Enact "In the Interest of Preserving Time" Rules
1. Any non-player or base coach who steps on the field for anything other than a mound conference or to report a substitution to the umpire is automatically ejected and suspended for their next game.
2. Once a player or coach is ejected (under any circumstances), they must go back down into their clubhouse within 20 seconds for coaches, 30 seconds for players (since they have a reason to be on the field and it's a longer walk). If they are on the field or in the dugout for 21 seconds (or 31 for players), another game is added to their suspension, and another game for every subsequent 20 seconds that they are still on the field or in the dugout (this applies to players too).
Baseball must find simple ways to cut down on the time of games without compromising the integrity of the sport. Football can get away with nothing happening because watching it is a group event; no one gets together 162 times a year for baseball. The games must be more efficient, and that starts with those not in the lineup. No one wants to see two old men scream at each other over nothing for 5 minutes at a time (although cable news would disagree), so we have set up simple rules with clearly defined penalties for measurable actions in the interest of creating less "dead time" in our games.
3. Once the pitcher has received the ball back from the catcher, umpire, or fielder, they and the batter must be in "ready position" (pitcher with at least 1 foot on the rubber, batter with both feet in the box) within 10 seconds, or else the offender will add a ball (if it's the pitcher) or a strike (if it's the batter) to the count.
Pitchers like Mark Buehrle and Josh Beckett probably have the biggest hand in baseball's sluggishness. They have to understand that no one wants to watch them stand on the back of the mound and stare out into the abyss. Just throw the damn ball. And batters like Nomar Garciapara, who need to readjust everything after every swing, will have to either buy tighter fitting clothes, or just deal with it. 10 seconds is enough time to refocus, breathe, and take a sign. It's not like you guys are being paid by the hour. Plus, this system still gives batters and pitchers the opportunity to mess with each other's timing, since the real cat and mouse battle doesn't begin until the batter steps into the box anyway.
4. Catchers cannot take ball and strike signs from the dugout.
Catchers looking over on every single pitch at a convoluted set of signs from the manager or pitching coach wastes a lot of time too. This is the major leagues guys, we don't need to do this anymore. Everyone should understand the philosophy behind pitching now. Plus, everyone spends thousands of hours going over detailed scouting reports. The pitcher and catcher should already know their plan of attack before even stepping out on to the field. Calling pitches from the dugout is nothing more than an ego trip at this level.
5. To intentionally walk someone, the catcher simply has to turn around and tell the umpire to award the batter first base.
Do we really need to throw 4 pitches? C'mon.
Put the Existence of the DH Up for a Vote
We've been having this debate ever since its inception, so let's put the issue to rest here and now. No DH, or a DH in both leagues. Give 1/3 of the vote to the players, 1/3 to everyone who works in baseball, and 1/3 to the fans (I vote no DH). For the fans, you'll just have to create some "MLB Super Fan" account with a cell phone/e-mail/snail mail verification processes to cut down on voter fraud and collect even more data on the people who watch your games. See? Now I've appeased everyone who signed on to this new mega TV deal. Everyone wins!
Robot Umpires
Well, not really, just a more rational way to referee a sport like baseball. The home plate umpire gets to stay, but the rest of the blues have to go. Balls and strikes will still be called by humans because...well...it just feels weird to not have balls and strikes called by a human being. I can't describe why, but it really is part of the game. But the rest of the guys can be replaced by existing cameras and an official video coordinator. Most outs are clear cut anyway, I think we can trust the players to police themselves. The home plate umpire will function as the hub for all officiating and he will have a headset in his helmet. The video coordinator will tell him safe or out, fair or foul on close plays.
There is no way the home plate umpire can rule fair or foul on hot shots down either line, so to accommodate this new reality, we'll have to go high-tech and put sensors on the foul line (tennis does it). If the ball lands in foul territory, the umpire gets buzzed and he rules a foul ball. If it's fair, the umpire gets no buzz and the play goes on. This keeps with the time honored tradition of "play to the whistle" in sports while eliminating human error in our only sport with a black and white officiating system.
