MLB to experiment starting runner at 2B in extras in the minors (rookie league)

[Lose Remerswaal]

Doesn't the DSL and the AZL allow 30 active players on a roster?

I just looked it up and can't find any roster sizes below 25. Maybe that was in the past?

I have to disagree with M Miller, above. Suspending games after 12 innings just means more wacky rescheduling issues when the extra inning game is the last of a series, and many teams still have minor league teams too far away to easily get a guy up in time for the extra innings to be played "tomorrow".

 

[JohntheBaptist]

There is no commandment that there has to be 4 balls and 3 strikes. As I'm sure you know, baseball has been played with different rules with regards to balls and strikes.

To me, there's no real good reason that there are 4 balls and 3 strikes other than that's the way it's always been. Reducing that to 3 balls and 2 strikes might actually up the drama. Maybe not. But it would eliminate some of the middle relievers we see; it would allow the best pitchers to have the most impact on the game; it may help to keep the best pitchers healthier; and it would reduce the time of play.

At any rate, it's just another one of my dreams that will never come true. But I don't think it's a "gimmick." If it's ever enacted, it would be as a response to a changed world around us.

Jesus H Christ. Do some of you guys watch baseball just thinking of all the things one could possibly change? I'm usually just impressed by how balanced and well-designed a game it is. It's slow so I get why it isn't as popular but I definitely don't think there's something wrong with it. If tonight's game is too long for you turn it off and come back tomorrow. If three hours is too much pro sports may not be your thing.

Here's one good reason: it would irrevocably change a game that, while not *as* popular as it can be, has sustained wild popularity over a hundred years in a rapidly changing world. It's using an A-bomb to kill a gnat. Why not one out an inning? And four innings? And first to three runs wins? No commandment on those either.

Shorten the commercial times, limit mound visits.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

I'm all, "yeah, yeah" on the above until you get to the "shorten commercial times", which we all know will never happen unless they can put ads elsewhere.

Are you ok with ads on uniforms? On the field (like on the ice in the NHL)? Virtual ads on the field or showing the game in a box with ads around it?

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I'm all, "yeah, yeah" on the above until you get to the "shorten commercial times", which we all know will never happen unless they can put ads elsewhere.

Are you ok with ads on uniforms? On the field (like on the ice in the NHL)? Virtual ads on the field or showing the game in a box with ads around it?

I'd be okay with all of that. I've never understood the objection to either uniform ads or virtual ads on the field. It's pretty commonplace internationally, and it doesn't change the way the game is played at all.

 

[JohntheBaptist]

I'm all, "yeah, yeah" on the above until you get to the "shorten commercial times", which we all know will never happen unless they can put ads elsewhere.

Are you ok with ads on uniforms? On the field (like on the ice in the NHL)? Virtual ads on the field or showing the game in a box with ads around it?

Well sure it wont happen, but it is the most obvious way to quicken games and keep those likely to flee because of pace of play.

Ads on the field are not a huge deal to me, but not into ads on uniforms. Of course, personally I'm not worried about pace of play when I watch and dont want changes. I'd take it over 3 balls and 2 strikes or whatever other complete revision of the sport is on the table though. Maybe its me but if baseball "cant survive" unless its altered in fundamental ways, it wont survive. But I dont really buy that it cant.

 

[TheoShmeo]

Other than small changes at the margins, I see no reason to change baseball. Aside from the fact that baseball is a thing of beauty as is, one of its great appeals is its history and record book. Changing the game could do violence to that.

For fans who really can't handle watching for three hours plus, there's an easy answer. DVR the game and watch at your own pace. Hell, I have no problem with the length of games but simply don't have that kind of time virtually every day or night for six months, and watch mot games without commercials, breaks or opponents' innings at bat when the Sox are way behind. That or something along those lines strikes me as a relatively simple solution for those not at the stadium and who are pressed for time.

 

[charlieoscar]

I just looked it up and can't find any roster sizes below 25. Maybe that was in the past?
...

From MILB.com
Here are the roster limits by league:

Triple-A: International, Pacific Coast — 25 active.
Double-A: Eastern, Southern, Texas — 25 active.
Class A Advanced: California, Carolina, Florida State — 25 active; 35 under control; no more than two players and one player-coach on active list may have six or more years of prior Minor League service.
Class A: Midwest, South Atlantic — 25 active; 35 under control; no more than two players on active list may have five or more years of prior Minor League service.
Class A Short-Season: New York-Penn, Northwest — 35 active. No more than three players on the Active List may have four or more years of prior Minor League service.
Rookie: Appalachian, Pioneer leagues — 35 active. No more than three players on the Active List may have three or more years of prior Minor League service.
Rookie: Arizona, Gulf Coast leagues — 35 active. No player on the Active List may have three or more years of prior Minor League service.
Rookie: Venezuelan Summer, Dominican Summer — 35 active. No player on the Active List may have four or more years of prior Minor League Service. No Draft-eligible player from the U.S. or Canada (not including players from Puerto Rico) may participate in the DSL or VSL.

 

[charlieoscar]

There is no commandment that there has to be 4 balls and 3 strikes. As I'm sure you know, baseball has been played with different rules with regards to balls and strikes....

While it may have changed in the early days of the game, it settled on 4 balls and 3 strikes more than a century ago and I'd be surprised if there was anyone alive who remembered any other count.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Thanks charlie. There used to be lower limits in the past in AA and AAA.

 

[dhappy42]

Is it fair to say that from the MLB's point of view, the problem with extra-inning games is that they deplete pitching staffs and can mess with travel schedules, not that fans don't like them? If so, rather than make a fundamental change to game rules, adding a roster slot or roster flexibility is a better solution. MLB rosters should probably be bumped up to 26-27 players anyway, for other reasons.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

MLB rosters should probably be bumped up to 26-27 players anyway, for other reasons.

Thirty years ago, the owners colluded with each other to leave one spot on the 25 man roster vacant, to save a few dollars. They will not be eager to pay 27 or even 26 players, not even if the extras receive the MLB minimum.

 

[lexrageorge]

Give teams a "free" 26th man for 2 games if they play a game more than 12 innings; teams have to designate an inactive player NFL style at the start of the 2 games. Free in that MLB picks up the salary tab directly. So-called problem solved.

In the unlikely event a game exceeds 16 innings, give the team a free 27th player for a single game, with 2 inactives.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Give teams a "free" 26th man for 2 games if they play a game more than 12 innings; teams have to designate an inactive player NFL style at the start of the 2 games. Free in that MLB picks up the salary tab directly. So-called problem solved.

In the unlikely event a game exceeds 16 innings, give the team a free 27th player for a single game, with 2 inactives.

Oh hell, if you don't make the extra spot a fixture over the season, teams can and should shut up and take your deal. Dhappy42 seemed to have a more radical proposal.