Baseball - Pitching the arguments to shorten the game

Should we look to speed up Baseball? MLB is trying to, but is that what is needed?

Evidence suggests that interest in Major League Baseball has been declining over the years, with stadium attendance declining, which is easy to see and measure.

TV figures are harder to prove, with differing opinions (MLB obviously says there is an increase), but the data suggests that MLB is either stable or in decline with the armchair supporter. Clearly, with the vast number of MLB games, there are versus NFL or NBA, this can skew popularity figures too and give us a false reading of how popular baseball is. However, just taking the USA as a case study, NFL is certainly the number one sport, the NBA seems to be second and baseball or NHL third, with soccer hot on the heels.

With this trend in mind, the lazy stereotype of the game being boring and the fear that Millennials are not engaging, MLB has been looking at ways to shorten the game to make it more appealing to the social media, technological, ‘action now’ generation.

Dave White from European Baseball is in the box, to take a look at the arguments for and against shortening the game.

Why and how should time be taken out of the game?

If the data is correct and the game is in decline in the US and not growing in Europe, then it is right to look at the reasons why and see if that slide can be arrested. If the game is not attracting new fans, especially of the younger generation and participation is down, then these are serious trends that need to be addressed. Other sports have made changes with similar trends affecting their sport, such as cricket (introduction of T20) and snooker (Snooker Shoot-Out) and the upcoming Racing League (Horse Racing) this has generally brought more people to the games.

People want action all the time. There is thinking that there are too many breaks in baseball, the breaks are too long and that there is too much time between pitches, therefore too much time between the action.

Reducing the time between innings

There is a clear argument that the innings breaks could be reduced from the current time of two minutes (a twenty-five-second reduction from what it was in 2018), and that could go down to ninety seconds. That would take at least eight minutes out of the game, and more if it goes to the bottom of the ninth and there are mid-inning pitching changes, so, this could be around ten minutes.

MLB Players rituals

Keep Hitters in their box

Another way to reduce dead time in the game is to stop hitters exiting the batting box during their at-bat (unless they have an injury).

We see some hitters after every single pitch, step out of the box, readjust their gloves, tap the ground, adjust their helmet and go through their routine before being ready. This can lead to between 5-10 seconds delay between each pitch.

Magnify that over the whole game, and you could see how easily more time, perhaps 15 minutes or more, could be taken out. I must stress that not every hitter does this, there are some guilty parties, but there are some hitters who just want to get going and stay in the box. The same could be said for pitchers too, they are causing some delay and the introduction of a pitch clock could halt this behaviour by both pitchers and hitters.

Mound visits

We have seen the introduction of mound visits (6 per team) to try and stop the relentless visits by managers/coaches to the mound to stall for time. This has worked to a degree but we don’t always see 6 taken in a game, so not a big issue right now.

Further measures already in place

The intentional walk has gone from throwing 4 balls to pointing to first, well, this hasn’t saved much time as there might only be one or two IBB in a game (if that) and this may only save a minute. Another recent change has been the rule of pitchers having to face at least three hitters before they can be taken out (unless we come to an end of an inning or injury, then they can be changed regardless). This was an attempt to stop all the pitching changes, which then added on another break whilst the new pitcher came in and had his final warm-up pitches.

And now for the counter-arguments.

The game is fine as it is. It has existed this way for 150 years and been successful, people enjoy it all over the world in its current format, why tinker with it? Baseball still has millions of fans and will always be played in the USA, Mexico, Japan, Korea, and many other countries where the game flourishes.

If we take time out of the advert breaks it can have a couple of effects

1) Players might be rushing to get back out on the field (especially pitchers) and this causes more chance of injury. There are so many moving parts to a baseball player and these can be fragile. If a pitcher has sat down for 20+ minutes due to a long half-inning, he needs a bit of time to get ready again, those extra 30 seconds might be crucial.

2) Fewer advert breaks means less money into the game. This will stir many people up, but it is a fact. How that money is spent is a different argument, and that is what people should make a fuss about - all elite sports need money to flourish. Take the money from the advert breaks and plough more into grassroots.