Build/Rehabilitate Team Sponsored Baseball Fields in Every City
This nails two birds with one stone. First, teams give back to their communities in meaningful and not just photo-opy ways (although this would provide plenty of good pictures) by rehabbing or building baseball fields in their cities and providing the necessary equipment on site to use (by using some of the aforementioned mega TV deal). Many of these centers can have a hand in diverting some away from lives of tragedy, or simply providing someone with something to love, either way, it serves a valuable purpose. Plus, it is an investment in the future of the sport.
It is very difficult for poor families to support a kid's baseball career, especially since so much time early on is spent traveling if you're good, and that's before you even get into the cost of the equipment (which is a yearly expense). By providing team-sponsored support and guidance for free, our national pastime can appeal to a forgotten demographic and help to rehabilitate our present time.
Eliminate/Embrace Certain Statistics
How will we do this? Simple, we'll take them off MLB.com and replace them with more effective ones. This will be news, and the arc of history is bending this direction anyway.
Eliminate: RBI
First up, my longtime nemesis. I have despised this stat since I began playing baseball (it might have had something to do with the fact that I would usually hit leadoff). Many will tell you that this is one of the best statistics because after all, it measures the amount of Runs you Bat In. Well, yes, it does. But it does not mean that your number reflects your relative skill of batting runs in.
140 RBI vs 100 RBI, who had the better season? Most would say the guy with 140. But what if I told you that the guy who hit 100 played 30 less games, and was in the 28th best offense while the guy with 140 hit in the best offense in the league?
The problem with RBI is that hitting a grand slam and a solo home run are the same action as far as the hitter is concerned, whether he gets credited with 3 extra RBI is entirely out of his control. This statistic is meaningless outside of a one game box score. It exists simply to tell you who drove in the runs on any given night, not to foretell who will drive them in the next game.
Embrace: Isolated Power
ISO% is simple: Slugging % minus Batting Average.
By eliminating batting average (or as I like to call it, the land of BS logic and BS singles, but more on that later), ISO attempts to measure how good someone is at hitting doubles, triples, and home runs. You want to know who is the best at consistently driving in runs? Most likely the person hitting for the most power (seasons are decided by a handful of games where a run from 1st base on a double would serve as the margin of victory).
Eliminate: Runs
Same exact argument here. Guy A and B both draw leadoff walks, and both steal 2nd and 3rd. Guy A scores when his #3 hitter hits a single, Guy B does not after watching the next 3 hitters all strike out. How is Guy A's run any more exceptional than Guy B's non-run? Death to all sum stats!
Embrace: Out Percentage
This is a statistic I made up. It's simply a re-branding of an old favorite. The equation for O% is:
1 - OBP% = Out %
On Base Percentage still doesn't get the respect it deserves, with many broadcasts opting to show batting average over OBP in their player snapshots. So all I've done is turned OBP upside down, and showcased it as an expression of one's talents for avoiding the dreaded out. Want to know who is creating the most offense by consistently getting on base? Check out the guys with the lowest out percentage. Or highest OBP. Just stop using runs outside of a fantasy baseball context.
Eliminate: OPS (On Base % + Slugging %)
It amazes me that we adopted this statistic considering that it is a mathematical abomination. Here's a question for everyone: Does 3/4 + 5/8 = 8/12? No? Because that's basically the model for OPS.
(H + BB + HBP)/Plate Appearances = On Base %
((1B)+(2B*2)+(3B*3)+(HR*4))/At Bats = Slugging %
At Bats ≠ Plate Appearances
Oops.
Embrace: Nothing, because this ridiculous statistic doesn't mean anything in the first place.
Eliminate: Errors
This is another one that irks me. It's entirely dependent on the home scorer (low home error totals for fan favorites in MLB are like high home assist totals for fan favorites in the NBA), it contains a moronic requirement that a player must touch the ball for it to be an error, and gives zero credit to run saving defensive efforts. If you cite this stat (or fielding percentage) to argue on behalf of someone's defensive credentials, I will blankly stare right back at your face. My only response to stats like this is "yes, that is a number."
Embrace: This is the drama that is currently unfolding in 30 MLB front offices. We'll get back to you in a decade.
Eliminate: WHIP
Another mathematical atrocity, but not quite on the scale of OPS. Explain something to me, why isn't this WHPA instead?
