The Athletic: 15 second pitch clock cuts *21 minutes* off MiLB game times

[USNMCPO]

I had to laugh at the article. Yankees catcher McCann was the biggest voice against the clock. He also is the slowest batter in MLB. He also as the Yankees catcher controls the speed of his pitchers. It figures that he would be the no-no leader. Of note also, is that the change would require the MLBPA to agree to it. What are the odds of that happening? 

[Dodecahedron]

5 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

The NFL can charge more because they aren't bleeding their viewership with 4 hour snoozefests.

It seems like a 4 hour baseball game would be unusual. 

I think it's more likely that the NFL is charging more because that's what the market bears.  I would wager that for broadcast networks, the NFL is one of the few things they air that still makes them a lot of money.  

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

7 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

The NFL can charge more because they aren't bleeding their viewership with 4 hour snoozefests.

Exactly, the whole point is to see who wins at the end. If the game isn’t worth watching, I don’t tune out after 3.5 hours, I don’t watch it at all. Increase the pace and the percentage of impactful plays and there is a better sport to watch, which brings higher advertising dollars. Sports are the only shows left to watch live. MLB should be raking in the dough

[TheLeviathan]

6 minutes ago, Sconnie said:

Exactly, the whole point is to see who wins at the end. If the game isn’t worth watching, I don’t tune out after 3.5 hours, I don’t watch it at all. Increase the pace and the percentage of impactful plays and there is a better sport to watch, which brings higher advertising dollars. Sports are the only shows left to watch live. MLB should be raking in the dough

All the NFL got was a sniff of "too long" and they made clock changes.  MLB continues to dinosaur itself into oblivion.  There is no reason there can't be 12 hours of baseball every day April through September in tight 3 hour games.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, TheLeviathan said:

There is no reason there can't be 12 hours of baseball every day April through September in tight 3 hour games.

This drives me ****ing bonkers. I work from home, often with a TV or iPad running within eyesight of me.

The fact I can't turn on a game at noon and watch through midnight pretty much every day is so short-sighted of MLB. But, yet again, the problem boils down to regional broadcast rights. Every single market is trying to maximize their local revenue to the detriment of the sport as a whole.

Hell, I used to regularly find myself watching total **** games like Arizona @ Pittsburgh because it's baseball, yet in roughly half of all days in the baseball season nowadays, there are no games before 3pm at the earliest. This reached peak absurdity in 2020 when literally 80% of the population was trapped at home during the day, yet baseball still didn't push for more day games.

Take today, for example. There's one day game (yay!) at noon CST but then absolutely nothing else until 5pm CST.

[TheLeviathan]

2 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

This drives me ****ing bonkers. I work from home, often with a TV or iPad running within eyesight of me.

The fact I can't turn on a game at noon and watch through midnight pretty much every day is so short-sighted of MLB. But, yet again, the problem boils down to regional broadcast rights. Every single market is trying to maximize their local revenue to the detriment of the sport as a whole.

Hell, I used to regularly find myself watching total **** games like Arizona @ Pittsburgh because it's baseball, yet in roughly half of all days in the baseball season nowadays, there are no games before 3pm at the earliest. This reached peak absurdity in 2020 when literally 80% of the population was trapped at home during the day, yet baseball still didn't push for more day games.

Take today, for example. There's one day game (yay!) at noon CST but then absolutely nothing else until 5pm CST.

Baseball's unwillingness to sever the regional anchor is killing the sport on multiple levels.

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

Baseball's unwillingness to sever the regional anchor is killing the sport on multiple levels.

Yepppppppppppppppp

[bean5302]

The regional anchor, blackout policy and their impacts on streaming is like when Best Buy didn't consider Amazon to be a competitor like 7-8 years ago. Worked out real well as Best Buy narrowly avoided bankruptcy. At least they caught on in time, just barely to avoid insolvency. MLB has no clue how stunningly damaging their broadcast rights situation really is and I suspect they won't figure it out in the near future.

[nicksaviking]

36 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

The regional anchor, blackout policy and their impacts on streaming is like when Best Buy didn't consider Amazon to be a competitor like 7-8 years ago. Worked out real well as Best Buy narrowly avoided bankruptcy. At least they caught on in time, just barely to avoid insolvency. MLB has no clue how stunningly damaging their broadcast rights situation really is and I suspect they won't figure it out in the near future.

