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With the MLB playoffs set to go, this is a wonderful opportunity to look back and take stock. And by “look back,” I mean sneak the briefest possible glimpse over our collective shoulder at the ash and ruins that the past two COVID-marred seasons have left us. And by “take stock,” I mean run away from that entire pockmarked period as quickly as it can be done. (Just so we’re clear: It was not a great time.)
One of the things that baseball’s overlords had to do in 2020, and again here in ‘21, was make some significant adjustments. Baseball’s overlords absolutely despise significant adjustments, unless those adjustments take the form of labor negotiating ploys which will ultimately benefit said overlords. But these were desperate times, and the truncated schedule of last year not only forced its own set of alterations, but bled over into this season.
Pitchers were especially vulnerable, at least in theory, because many of them threw limited or zero innings in 2020, and ramping back up to a full season’s worth of work was always going to be problematic. Despite the fact that MLB teams go through pitchers like Kleenex just generally, guys who can throw successfully at the highest level remain an insanely valuable commodity, and so baseball rightfully moved as best it could to protect arms.
Did this plan succeed? It did not. According to Jayson Stark at The Athletic, the number of players on the Injured List in 2021 increased by 37 percent versus the last two full seasons, 2018 and 2019. Recurring injuries were also way up. It was that kind of year.
(Also, and as the parent of a position player, let me suggest here that we don’t have to go in on the poor-pitiful-pitcher take all the time. MLB hitters weren’t exactly terrorizing the hurlers this season. The league posted a collective .244 batting average, which is not only damn near unwatchable, but also constituted the lowest average since the Year of the Pitcher in 1968 — and that was a campaign of offensive futility so frightening that it prompted the mounds to be lowered from 15 inches to 10. This season, the pitchers themselves dominated — when they were healthy enough to throw.)
Anyway, a lot of the temporary rules were designed to save arms. Some of the other rules, including a few that were tried only in the minor leagues, were more directly aimed at improving pace of play, shortening time of game, or goosing the offense.
So which ones are we keeping? Here’s my list.
Seven inning double-headers. This is going away at the MLB level. In any normal year, double-headers are rarely played anyway. It’s always worth playing a full nine innings for every game on the Major League schedule if possible, in part because a numbers-obsessed sport benefits from the near-standardization of games. Now, after nine innings… Verdict: Lose it.
Runner on 2nd to begin the 10th. Didn’t think I would love this approach as much as I do. It’s simple in both design and intent: Put a runner in scoring position as soon as we hit extra innings, to get this game decided sooner rather than later and move on to the next one. This isn’t the NFL; they play 162 a year in baseball. There’s absolutely no reason to grind out 14 or 15 innings just because two teams happen to be offensively impotent on a given night. It’s pointless wear and tear on pitchers. And placing a runner at second certainly encourages scoring, albeit in a way we wouldn’t find acceptable during the first nine innings — or, as we know it, regulation. Verdict: Keep it.
Universal Designated Hitter. A quick background note: This both-leagues DH rule was used during the 60-game sprint of 2020, but it wasn’t employed in 2021 because the idiot owners tried to tie its implementation to a dramatically expanded playoff field. The union rejected that move because it understands that teams will spend less on payroll when they know that they can produce a so-so record and still squeak into a newly bloated playoff system. (By the way, the owners loved the 16-team post-season bracket of 2020. That’s 16 out of 30 teams total. You don’t even have to finish among the top half of your competitors to make the playoffs? My kids used to play in baseball leagues like that.) Verdict: Lose it.
Ban on Runaway Pitcher Cheating. This actually had the desired effect. Although MLB offensive numbers were at historically miserable lows overall, those numbers did go up markedly after the league cracked down on Spider Tack and other hyper-grippy substances that allowed pitchers to achieve spin rates never before seen. From the season’s start to June 2, the last day before the ban, batters hit .236 with a .395 slugging percentage and a .707 OPS. After the ban, batting averages rose to .248, with a .419 slugging percentage and a .738 OPS. It still ain’t great, but it’s a start. Verdict: Keep it.
Pitch/Hit Clock: If this rule isn’t implemented as part of the off-season labor negotiation, then you’ll know baseball isn’t serious — at all — about playing faster games. The minor league results are as conclusive as they can be, given that there are so many variables that determine the time of a game. In the Low-A West (formerly the California League), a strict 15-second pitch clock was implemented this season. Result: Average time of game decreased by 21 minutes, down to 2 hours and 44 minutes. Offense also increased, with more runs, more homers, fewer walks and fewer strikeouts. This might be a way of saying that some pitchers felt rushed. But the clock works both ways: It also prevents a batter from making an Uber Eats order in between swings. Get your butt on the mound; get your butt in the box. Let’s play ball. Verdict: Try it in MLB.
Three-batter rule. This silly contrivance forced MLB pitchers to face at least three hitters if they were brought into a game, unless the inning ended before that threshold was reached. The idea was basically to eliminate the LOOGY (left-handed one-out guy) from the bullpen, thus prompting fewer pitching changes and a faster game. Didn’t work. Both the average time of game (3:10) and average number of relief pitchers used per team (3.4) rose, according to The Athletic. Verdict: Lose it.
Ban on Shifts. This didn’t occur at the MLB level, but the owners implemented variations on the rule through the minor leagues (which, as of this season, they more fully control). Some leagues mandated that all four infielders had to have both cleats fully on the dirt before each pitch was thrown; some required two fielders to be positioned on either side of second base. At the Double-A level, these rules resulted in no significant change in batted-ball outcomes, according to MLB research. They’ll implement the rules again in the Arizona Fall League to continue gathering data. Verdict: Not at MLB.
Robot Umpires. Yeah, it’s not that dramatic. It’s actually an automated strike zone. But it is far more compelling, in the imagination, to envision a cyborg or other alien life form — or, sure, maybe a boring old everyday robot — manifesting its omnipotence by issuing inarguably decisive decrees on all balls and strikes. While some minor leagues, like the Atlantic, do use an automated system, they’re still relying on TrackMan technology, whereas MLB is already invested in the more accurate Hawk-Eye system used on the professional tennis circuit. We’ll see where that goes; the Arizona Fall League will implement the automated zone during the games played at Salt River Fields beginning in mid-October. Verdict: You don’t own us yet, Bots.
All great analysis, (as per usual).
Also, these days, I'm "all for," a well-paced game, and the preservation of "multi-million-dollar arms."
However, when I was a kid...my dad took me to a Giants double-header (June 2, 1962 vs. the Mets). Giants won both that (very long) day 10-1; 6-4...and I wish they coulda/woulda played three...what a day for a 7-year old. (got C-Ed Bailey to autograph a ball)
Endurance Fun facts: In a 165-game season, and the G-men played eight double-header's that year, tying for the NL Pennant w/LA...beating them in a 3-game playoff to go to the WS!?! (Lost in 7 to the NYY).