24 minutes
• The combined run line for the two teams was 12 runs, 15 hits, no errors.
• There were no pitching changes within an inning and no mound conferences.
• The teams combined to attempt 3 stolen bases and all three were successful.
• There was 1 “clock violation” on the pitcher in the game.
• [Aside:  There were 3 wild pitches in the game including 2 wild pitches in the same half-inning.]

Royals 8 Rockies 6:

• Total elapsed time for the game was 2 hours and 54 minutes.
• The combined run line for the two teams was 14 runs, 21 hits, 3 errors.
• There were 3 pitching changes within an inning and 3 mound conferences.  Moreover, one pitching change happened due to an injury to the pitcher so the reliever called in was not timed for his warm-ups.
• The teams combined to attempt 8 stolen bases and all 8 were successful including a steal of home.
• The Royals attempted 1 hit-and-run.
• There was 1 “clock violation” on the pitcher in the game.
• [Kris Bryant hit a home run that probably did not come down for 3 days.]

Here are the two “activities” that seem to have been minimized so far as my 3-game sample indicates:

1. Hitters either avoid adjusting their batting gloves entirely or they do it much more quickly than they did in the past.
2. Pitchers spend a lot less time either walking around on or near the mound with the ball in their hand and/or staring menacingly at the hitter/catcher.

The rule change about reducing the extreme shift – – requiring two infielders to be on either side of second base and for infielders to be on the infield dirt when the pitcher starts his motion – – did not seem odious and there were a couple of singles through the infield that would likely have been ground outs had the extreme shift been deployed.  Even though I run the risk of being labeled a “revisionist” by those who resist changes to the rules of baseball, I think these new rule changes are good for the game.

Finally, let me close today with this view of baseball from The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm:

“Baseball:   A spectator sport known as ‘the great American pastime’ largely because so much time passes while waiting for each game to end.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………