MLB emphasizing enforcement of balk rules in 2023

[mmc]

 

[Blarg]

 The balk is one of the rules they could get rid of and nobody would miss it. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

The balk rule feels pretty arbitrary. Every pitcher is trying to deceive the runner but only some methods are legal. I’m not sure how many of the rules really add anything competitively.

[TempeAngel]

Can you imagine the game if balks were legal? It would change everything. Think about it.

[floplag]

I for one am ok with cracking down on pitcher dominance.  In the end its just playing within the rules. 
Calling a proper strike zone would also be a positive thing.
Like it or not the game wants more action, more offense, this wont be the end of that trend. 
 

[UndertheHalo]

Ok

[AngelsLakersFan]

11 hours ago, TempeAngel said:

Can you imagine the game if balks were legal? It would change everything. Think about it.

Sure, if they ditched it entirely. But if you kept the rule that once you start towards home you have to continue I think that solves like 99% of the potential issues.

[TempeAngel]

35 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Sure, if they ditched it entirely. But if you kept the rule that once you start towards home you have to continue I think that solves like 99% of the potential issues.

Yes.

My response was to the guy who said if you got rid of the balk no one would miss it.

Of course that is not true.

If you got rid of the balk everyone would miss it.

The game would no longer be baseball.

You would have pitchers making a 3/4 to 4/5 delivery and then wheeling to throw guys out as they take their secondary lead. So secondary leads go away.

There would be no stepping off before throwing so no observance of lifting the right heel to gage your lead. Runners would stay close to the base.

There would be no reason to ever pitch from the stretch. Pitchers would just pitch from the wind up and stop their delivery to hold guys or throw guys out. No one would ever steal home again.

These and other obvious things would forever change the game. So yeah, people would miss it.

It was a stupid take.

[Blarg]

Oh for fucks sake the stolen base died about 20 years ago with station to station baseball. A pitcher going through all sorts of motions on the mound wouldn't change secondary leads. The very few speedsters that know how to steal a base would still get their quota, you just probably wouldn't see a Pujols stealing a base but then again he did it going the speed of paint drying on a cool afternoon so that was entirely on the pitcher.

You are over hyping what a pitchers motion does to control stolen bases. With the reduction of pitch outs and the clock all a runner has to do is draw a couple throws and he has a free pass once he sees the clock run down.

In the meantime watching the new funky windups could draw some interest in the game over the same robotic mechanics playing over and over. 

 

[ukyah]

7 hours ago, Blarg said:

Oh for fucks sake the stolen base died about 20 years ago with station to station baseball. A pitcher going through all sorts of motions on the mound wouldn't change secondary leads. The very few speedsters that know how to steal a base would still get their quota, you just probably wouldn't see a Pujols stealing a base but then again he did it going the speed of paint drying on a cool afternoon so that was entirely on the pitcher.

You are over hyping what a pitchers motion does to control stolen bases. With the reduction of pitch outs and the clock all a runner has to do is draw a couple throws and he has a free pass once he sees the clock run down.

In the meantime watching the new funky windups could draw some interest in the game over the same robotic mechanics playing over and over. 

 

 

hard disagree. the other guy is right.

[Pancake Bear]

Tightening the screws on balks is a kind of necessary consequence of the pitch clock. 

[Hubs]

Luis Garcia will have his ERA rise by a half a point to a point. He balks more than anyone I've ever seen. 

If they crackdown on this and on the wiping the ball with face sweat, the Astros pitchers will take a big step back. (Valdez covers the ball in sweat after every pitch, but so does Garcia).