MLB agrees to make extra inning runner on second base rule permanent

[daygloman]

Imbeciles running the show.

Next thing you know.... Ties will be part of the game.

Stupid ruling.

[Mark68]

I hate it. I get it (long games suck for the casual fan and pose a logistical nightmare), but I hate it. 

At least wait until the 12th inning or something. 

[angels1963]

That rule just SUCKS !!!! if they keep changing the rules it won't even be Baseball any more.

[Docwaukee]

2 hours ago, Tank said:

i wonder if having the ghost runner the last two seasons sped things up compared to years without it. if their goal is to prevent games that go 15+ innings, i'm not bothered by this.

There were about 300 fewer innings played the last couple years than in any seasons since 1998 when they expanded to 32 teams.  

So about 10 fewer innings per team per year.    Each team averages about 13 extra inning games per year.  So each extra inning game is about 1-2 innings shorter than in previous seasons.  

 

[ten ocho recon scout]

This rule is fucking stupid.

When I played t-ball or whatever, whenever you got walked, instead of taking 1st, you got to hit off a T.

I'd be for that rule over this one.

[Torridd]

This is horrible.

[daygloman]

8 minutes ago, angels1963 said:

That rule just SUCKS !!!! if they keep changing the rules it won't even be Baseball any more.

They've been pussifying the game for a few years now.... 

It's going to get worse, unisex baseball is coming!

That's one of the reasons they've taken "contact" out of the game.

[Blarg]

1 hour ago, asuangelsfan05 said:

This might be a good thread to ask who all was here for that 19 inning game in 2014? I actually was out in Anaheim on vacation for that series and was there that night. I remember the agony of the Angels kept getting runners on and not getting them in. But now that those games have been taken away what a memory now. 

I was at the 14 inning game in which David Eckstein hit a walk off grand slam. Best ending to any game I've ever attended. 

 

[AvsBroncosAngels05]

12 minutes ago, Blarg said:

I was at the 14 inning game in which David Eckstein hit a walk off grand slam. Best ending to any game I've ever attended. 

 

This! I think one of my least favorite things about this runner on 2nd is to me it doesn't have the same feel when your team wins the game to me. If you start the 12th inning with a leadoff walk with normal baseball, then a shot in the gap to score the runner from 1st to walkoff, it was exhilarating as a fan. Now, road team gets scoreless top half of the frame and then the first pitch home team hits a bloop single to win the game and it just feels... meh to me. Anticlimactic. I feel as fans we're being deprived of great moments like the Eckstein hit above or the Pujols 19th inning homerun. Are those games fun to sit through? Not all the time I'll admit. But as a baseball lover it was great to be at those games or have them in the history. I wouldn't have totally hated if they would have started doing this in the 13th inning as a compromise, but as baseball season approaches and I'm getting back on this board thought I would reflect to other baseball fans about this today. 

[Junkballer]

At least it's limited to regular season games.  I hated when the NHL went to the shootout but casual fans love the tension of the imminence of scoring.  I suspect that MLB and their broadcast partners want to make sure that those extra innings have that tension for casual fans.

[AngelsLakersFan]

2 hours ago, Junkballer said:

At least it's limited to regular season games.  I hated when the NHL went to the shootout but casual fans love the tension of the imminence of scoring.  I suspect that MLB and their broadcast partners want to make sure that those extra innings have that tension for casual fans.

As crappy of a way to determine a winner a shoot out is, at least it’s exciting. There is nothing exciting about a ghost runner.

[AngelsLakersFan]

As much as Manfred has shat all over the game the past few years I can’t say I’m super bothered by yet another turd.

 

[Dtwncbad]

For any games tied going into the 9th, just replace the umps with Super Bowl refs.  They know how to prevent overtime in the first place.

[cals]

5 hours ago, Docwaukee said:

There were about 300 fewer innings played the last couple years than in any seasons since 1998 when they expanded to 32 teams.  

So about 10 fewer innings per team per year.    Each team averages about 13 extra inning games per year.  So each extra inning game is about 1-2 innings shorter than in previous seasons.  

 

So it was unnecessary.  And it’s contrary to the traditional rules of the game.  

And all it does is take away the uncomfortably long games that a rare novelty that despite the length, everyone ended up having fun and weird shit happened.

You know, one of the idiosyncrasies of baseball that made it interesting.  Like position players occasionally pitching.

[DCAngelsFan]

 

Quote

Baseball is the only major sport without a clock. When we first played baseball as kids, the game wasn’t over until mom called from the back porch telling us supper was ready. We played with total disregard for how well—or badly—we played yesterday, and we never thought about tomorrow. Baseball and time creep along side by side, yet never intersect.

With its disregard for time, baseball suits the elderly. For us baseball is never about yesterday or tomorrow. What happened yesterday is done. We know we cannot take tomorrow for granted. Today’s game is all that matters. 

 

-- Fay Vincent, "The Sport That Time Forgot"

    

"Hold My Beer"

      -- Rob Manfred

  

[Stradling]

Fans hate it.

Players and executives voted unanimously for it. Weird. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

9 hours ago, cals said:

despite the length, everyone ended up having fun and weird shit happened.

When my ex wife pointed out at the hearing I'm horrible at sex, and that's why she's leaving me, my lawyer countered with this.

[Don]

As much as I'd be fine with keeping extra innings play the same as it always was pre-2020, I think they could've gone with other ideas to modify the extra innings rule. Like others have suggested, maybe you wait until the 12th inning or something to start with a runner on 2nd. You could also play around with the idea of a baseball version of a shoot out once you reach the 12th or something. Like a shortened HR derby sort of thing. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

15 hours ago, daygloman said:

Imbeciles running the show.

Next thing you know.... Ties will be part of the game.

Stupid ruling.

Wouldn't look stupid wearing ties with their uniforms?

[Revad]

4 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

Wouldn't look stupid wearing ties with their uniforms?

Bow ties would be ok.

[nando714]

I hate this so much 

bc people can’t stay up late at night ? 

who cares , why change the game? 

[nando714]

2 hours ago, Stradling said:

Fans hate it.

Players and executives voted unanimously for it. Weird. 

Fans care more about the game than baseball professionals? Weird 

[Don]

10 minutes ago, nando714 said:

I hate this so much 

bc people can’t stay up late at night ? 

who cares , why change the game? 

I think a lot of it stems from the false narrative that the length of games is one of MLB's biggest issues. It's a minor issue at most, IMO, and changing the extra innings rules will only speed up 8-ish percent of games. If it's something that MLB really wants to address, there are better ways to do it. 

[Blarg]

3 hours ago, Stradling said:

Fans hate it.

Players and executives voted unanimously for it. Weird. 

It costs them overtime money at the stadium to keep lights on, ushers in place, security, and janitorial. All beer and alcohol is cut off around the 8th along with food service. Every inning after the 9th is money lost as far as they are concerned.  

[Stradling]

3 hours ago, Blarg said:

It costs them overtime money at the stadium to keep lights on, ushers in place, security, and janitorial. All beer and alcohol is cut off around the 8th along with food service. Every inning after the 9th is money lost as far as they are concerned.  

Which is a drop in the bucket compared to losing fans.  So they must assume that this won’t lose them fans in the long run.