Yes. League average is .236. Last time it was this low was in 1968 at .237 and they lowered the mound the following year to inject offense into the league.
5/18/21 GDT
- Thread starter Enscheff
- Start date
Yes. League average is .236. Last time it was this low was in 1968 at .237 and they lowered the mound the following year to inject offense into the league.
Indeed.
This situation is what this particular "old codger" has been worried (and griping) about. I have absolutely no issue with the new metrics or "language" they've brought to the game, and I think it's great that the new math is helping to bring a new breed of fan into the game. The problem is that the games themselves have just become boring as *ell to actually watch. I watch until the Braves fall well behind or if someone new is brought up like Davidson (or if one of the other SPs is pitching well), then I go start looking for a minor league game or a movie on HBO/Netflix/Amazon - there's just not much happening, and I've heard about all I want from Chip and Frenchy after a few innings. I'll switch back over if a buddy texts me and says the Braves are mounting a comeback, but I generally will read through posts here and pay attention in the morning when our highlights are on Quick Pitch or if they're talking about the team on MLB Central. I'm just not particularly interested in watching a bunch of middle relievers carve a lineup up.
I'm afraid that describes more and more fans in the 40+ year old and up demographic these days.
Sure. I usually follow on my phone and if things get interesting I'll pull it up on mlb.tv to watch. Being in the close to 40+ crowd now my issue is not that I don't find it interesting it's just that I have way more time commitments now than I did a decade plus ago. I simply can't sit down and block out 3 hours a night to watch the Braves without interruption.
I still feel that MLB juiced the balls as their way to "lower the mound" when pitching started to dominate the mid 10's. No idea why they would take that away when pitches are still getting faster with more spin.
Homeruns are exciting and more of them per game makes the game exciting imo. Tons of strikeout and no movement on bases is indeed a problem for viewability. I get that. But you have to balance that with what actually wins games from an offensive perspective. Front offices don't care if games or boring. Only if it gets results.
With the way pitchers are throwing right now batting average and strikeouts will continue to be a problem. And IMO it's less of a batters approach issue than it is the pitchers are just that good.
They tried to make a change to the ball this year. It is a little lighter, but something about its surface makes it have more drag. So higher exit velocities due to the lighter ball, and less carry on flyballs. Exit velocities are up, and HRs are down...exactly as expected.
What it actually did was converted low fly balls into more outs because those batted balls are most affected by increased drag. Problem is, those low fly balls are now being caught instead of flying over the fence, so BA is down as a result.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/where-did-the-homers-go/
What does this tell us? It tells us that these types of changes have cascading impacts on the game, usually unforeseeable. Will batters react to these lost HRs by hitting the ball on the ground more, and those higher exit velocity grounders result in more single and a higher BA? With how good infield positioning is nowadays, I doubt it. Hitters will just work on getting a higher launch angle that isn't impacted as negatively by the increased drag.
So move the mound back a foot to make the 93 mph FA look 91 (or whatever the case may be), and what happens? The obvious answer is more contact, but what cascading impacts does that create? Modern hitters who don't K all the time are going to be offensive beasts. Do teams suddenly deprioritize the hit tool since it is now easier to make contact, get even more powerful sluggers in the lineup, and we are right back to high Ks with even more HRs? Does all this loud contact make defense even less valuable, and every team plays Jeff Kent at every infield spot?
What it actually did was converted low fly balls into more outs because those batted balls are most affected by increased drag. Problem is, those low fly balls are now being caught instead of flying over the fence, so BA is down as a result.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/where-did-the-homers-go/
What does this tell us? It tells us that these types of changes have cascading impacts on the game, usually unforeseeable. Will batters react to these lost HRs by hitting the ball on the ground more, and those higher exit velocity grounders result in more single and a higher BA? With how good infield positioning is nowadays, I doubt it. Hitters will just work on getting a higher launch angle that isn't impacted as negatively by the increased drag.
So move the mound back a foot to make the 93 mph FA look 91 (or whatever the case may be), and what happens? The obvious answer is more contact, but what cascading impacts does that create? Modern hitters who don't K all the time are going to be offensive beasts. Do teams suddenly deprioritize the hit tool since it is now easier to make contact, get even more powerful sluggers in the lineup, and we are right back to high Ks with even more HRs? Does all this loud contact make defense even less valuable, and every team plays Jeff Kent at every infield spot?
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Russ2dollas
10 yr, $185 million Extension
I don’t have the answers. They just have to do something to get more balls in play.
Maybe it’s robot umps. Maybe shrink the zone. Maybe they ban the shift. Maybe there’s something with materials of bats balls or fields. Maybe change dimensions. Lower the mound. Move mound back. Make the ball or the seams more visible?
Some combination?
All sorts of questions and potential answers the further they dig into Pandora's Box, so here's one take...whatever direction they decide to go, it's going to HAVE TO be one that leads to more "action" regardless of whether it actually affects the end result. I'm not nearly as disgusted with the lack of contact as I am that it's become so prevalent in the game that EVERYBODY's liable to become that 40 HR/70 RBI guy you talk about Acuna being in the leadoff spot the way things are going - there are so few times hitters get to the plate with a chance to hit a 3 run bomb late in a game that when teams fall behind by 3 runs or more the rest of you ought to join me and look for a movie to watch instead. I'd absolutely love it if someone at FanGraphs did the legwork so the numbers folks working for Bally's can tell Chip just how little chance there is that "a bloop and a blast" is coming (and just how few people are likely still watching in the 8th inning when the team is down by 3).
You're only going to keep the attention of even the die-hards and new-math folks for so long. I mentioned how easily even old-timers tire of listening to Chip and Frenchy in relatively short order, and they only have a select few "interesting" stories to talk about with the lack of game action. Since most teams look like they're intent on keeping the same announcers they've had forever, you HAVE to give them some sort of action to talk about or you're going to hear the same stories at least twice a week since they have nothing to "report" other than "fastball at 98 and Dansby strikes out for the third time".
I still LOVE the fact that good Pitchers get even good hitters out most of the time - but let's go to robo umps (at least behind the plate) so Catchers can't steal nearly as many strikes. Maybe this will increase traffic on the bases enough so the announcers can at least argue about whether a runner might try to steal. MLB could build in a $250,000 bonus for the SB leader in each league every season in hopes that the SB becomes part of the game again. This would probably even expand the stories the announcers tell since they can harken back to the days of Prime Time and Otis Nixon. ANYTHING to keep Chip, Frenchy, and Glavine from telling the Chipper saved Freeman during the great ice storm story 38 times between now and October.
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CyYoung31
Shift Leader
What I take away from this is that we’re going to continue to perform greatly below our x results.