3 ms·
Baseball has certainly gotten.. less interesting to watch in recent years, with doctored balls and players optimizing for homeruns (which increases strikeout ra
by thatswrong0 5y ago
Baseball has certainly gotten.. less interesting to watch in recent years, with doctored balls and players optimizing for homeruns (which increases strikeout rates), plus the game takes so dang long for so little action.
Foolish Baseball has IMO a great take on a list of things the MLB could do to "fix" baseball, with not blatantly allowing super sticky stuff being one of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh_F8WtrDCo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh_F8WtrDCo (I also like the idea of a shot clock for pitchers)
If sticky stuff didn't negatively impact the end product, then I'd say just allow it. But it does, even though I love seeing wiffle ball-esque nastiness, because it results in far fewer balls put in play. I want to see fielders making great catches and throws, crazy bassrunning, and legitimate hustled triples, not _just_ whiffs and homeruns and Shohei Ohtani.
So maybe there's a middle ground where they could provide a legal product beyond just a rosin bag that pitchers can use to ensure control without artificially boosting spinrates so significantly, and then continue to collect balls throughout the year and issue harsh suspensions for illegal foreign substances found.
I don't blame pitchers for having used it in the current environment, seeing as their paychecks were on the line and EVERYONE else was doing it too because it wasn't being enforced until social media put a spotlight on it (except DeGrom seemingly).
- vmception 5y agoRecent years? Haha Do you mean like the last 2 years or something longer than my entire life span
- thatswrong0 5y ago:) should have said "even less interesting" to emphasize my indifference to baseball related content besides Jomboy and Foolish Baseball. And I say this as someone who played baseball through high school.
- diogenescynic 5y agoMLB is poorly run. They have lost viewers and stadium attendees, despite other sports growing. The commissioner doesn’t even appear to like the sport and the changes they’ve forced are ridiculous—especially the forced runner in tie games.
- CerealFounder 5y agoMy solution is 10 more Shohei Ohtanis
- fatnoah 5y ago> ...and players optimizing for homeruns I feel like basketball has a similar issue with optimization for shooting 3 pointers vs. 2 pointers. It makes for a far less exciting game, IMHO.
- tw04 5y agoIt absolutely has. Defense is almost non-existent, and the way the game is played has completely changed. Basketball peaked in the mid-90s IMO. Now it just looks like a pickup game of basketball. Granted the people playing are better athletes than what you'll find at your average court, but the way they play the game is just... meh.