(Walks + Hits)/Innings Pitched = WHIP
In the numerator, we are totaling the number of events that can only occur in a singular Plate Appearance. Why are we using innings as our reference point? 1 inning can be 3 Plate Appearances. Or 9. Or, well, you get it. It removes a lot of context from what could have been a pretty simple and useful statistic.
Embrace: WHPA
Duh.
Eliminate: Batting Average
Are walks closer to outs than hits? Is a home run the exact same thing as a single? If your answer to either of these questions is yes, then this is a great statistic for you.
Embrace: wOBA
WAR is the trendy sabermetric stat adopted by outlets like ESPN and others who are glancing at Fangraphs and Baseball Reference's pages for the first time. But WAR should not be the metric used as the "hallmark of player evaluation" as many present it to be (at least not in-season).
Why? For starters, no one agrees on the formula for WAR. Fangraphs and Baseball Reference do not have the same formula, and 30 teams most likely have different opinions as well. ESPN even has their own goofy version now. Needless to say, this stat isn't settled, especially on the defensive side. WAR also favors guys who play up the middle (for good reason defensively, but it seems to go too far), which makes debates like Carlos Gonzalez vs Andrew McCutchen difficult to contextualize with this statistic. Both are center fielders, one just happens to play left field because his team is terrified he'll wear down in their mammoth outfield.
wOBA is based on a simple concept: Not all hits are created equal...Weighted On-Base Average combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value. While batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage fall short in accuracy and scope, wOBA measures and captures offensive value more accurately and comprehensively. (via Fangraphs)
If it sounds complex, that's because it is, just look at the formula in that link above. But check out the leaders in wOBA this year. That's pretty much what you'd expect the leaderboard for best hitters to look like if you took a poll of attentive MLB fans this season. Plus, wOBA is set to OBP's scale, so there is no need to feel like you're in math class while arguing about sports.
Eliminate: ERA
I don't want to kill it. I just want to redefine it. We can sacrifice Wins in ERA's place. My problem with ERA is that it credits the pitcher with every single defensive effort, so we should look at it as a metric that evaluates a certain pitcher plus his defense as opposed to just the pitcher.
Embrace: FIP
This is not a sabermetric stat. Well...it is, but the philosophy isn't. I only pitched one season out of the 13 I played (my senior year ironically), but I spent plenty of time next to pitchers and their pitching coaches. And all I ever heard is some variation of
"Trust your defense and just throw strikes."
"Whatever you do, keep the ball low."
"Pick your spots to ramp it up."
Or to put it in brute statistical terms: BB and HR bad, K good.
It's crude, but that really is the basic philosophy around pitching. There's a reason there are eight other people on the field. Given the compartmentalized nature of baseball, the primary pitching statistic should express a player's talents based on what they can most control. Well, that's exactly what FIP does. Plus, in the same vein as wOBA, it's already adjusted to ERA's scale, so you don't need to adjust your inner judgement scale when looking at the league leaders. This is a seamless transition to a higher quality product. You're welcome America.
Things I Won't Change
1. The New Wild Card
I don't hear a lot of people who are in favor of the current system, and the "nays" have one of two complaints: "one game isn't enough for a series" or "they shouldn't even have it in the first place." I disagree with both of you, this is the best compromise. For those who think the series is too short, do you want Game 7 of the World Series the week of Thanksgiving? Because a couple weather delays in late October will take us to that reality. That's crazy.
For those that hate the second wild card altogether, there needed to be a bigger advantage for division winners than just home field advantage. This game makes wild card teams burn a starter before going on the road, while still giving an extra team an opportunity for a playoff spot that wasn't around before 1994. It's not like we're stomping on history with this innovation, and it's just one game. The worst thing you can say about the second wild card is that it's murdered the trade deadline by creating more buyers than sellers.
2. Interleague Play
I'm gonna be honest, people's opposition to this is mystifying to me. What's the big deal about seeing Yankees-Cardinals in May?
3. The Schedule
As much as I'd like to draw the season back to 140 games and have longer playoffs, sadly, there isn't a chance in hell I'd get 16 owners to agree to it. These guys would broadcast their next bunga bunga party over the internet before sacrificing a single game. They're not exactly in the mood to shut off their money fountains, especially after this latest TV deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment