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NFT: Jim Kaat: MLB should adopt 7-inning games

EddieNYG : 5/12/2018 12:13 pm
Jim Kaat says his plan would enhance pitching staffs and bring in new fans.

Quote:
Now a special assistant to the Minnesota Twins, Kaat offered up these arguments for his plan:

• It would restore the importance of starting pitchers: "Go five," Kaat said, "and then turn it over to the setup man and closer."

• It would reduce the size of pitching staffs: "When I broke in, there were 16 teams, eight in each league," Kaat said. "You had basically 10 pitchers on a staff, 160 in all of the major leagues. Now you have almost 400."

• It would help bring back four-man rotations, allowing some of the biggest stars in the game to pitch more often: "We went every four days back when we were pitching 300 innings," Kaat said. "These guys are bigger, better, stronger. It would just be a matter of training them."

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So take away a lot of jobs?  
robbieballs2003 : 5/12/2018 12:18 pm : link
Yeah, not happening.
And the NFL should go to 2 quarter games instead of 4.  
superspynyg : 5/12/2018 12:19 pm : link
Less injuries on the players. More fan interest.


NOT!!!!!!
Ah, the ole “when I broke in...”  
BigBlueShock : 5/12/2018 12:24 pm : link
Well there may have been less teams and therefore less pitchers back then, but the talent pool wasn’t anywhere near where it is today either. It was basically an American game at that point. Nowadays countries around the world are putting out great talent.
Kaat is suggesting this based on a flawed premise, IMO  
Gatorade Dunk : 5/12/2018 12:26 pm : link
The reason why starting pitchers don't go as deep into games isn't because they're not capable of doing so. Rather, it's because mix-and-match bullpen usage can provide a strategic advantage and it allows a team to use pitchers who sometimes have great stuff but mediocre stamina or not a varied enough repertoire to allow them to face a lineup multiple times.

If MLB went to 7 inning games, the starter wouldn't go 5 and then turn it over to the setup man and closer; he'd go 3 and then the same bullpen use that we currently see would still prevail. NL teams would probably yank any pitcher other than an ace every time he was due to hit. The pace of play would slow to an absolute crawl.

I like Kaat, but this is a silly suggestion.
I respect Kaat  
DennyInDenville : 5/12/2018 12:27 pm : link
Good idea, won't happen.


My idea for the bad weather in early April?

Shorten the season by 4-5 weeks or so and start in late April and end in late September .

How without shortening the games played?

Play double headers every single Sunday all season long, every team. Teams get 1 extra roster spot, and an extra roster spot for Sunday's also
..  
Ryan in Albany : 5/12/2018 12:30 pm : link

Why don't they just make MLB into Beer League Softball?

JFC.
9 innings is perfectly fine  
UConn4523 : 5/12/2018 12:32 pm : link
there’s other ways to shorten a game besides taking away jobs and drastically changing roles. Ohh and good luck getting the MLB to lose 2 innings worth of advertising.
I get the intent,  
old man : 5/12/2018 12:56 pm : link
But the point missed:
In the age of analytics and specialization, nothing will change; pitchers will go 5,or more of they are 'on,' or your relievers all worked in an 18+inning game the day before.
I like the shorter season/,occasional scheduled doubleheader, especially a family 'take in 2' package with a family on field level or box seat section and extra benefits to make it an event.
Is he  
giantsfan44ab : 5/12/2018 1:03 pm : link
aware of the players union?
Add 2 months to the season  
giantsFC : 5/12/2018 1:09 pm : link
So More days off
Make all stadiums indoor capable for climate
Get rid of 2-4 MLB markets bc they really weren’t necessary
Get rid of batters box antics
Get rid of pitcher mound antics
Bring back the hulking figures of the 90’s who fans loved.

Easy right? Lol
RE: Add 2 months to the season  
giantsfan44ab : 5/12/2018 1:14 pm : link
In comment 13961790 giantsFC said:
Quote:
So More days off
Make all stadiums indoor capable for climate
Get rid of 2-4 MLB markets bc they really weren’t necessary
Get rid of batters box antics
Get rid of pitcher mound antics
Bring back the hulking figures of the 90’s who fans loved.

Easy right? Lol


So allow roids again pretty much?
Th best reason for this  
weeg in the bronx : 5/12/2018 1:14 pm : link
Would be to have 2 and half hour games again.
Terrible.  
allstarjim : 5/12/2018 2:15 pm : link
Just an awful suggestion. It's baseball. Saying the game should be 7 innings is like saying you should add a 5th base. Or that they should use a softball instead of the baseball.
Or that there should be a designated hitter. IT'S ALL WRONG!

We just need computer umps to call balls and strikes. That's it.
Expand the roster  
xman : 5/12/2018 2:15 pm : link
to 27
Not a good idea to change to 7 innings  
Earl the goat : 5/12/2018 2:34 pm : link
I’m a purist when it comes to MLB

But I am a fan of going back to 4 man rotations
I'm all for looking for ways to shorten games  
EddieNYG : 5/12/2018 2:48 pm : link
But going to 7 inning games doesn't appeal to me.
Is there a problem with baseball I'm unaware of ?  
Ron from Ninerland : 5/12/2018 2:57 pm : link
Revenues are up, Attendance in most places are up and interest is up. I don't see any need for this kind of major tinkering with the game just because their marketing research says that millennials don't have the patience to sit through a game. Baseball does have one, well actually two problems : The Marlins and the Devil Rays. These two franchises are a joke. They don't draw and they're mismanaged. They need to be moved.
RE: So take away a lot of jobs?  
Milton : 5/12/2018 5:02 pm : link
It wouldn't take away a lot of jobs, it would just redistribute them from pitchers to position players. Roster size could remain the same.

p.s.--It's not a bad idea, but it will never happen. Baseball is a game of tradition and comparative statistics and that would fuck with both.
Little League 6 innings.  
section125 : 5/12/2018 6:25 pm : link
High School 7 innings
College 9 innings

Keep the game as it is. The game ain't broke.
RE: Is there a problem with baseball I'm unaware of ?  
81_Great_Dane : 5/12/2018 7:00 pm : link
In comment 13961888 Ron from Ninerland said:
Quote:
Revenues are up, Attendance in most places are up and interest is up. I don't see any need for this kind of major tinkering with the game just because their marketing research says that millennials don't have the patience to sit through a game. Baseball does have one, well actually two problems : The Marlins and the Devil Rays. These two franchises are a joke. They don't draw and they're mismanaged. They need to be moved.
I think there are problems with the game, but I don't want to be the "The game was so much better when I was young" guy.

On the one hand, the athletes are better. The fielders have tremendous range. The pitching staffs are incredibly deep. Almost every hitter can hit a home run, almost anytime. The availability of advanced data, video-on-demand and computers means pretty much every hitter and pitcher have a level of preparation that was undreamed of even 20 years ago.

But the improvements in fielding and the increased use of the shift mean that it's harder and harder to get a hit with a ball in play, and because of that, hitters swing for the fences. Strikeouts are up, and strikeouts are kind of boring. More pitches, without balls in play, so the game slows down, and there's less action (except in the space between the pitcher and the home plate umpire). Teams are relying more on home runs, and I think home runs are less interesting than sustained rallies. It's become much more of an all-or-nothing game.

The analytics mean that we don't see diverse approaches much anymore. The Mets and Cardinals of the mid-80s had very different ideas about how to win games, which was part of the fun of watching them in a pennant race. Nowadays, pretty much everyone has roughly the same power-oriented philosophy. The game is less diverse.

The pitching depth means hitters rarely see a tired pitcher, or see any pitcher 3 times in a game. I think the move to limit trips to the mound was a necessary step, but too limited. There are other rule changes that could speed up the game without fundamentally changing it. Make relievers come in from the dugout, for example.

I believe hitters will eventually adjust – partly. To some degree, markets will self-correct. Shifts will put a premium on spray hitters, for example, and reward guys who can bunt -- but if you're shifting against Bryce Harper, if he's bunting, you're winning. So there's that.

But I think there are larger problems with these trends that can't really be fixed. It turns out that from a spectator's point of view, baseball isn't necessarily improved by having 25 great athletes on every roster and by having complete, detailed understanding of what works and what doesn't. But maybe the game is just evolving into something better, and I can't see it yet.
I like a lot of what Kaat says about pitch counts, innings limits  
Matt M. : 5/12/2018 7:23 pm : link
training pitchers to pitch, etc. But, this idea is simply ridiculous.
thats why  
spike : 5/12/2018 8:53 pm : link
we always show up around 2nd inning with the kids
RE: RE: So take away a lot of jobs?  
Gatorade Dunk : 5/12/2018 10:33 pm : link
In comment 13962013 Milton said:
Quote:
It wouldn't take away a lot of jobs, it would just redistribute them from pitchers to position players. Roster size could remain the same.

p.s.--It's not a bad idea, but it will never happen. Baseball is a game of tradition and comparative statistics and that would fuck with both.

It is a bad idea, but job attrition isn't why.
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