The Unwritten Rules of Baseball in 2019

Baseball has been one of the backbones of the American culture for around 160 years. It has evolved as has the world, but the basis of the game is still the same. The commissioner Rob Manfred is very innovative and trying to make the game quicker and appeal to younger people. When most of the outcomes of an a bat is one of the three true outcomes, of a home run, strikeout or walk there is not much action. Hitters focus on launch angle and hitting the ball as hard as possible. They don’t try to get on base in order to create runs. Through this evolution of the game from the 19th century to the 21st, baseball has had at least one consistent thing, though it is a widely disputed topic. The unwritten rules of baseball and the things you absolutely can not do on a baseball field. Older baseball fans tend to have a more traditional perspective on this while the new players want to celebrate their accomplishments and show more personality. They play with a little bit of flare and this makes some veteran players and managers upset. Here is a rundown of some of the most present and disputed unwritten rules.

Never say the word no hitter or perfect game while it's happening. This unwritten rule is more of a superstition. When a pitcher is throwing a perfect game you probably don’t want to mess with them or say something that make them overthink what they are doing. Most of the time they are in sync with the catcher and absolutely dealing. In my personal experiences about a year ago I was throwing a no hitter in a High School game. I did not know I had a no hitter because I walked a couple of hitters and we made a few errors in the first inning. Of course one of my teammates noticed and told me. I told him that because he told me, the first batter in the next inning would hit a gapper. Of course the first pitch in the next inning I gave up a gapper between the center and left fielder. The pitch limit in the league was 95 and I was relatively close so I was unlikely to complete it but it still got on my nerves that he had to say that. Not saying those words is a just a baseball thing that not many people understand but it just has been around forever and makes sense. When watching a Yankees game on TV, Michael Kay and David Cone have said the word, and no Yankee pitcher has thrown a no hitter since the 90s. Is this a coincidence? Maybe.

When a team is up by a lot or down by a lot, base runners should never steal. When a team is winning or losing by six or more runs if a base runner attempts to steal a base.  When a team is up by ten runs it is seen as disrespectful if a runner attempts to steal a base. The pitcher is already struggling and the runner stealing is just messing with the other team even more. Stealing the base is not going to impact the outcome of the game most likely and is unnecessary. Older players take exception to this. They may throw at a batter and this creates an even bigger problem as mentioned below. When a team is losing badly, the runner definitely does not want to make an out stealing a base. The probability of them being out definitely outweighs the importance of the extra out. The team needs a bloop and a blast at least to get back into the game, the stolen base is not going to help. In the major leagues, stealing bases is becoming an even less part of the game. Why would a player on the Yankees like Aaron Hicks risk running into an out when you have Judge,Stanton and Sanchez hitting behind you. It just doesn’t make sense to take the chance unless it is a 95% chance of being successful. This rule makes sense and should continue to be exercised.

Another unwritten rule is that you should not swing in a 3-0 count unless you for a fact know that you are going to put it 40 rows deep to straight center. This rule makes sense. The player needs to make sure he is going to get a hit. In a 3-0 count the hitter has the greatest chance of getting on base, which is the most important part of hitting. If the pitcher throws three straight balls, the probability of him throwing a strike is probably not that good. If they groove one right down the middle, hit it 450 feet. I do hate to see times like Gary Sanchez in the 2017 ALCS. He was in a 3-0 count against Justin Verlander in the 6th inning. He got a curve ball in a 3-0 count and rolled it over to get Verlander out of the jam. The team is was down 3 runs in the 6th inning and missed out on a chance for a rally. Verlander went on the throw a complete game and the Astros won that game by five runs. The Astros won the series in 7 games. That could’ve been the difference in winning the World Series for the Yankees. This rule should just be using the player using common sense.  Here is a link to a clip of that game https://www.mlb.com/video/how-verlander-got-out-of-key-jam/c-1864816583?tid=6479266