I hope MLB rights the ship and finds that it is only as bad off as Best Buy. Sad and outdated but still alive and nostalgic enough to attract some shoppers.

I've been worried for some time that they were Blockbuster.

[bean5302]

Agreed. Attracting fans who have a negative viewpoint of the sport and are already in their 20-30s is not easy. That's what MLB has right now. People under 40, by in large, find baseball to be boring, outdated and inaccessible.

[Cap'n Piranha]

I would go even more radical on the batter side of this--every batter must stay in the box for the entirety of the bat, and can only ask for one timeout.  The timeout is for 15 seconds, and he can step out of the box, but he must have both feet back in the box when the timeout is over, or it's a strike.  To give a batter the opportunity to reset, the pitcher must wait until the 10 second mark to start his motion.  6 pitch PA's would therefore take, at most, about 2:15, meaning 18 pitch half-innings should complete in 8-9 minutes. 12 pitch half-innings could be accomplished in as little as 4-5.

I also think you can keep the clock when a runner is on base, you just change it to 15 seconds to either throw the pitch, or attempt the pickoff--a step-off does not count.  Failure to do so is an automatic ball, and failure to do it twice in a single plate appearance is a walk where all baserunners advance one base.

[PDX Twin]

In my (very limited) experience, the slowness varies a lot by team, as well as by player. My two least-favorite AL teams (those furthest east) seem to relish their time "on stage" and stand around posing for the camera as long as possible. I attribute that to pure ego-centric arrogance, but maybe there is another reason.

Games between these two teams often last ~4 hours.

[BD57]

9 hours ago, Dodecahedron said:

Advertisers want your full attention.

They may ... but advertisers in golf have accepted the "split screen" approach.

[BD57]

6 hours ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

I would go even more radical on the batter side of this--every batter must stay in the box for the entirety of the bat, and can only ask for one timeout.  The timeout is for 15 seconds, and he can step out of the box, but he must have both feet back in the box when the timeout is over, or it's a strike.  To give a batter the opportunity to reset, the pitcher must wait until the 10 second mark to start his motion.  6 pitch PA's would therefore take, at most, about 2:15, meaning 18 pitch half-innings should complete in 8-9 minutes. 12 pitch half-innings could be accomplished in as little as 4-5.

I also think you can keep the clock when a runner is on base, you just change it to 15 seconds to either throw the pitch, or attempt the pickoff--a step-off does not count.  Failure to do so is an automatic ball, and failure to do it twice in a single plate appearance is a walk where all baserunners advance one base.

"Too much clock watching," IMO - and that's all it is.

Setting a "deadline" for a pitch or pickoff would certainly lead to baserunners / base coaches "watching the clock" - they'll know the pitcher has to start his motion in "x seconds." I suspect the clock, as opposed to "the pitcher's motion," would become something keyed on (for any pitcher who habitually came down to the 'end' of the clock).

The "upside" is, it'd be in a pitcher's interest to get the ball moving earlier in the clock; that could offset at least some of the "clock advantage."

Batters stepping out is part of the "slowing down the game" equation.   They'd have to decide when to start the clock, too - When the pitcher gets the ball back?  When he toes the rubber?  When the umpire signals "play" (after a batter's been given time out)?  If it's "toe the rubber," do you set a time limit for the pitcher to do that after he receives the ball back?

[DocBauer]

Question, as I'm not sure of the milb clock rule, but if the pitcher and catcher aren't on the same page, or if they want to change the sequencing with a runner on base, and the pitcher steps off, does that re-set the clock? Can they do so once? 

Seems to me, while in favor of a pitch clock, there has to be some allowances involved. With runners on base, I'm not sure you have to eliminate the clock, but perhaps extend it another 5 seconds or so? I would think, especially with runners OB, should the batter and pitcher be allowed ONE time out where they can step away and re-set the clock?

Again, uncertain as to the milb rules they've been playing with. And I'm in favor of a clock. But there are questions as to allowed TO or adjustments with runners that have to be worked out.