3) By limiting the pitching changes it harms the tactical element to the game. So what if it takes a bit of time? Managers should manage their teams and the situation at hand, managers should show their skill in making quick on-field decisions that could mean win or lose - they get paid handsomely too, let’s see their ability.

The cat and mouse of ‘this’ pitcher versus ‘that’ hitter, bringing a guy off the bench to face a certain pitcher, that’s about using your head. Don’t limit that. Baseball is a game of analytics as well as athleticism and on-field skill, let’s harness the tactical side, don’t squash it. It also makes the strength and depth of your roster more relevant to be able to counter one manager's move with your own.

Hitters have habits

Whilst hitters stepping out of the box seems pointless to some, this may upset a hitters rhythm and harm their concentration. This may then have a detrimental effect on the quality of hitting we see. Sportspeople are creatures of habit and routine, and many will point to the need to refocus after each pitch to compose themselves. Stepping out may help the overall quality and excitement of the game. It also builds tension and can be great theatre as we sit on the edge of seats waiting for that next, crucial pitch.

With the above in mind, let's take a look at some other sports and how they compare.

Test cricket (by far the best form of cricket, in my opinion) is a whole day, 3 sessions of 2 hours, with a 40-minute lunch break, 20-minute tea break and the possibility of an extra half an hour at the end of play to help make up lost time - which usually happens.

Therefore, a day of test cricket could be 7 and a half hours. In that time, you get 540 legitimate balls (90 overs of six balls per over), in baseball, the number of balls can vary in a game, but not normally more than about 300 and an average game lasts 3 hours and 10 minutes, including breaks between innings and pitching changes.

This means, in baseball, you are getting 1.6 pitches per minute, whereas cricket is 1.2. You get more action with baseball. I would also argue that every pitch in baseball has an outcome that means something, in cricket, a dot ball (scoreless ball), whilst might be part of the bowling plan to set up a wicket, could be a wasted ball. At least a wasted pitch in baseball adds to the count and may lead to a walk. Cricket maidens (6 scoreless balls in an over), have become rarer, but they are still a large part of the game and can be completely devoid of action.

Would the fans at Yankee Stadium like a quicker game?

How do other mainstream sports compare?

An NFL game averages over 3 hours 12 minutes, a golf round will take between 3 and 4 hours (and a day's play of a pro-golf tournament, is a whole day) and a tennis match can take up to 5 hours for a best-of-five-set match. Arguably, these sports have more dead time than a baseball game. However, these sports are not struggling for fans or participants, whereas baseball is facing a decline in these respects. Why?

In my opinion, the sport is fine as it is. We don’t need to squeeze time out of the game to try to appeal to certain people or groups. You either like the game for what it is, or you don’t. I believe it is dangerous to start meddling with the game as you may lose the dedicated fans and there is a chance that you harm the action potential, the tactical in-game thinking and put players' fitness at risk.

If there was one area that could be looked at, I would suggest it is the hitters stepping out of the box.

I don’t need to see guys adjusting their gloves relentlessly. Stay in the box and let the duel commence (adjust your gloves in the box if you must, but just be ready for that pitch!). Hitters should still be allowed to call for time, as I don’t want a psychological advantage shifted to the pitcher, but we can get to the action a little more quickly if we reduce this.

The Olympics next year is bringing baseball back, but with 7-inning games. This is not the way to shorten the game in my opinion. I wrote about this previously on The Sporting Blog so I won’t repeat myself, but I have strong feelings about this idea and the potential harm this could have for the game. Attempting to reduce game time must not result in losing action/playing time.

Focus on Marketing

Instead of saying there is a problem with baseball, let’s show people how great it is. Market the product in a positive light and you will reap the rewards, and this is where I think the effort should be focused.

Take the Premier League, this was definitely not the best footballing product out there in the early ‘90s, but it was marketed unbelievably well and they made us believe that Wimbledon v Coventry on a Monday night was the most amazing sporting spectacle available. MLB has an advantage, it is one of the elite (if not the best) baseball leagues in the world in terms of players and ability, let’s market that, promote that, show the sexy side of that and see the game grow. Not everything has to change.