Never admire a home run or show up the other team. Here we go, we’re to the one you have all been waiting for. When a baseball player hits home run, it is one of the biggest accomplishments in all of sports. Pitchers are throwing harder than ever with more movement. The skill it takes to make contact is downright amazing and to be able to hit a baseball four hundred feet with a piece of wood is incredible. The reaction time and decision making of a hitter in the majors is unlike that of any other sport. If the home run is in the playoffs or a walk off, that makes it even more dramatic. So allow players to bat flip if they just made history or did something they’ve been working at for their whole life. It makes the game more fun and entertaining when someone hits a moonshot and just throws their bat in the air and is excited. Luke Voits’ little hop is one of the cooler things you can see in a Yankees game. Now to showing up the other team. If it is a game where there is a large gap in the score and you bat flip, that is uncalled for. If a player bat flips and the ball is caught or hits the warning track, that is also not cool. If a player watches the ball after they hit it but they are moving up the line and not obnoxiously staring down the pitcher that is fine. Younger players in the game today bring an energy that some older fans and players don’t like or understand. For example when Francisco Lindor hit a home run in his homeland of Puerto Rico in front of all his friends, family and fans, that was one of the cooler moments in baseball history. Bat flips make the crowd go crazy, make the game more dramatic and are just fun for the game. So keep on bat flipping, they are pretty awesome.

Do not celebrate a big strikeout on the mound. Winner takes all game, in a jam, the pitcher gets a huge strike out…… That’s all I have to say about that.

Don't make the first or last out of an inning at third base. When you have no outs, a player should not take the risk of trying to get to third. There is at least three more chances for the runner to score from second base. A single usually scores a player from second so why should a player run the risk of getting an out at third. Also, with two outs, the risk of going to third should not be taken because they can’t get home from a sac fly with two outs and if they are at second base they can score from a single. This rule makes sense, a player should have common sense when advancing an extra base.

Don’t bunt to break up a no hitter. If it is the third inning and a player bunts to break up a no hitter that is fine. If it's the ninth inning, someone is getting thrown at. In my opinion a no hitter should be broken but by a solid base hit in the gap, not a little blooper or a bunt. It would be very annoying to lose a no hitter because a guy on the other team wants to be a jerk and sort of cheat to get on base. Don’t get me wrong, if it is a 0-0 game and the team is trying to win by bunting, that is fine. That’s trying to win the game and being competitive.  

Don’t show a pitcher that the hit by pitch hurt. Just rub some dirt on it and you’ll be okay. Getting hit by a fast pitch can really hurt, and pitchers throw faster now than ever. It really depends where it hits you. If it hits a very muscular part of your body like your thigh, it's probably not going to hurt that much. If it hits your elbow, wrist, back, head, ankle or where the sun doesn’t shine, it will hurt a lot. This is more of a thing of the old days where men did not want to show weakness and ruin their pride. It is okay to admit that something really hurt. MLB players have virtually no time to react so, if your afraid of getting hit by a pitch don’t play baseball.

Retaliating for HBPs. When a teammate gets hit by a pitch, intentionally or unintentionally. Some if not all pitchers take it personally. They are not going to let the other team's pitcher, get away with hitting your guy. Sometimes they just throw some chin music, or back them off the plate if it was unintentional, but if it was on purpose, you have to hit him. There is a certain way to do this. The pitcher should never throw above the letters, because that’s outright dangerous. These matches can go back and forth and cause a brawl sometimes. This is very entertaining but who wants their favorite player to be on the DL (injured player list, my bad) because of a preventable injury.

Don’t show up your teammates. Teammates are friends and family. If someone drops a ball or doesn’t perform well, they shouldn’t be made fun of or shown up. The major lesson in baseball is respect.

Don’t throw pitchers breaking balls. All I have to say about this is have a universal DH.

Baseball is the greatest sport in the world, and should be played with character and excitement. Let the kids play. They are doing what they love and if you take away their personality the sport of baseball would lose the interest of many fans.

MLB To Implement Rule Changes

While they haven't been made official, reports are that Major League Baseball will implement a handful of rules changes. Some of them will not happen until the 2020 season, while some will go into effect this season.

Here are the rule changes that will take place this season...

1. Mound visits will be reduced from six to five per game.

I don't remember the six visit rule having an effect on a single game last season. I'm sure it did, but not enough to care.

2. Commercial breaks will be 20 seconds shorter than last season.

This is another change that doesn't move me at all. I'm not a very patient person but I can wait 20 more seconds if necessary. As long as players have enough time to warm up before an inning then I don't care.

3. There will be a new 24 hour voting period.

Previously fans had one long voting period, but this season will be a little different. There will still be that longer vote, but at the end of that the top three at each position will then enter a 24 hour voting period that will determine the starter for the All Star game.

This change is all about Major League Baseball getting the opportunity for more traffic to their website, and to get teams to be more active in their own advertising and social media presense. That's it. I see no other reason for this change.

4. A prize pool of $2.5 million will be created for the Home Run Derby, with $1 million of it going to the winner.

I like this rule change as it gives players, particularly those that make at or near the league minimum, a real incentive to join the derby. I say "real" because I learned that previously players only had their cost of travel and hotel covered, along with tickets to the derby and All Star game.

I think there's a much better chance that we see more stars in this contest, making it much more interesting. Which will not only be good for those watching it, but will make it much more marketable for the league itself. A very nice win-win.

5. There will be a real trade deadline this season on July 31st.

In the past players could be dealt after that date as long as they cleared waivers, but this time around it doesn't matter. No trades after July 31st... period.

This is the most significant rule change happening this season, and I'm surprised it's happening right away. What this has done is make the offseason much more important as teams can not count on smaller offseason additions to fix roster issues. Like the Yankees being able to add Andrew McCutchen when Aaron Judge's return from injury was full of questions such as "when will it happen" and "how will he return". So teams will have to go into the season already having backup plans in case of something like that.

The rule change also makes the July 31st deadline so much more exciting. I don't think there will be more sellers, as a team that has a chance at the postseason is unlikely to give up that shot. However, I see better returns for those that do decide to sell, as more contending teams will be in on those players made available. A team like the Astros can't sit back and hope a team like the Tigers finally decide to sell a big-time guy like Justin Verlander on August 31st. If the Astros think they'll need a pitcher they have to move now and deal with more competition for a certain guy.


Now for the rule changes that won't take effect until next year...

1. Position players will not be eligible to pitch unless one of the following things happen...

• a game goes into extra innings
• a player has pitched at least 20 innings and started 20 games at a position or DH, and thus can be labeled by the team as a "two way" player (think Shohei Ohtani)
• the run difference in a game is at least eight runs

I had no idea that this was a problem at all. I guess this is a way to get relievers more work, but I can't imagine any general manager thinking "nah, we don't need another reliever, just have the worst position player pitch."

I guess I can add this one to the "who cares" pile.

2. Rosters will expand to 26 players, with a maximum of 13 pitchers. And instead of rosters expanding to 40 in September, they will only go to 28 with no more than 14 pitchers.

Any rule that creates more jobs at the Major League level is a good in to me. Teams can sure as hell afford to pay one more player (then two more in September to the end of the season) a year.

This will also make things easier for managers, as they will have more options for their starting lineup and for making substitutions during the game. Imagine if this rule was on the books now... the Yankees would not have to possibly put one of Luke Voit or Greg Bird in AAA, as they probably don't want a first base-only guy on the bench along with Romine, LeMahieu*, and Wade.

*I'm preparing for Tulowitski opening the season at shortstop, with Andujar at third base and Torres at second.

3. Pitchers will have to face at least three batters, unless they finish the inning.

It makes a manager's job more difficult, as they can't count on a guy for a single batter. Sure, if there's already two outs a manager can go to a one-out specialist, but there's the risk that if their specialist fails that reliever will have to face at least one more hitter that they're not specialized for.

Although I think this rule is unnecessary, I do like that pitchers that can face more than one type of hitter (aka "non-specialists" like a LOOGY) will have more value and thus are more likely to get a job. It's like having a guy on a 12-man basketball team that's only there because he's good at shooting free throws, instead of a player that can be put into a game to help the team during a live ball. In other words the better player gets the job.

I read somebody on Twitter say that some of these rules will create more offense. I'm not totally on board with that being true, but I can see what he's saying. The issue I have with that thinking is that he said that as if it's a bad thing. Sure, I enjoy seeing dominant pitching performances, but I understand that such a fan is more of the "die hard" nature. And "die hard" fans are not going anywhere. They didn't walk away from the game after there was a strike in the mid 90s, and they're not going to walk away from the game now. Major League Baseball, just like any other league, is after the casual fan. And casual fans 1. do not want to be bored with more slow periods during a game and 2. typically want to see more runs scored.

If a rule change turns out to be a negative I think MLB will change back, or fix what didn't work. But the bottom line is I can't think of anything they can do to keep me from watching, and I'm definitely not alone there. So they can keep throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks. Besides, it's not like they're hard up for money, anyway.

ICYMI: MLB Wants To Make Two Rules Changes

By Bryan Van Dusen SEEN HERE: 

During the owners' meetings, a competition committee agreed to a couple of adjustments to MLB rules.

The first change would be to the strike zone. The current strike zone calls for a strike to be called at the bottom of a hitter's kneecap, however the new rule would make it a strike at the top of a hitter's kneecap.

This change isn't exciting or life changing, but it certainly doesn't come without reason.

In 2015, on average, batters struck out 20.4% of the time. However, ten years ago, batters struck out 16.4% of the time. Furthermore, in 2015 20,647 were scored, while in 2005 a total of 22,326 runs were scored. So offense is definitely gone down in the league.

The second change would make it so pitchers would no longer have to throw four balls to intentionally walk a batter. The team could simply signal its intention to walk a batter.

I'm sure many will point out plays such as this...

But let's be honest... how often does something like that happen? More often than not, an intentional walk is the most boring thing that happens in a baseball game. You're just sitting there waiting for those four uneventful pitches before finally getting on with the game.

So while I don't believe either rule change is earth shattering, they are improvements.

NOTE: That while the competition committee has approved these rule changes, they will not be implemented until the rules committee does the same. Also, while rules changes do not need to be approved by them to be implemented, the MLB Players' Association and umpires' union will also get to review the proposed changes before they go into affect.

MLB Wants To Make Two Rules Changes

During the owners' meetings, a competition committee agreed to a couple of adjustments to MLB rules.

The first change would be to the strike zone. The current strike zone calls for a strike to be called at the bottom of a hitter's kneecap, however the new rule would make it a strike at the top of a hitter's kneecap.

This change isn't exciting or life changing, but it certainly doesn't come without reason.

In 2015, on average, batters struck out 20.4% of the time. However, ten years ago, batters struck out 16.4% of the time. Furthermore, in 2015 20,647 were scored, while in 2005 a total of 22,326 runs were scored. So offense is definitely gone down in the league.

The second change would make it so pitchers would no longer have to throw four balls to intentionally walk a batter. The team could simply signal its intention to walk a batter.

I'm sure many will point out plays such as this...

But let's be honest... how often does something like that happen? More often than not, an intentional walk  is the most boring thing that happens in a baseball game. You're just sitting there waiting for those four uneventful pitches before finally getting on with the game.

So while I don't believe either rule change is earth shattering, they are improvements.

NOTE: That while the competition committee has approved these rule changes, they will not be implemented until the rules committee does the same. Also, while rules changes do not need to be approved by them to be implemented, the MLB Players' Association and umpires' union will also get to review the proposed changes before they go into affect.

Interference & Illegal Slides

“Throw it into the runner’s back. Because then what’s happening? (The runner) is impeding (and he is out)."

That quote is not from a disgruntled Yankees fan, nor is it from Joe Girardi or anybody else within the Yankees organization. This quote, which is essentially telling players to throw the ball at another player, comes from Dana Demuth.

Dana Demuth is the umpire crew chief from yesterday's game, and was also the home plate umpire during the controversial play in which Betances threw a Carlos Correa ground ball into right field, allowing the go-ahead run to score for the Astros.

To be fair, Demuth is not condoning any sort of violence between players. The issue is that the rule regarding interference is about judgment. An umpire during this type of play has to ask himself, "did the player interfere with the thrown ball, or was is just a bad throw?"

In this case, Mr. Demuth judged that Dellin's throw was just a bad one, and no matter where the runner was the result was going to be an error. Therefore, it was not interference, and the Astros scored and went on to win the game.

The lesson to be learned from the play, and from the words of Dana Demuth, is for players to just make a good throw. If the ball doesn't hit the runner, then the play can be made as normal. If the ball does hit the runner, assuming he's out of the baseline (as Correa was yesterday), interference will be called, the batter/runner is out, and the play is dead... no run scored.

Now, how can I talk about a rule and not at least touch on the "Chase Utley" rule, which was in full force yesterday?

You mean this isn't normal?

As a basketball official I have first-hand experience with this sort of thing.

What happened to Ruben Tejada last year, which prompted this new rule, is not something Major League Baseball ever wants to see again. I think we all can agree that we don't want to see a player get injured. By "injured" I'm not talking about a player getting a bruise from a hit by pitch, when I say "injured" I'm talking about something that keeps a player from returning to the game right away.

Something had to be done, and that something was not going to be hidden in the back of the rule book. It was going to be carried out to a tee, and players were going to be made aware of it right away.

So officials like myself are instructed to strictly enforce a rule, and I'm guessing the same was done to MLB umpires.

This is just another case of "don't hate the player, hate the game". Those fans that are up in arms over the new rule should take their gripes to the people that make the rules, not the people that enforce them.

Baseball Rules Can Be Nit-Picky

The vast majority of the time instant replay is a good thing. As a former umpire, and current basketball official, I would never say that any one call during a game directly affects the final score. Whether that call is made on the very first play of the game, or the very last play of the game, there's just way too much that goes on for that one call to be the cause of anyone's win or loss.

Also, being an official, I've been taught to go strictly by the rules. It doesn't matter whether I agree with a ruling or not, I have to call the game the way the rules say to. Just like the cop that gives you a speeding ticket for only going a couple miles per hour over the limit.. it's nit-picky, but that's the law.

Which brings us to a controversial call...

This call in particular is obvious, but you get the idea.

A runner is going from first to second base, and beats the tag. However, when he pops up after the slide, it's found on instant replay that for a split-second he was no longer in contact with the bag, and since the fielder kept his glove on the runner he's ruled to be out.

It's a nit-picky call, but according to the rules, the runner is out. And I don't see how you can change the rule to avoid such calls, without making it so complicated that it's bound to get screwed up anyway. But there is one way to help avoid it, and that's to make it un-reviewable.

If the umpire can see the player come off the bag and get tagged out, then that's fine. But if it takes HD quality video, slowed down frame-by-frame, and seen from a few different angles to find, then forget it.

Unfortunately, as Jon Morosi tweeted yesterday, it doesn't look like the instant replay rule on overslides will change. At least not this coming season. It's a shame, but honestly... it's not a big deal. There are many rules, in just about every sport, that are strange or downright stupid. But as long as the rules are the same for everybody, then so be it.

The Chase Utley Rule Already Exists

On Friday Daniel wrote about the Chase Utley Rule. This, of course, refers to the play the other night where New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada suffered a broken leg thanks to Chase Utley sliding into him while trying to break up a double play.

This was clearly a legal play *rolls eyes*.

Ultey was suspended for two games, which he is now appealing. This has caused some commotion among Major League Baseball, as they must now come up with a way to avoid such a thing happening in the future.

Daniel mentioned that MLB must protect the players, and I totally agree. While it's bad enough that the Mets will have to try and win during the postseason without Tejada, it would be worse if the same thing happened to Ben Zobrist of the Royals, who is more valuable to the Royals than Tejada is to the Mets. And could you imagine the outrage if something like that had happened to Derek Jeter during the any of the Yankees' postseason runs. You would never hear the end of it. EVER.

So putting a rule in place to keep this from happening again is not some insignificant thing.

But that's the problem... there has been a rule in place, which could have helped avoid Tejada's injury and so many others in the past, which is rarely enforced. It's in Rule 6.01, part (a) (7.09)...

Any batter or runner who has just been put out, or any 

runner who has just scored, hinders or impedes any following 

play being made on a runner. Such runner shall be 

declared out for the interference of his teammate;

When was the last time you saw a runner going from first to second slide outside of the basepath and into a fielder trying to complete a double play, and having it lead to the batter-runner being called out as well?

"I believe it was in the year 'NEVER'."
This isn't a case of Major League Baseball needing to implement a new rule. This is a case of a rule, already being in place, being made a point of emphasis.

I'm a basketball official. Every year a new rule book comes out, and in it some rules... which have been there for years... are made points of emphasis, meaning we are to work to enforce that rule more so than in the past.

That's all that MLB needs to do next season. Make sure the rule is enforced, so fewer runners will go beyond the basepath to try and break up a double play. If the batter-runner is automatically going to be called out, meaning there's no chance of him beating the throw, things like we saw happen to Tejada are less likely.

Note that I said "fewer runners", along with "less likely". I did that on purpose, because there are still going to be instances where runners are going to slide outside of the basepath in an attempt to break up a double play. It could be because they know the batter-runner is slow, so completing the double play is easy. Or that runner could just get caught up in the moment, and will try too hard in that situation to make a play. Heck, it could be yet another "brain fart" by that player.

The point is that plays in which a fielder could get hurt when a runner attempts to break up a double play will still happen. For such a matter a new rule is not necessary.

The rule book also says that "the league president is the league official charged with enforcing these rules, fining or suspending any player". There are only two rules in which automatic suspensions are required, and that goes for a pitcher throwing at the head of a batter or a player defacing a ball (both are ten games). For any other rule it is up to the league president on the amount of the fine or length of the suspension.

So again, there's no need for a rule change, unless the league wants to come up with an automatic suspension or fine for this infraction. However, I believe that is unnecessary. 

Like they do for me in basketball, just make the "breaking up the double play" thing a point of emphasis next season with MLB umpires. If the league wants to write a memo to teams and players, stating that there will be more fines and/or suspensions for this rule infraction, then that would be wonderful. 

Just keep in mind that doing that does not require dozens of people in MLB to approve anything. No hearings are needed. The rule is already in the book, and that same rule book has already given the league president the power necessary to hand down fines and/or suspensions.

By the way, when I say "league president", I'm not just talking about Rob Manfred. Manfred is actually the commissioner of baseball. As for the "league president", I refer you to this part of the rule book...

With respect to the Major Leagues, the functions of the League President pursuant to these Rules shall be carried out by the designees of the Commissioner of Baseball. The Commissioner may designate different officials to carry out different functions of a League President pursuant to these Rules.

"Where did he find this alleged 'rule book'?" 

It's time for Major League Baseball to take some responsibility and do the right thing before something like this happens again.

Fixing the Pace of Play Issue

Nine days ago Major League Baseball formed the "Pace of Game Committee" to study the pace of play, with the goal of decreasing the time of the game and increasing the pace of it.

"It's only the 2nd inning?!?!"

For the first time in the history of MLB, the average game time got above three hours this season. At the same time, scoring was at its lowest point since 1976. Those two things by themselves are bad for the game's popularity, but put them together and the game has a big problem.

One problem with the pace of play has to do with instant replay. You've seen it plenty of times this season... A manager will slowly walk out of his dugout to speak with an umpire about a play, while one of the assistant coaches looks at the play to decide whether to challenge it. Eventually, the play is challenged, and the replay is looked at for a minute or so and then decided on. Some feel that a replay official should challenge the play sooner, thus eliminating the previous scenario from playing out... wasting time.

Well, unfortunately the committee, nor MLB, has put anything in place to fix the instant replay thing. However, they have come up with a few new rules to speed up play, and those rules will be tested out during the Arizona Fall League.

Those rules are...

1. Batter's Box Rule: The batter shall keep at least one foot in the batter's box throughout his at-bat, unless one of a series of established exceptions occurs, in which case the batter may leave the batter's box but not the dirt area surrounding home plate. (Exceptions include a foul ball or a foul tip; a pitch forcing the batter out of the batter's box; “time” being requested and granted; a wild pitch or a passed ball; and several others.)
2. No-Pitch Intentional Walks: In the event a team decides to intentionally walk a batter, no pitches shall be thrown. Instead, the manager shall signal to the home plate umpire with four fingers, and the batter should proceed to first base to become a runner.
3. 20-Second Rule [AT 17 SALT RIVER FIELDS HOME GAMES ONLY]: A modified version of Rule 8.04, which discourages unnecessary delays by the pitcher, shall apply. Rule 8.04 requires the pitcher to deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball with the bases unoccupied. The penalty prescribed by Rule 8.04 for a pitcher's violation of the Rule is that the umpire shall call “Ball.”

I don't see #1 as a big problem, and feel it will only have a slight affect on the game, but I don't find any problem with it. Sure, there are times when a batter will step out of the box between pitches to rub dirt on his gloves or the bat, or something like that, but it isn't so often that I feel it's a real problem.

While #3 sounds good, Major League Baseball already had something like it in place, but it wasn't enforced by umpires. Therefore, a different rule seems unnecessary. I'm a varsity basketball official, and every year there are certain rules that are made into points of emphasis, and we have to enforce them more stringently. The same needs to be done with this rule for MLB umps. 

Now, as for #2, I'm all for it. While you see passed balls/wild pitches every once in a while during intentional walks, they are not often enough that fans should have to watch the pitcher and catcher play catch for a couple minutes. Just put the batter on first and get on with the game.

Normally, when I see a group make decisions like this so quickly I cringe. Especially when it comes to rules decisions. Oftentimes they are just knee-jerk reactions, and are not thoroughly thought about first. But these three changes either don't mean much (#1), aren't much different than a rule already in place (#3), or make plenty of sense (#2). Plus, being able to try them out in glorified scrimmages, means they can be tweaked more before the 2015 season begins.

There is Only One Way to Speed the Game Up

Major League Baseball announced yesterday that a new committee was formed to look at way to speed up the game starting in 2015 and beyond. First and foremost I think the days of four or five hour Yankees and Red Sox games are over and the need is just not there anymore, not at this large of a capacity anyway. I don’t have the stats in front of me but if I had to guess I would say that games are much shorter on average these days than they were in the early to late 2000’s. Anyway, I digress, there is only one way to speed up the game and that is to hit the players and the umpires in the wallet.

There are already rules in place for the batters and the pitcher to speed the game up, the problem is that none of them are enforced. There is something around a 15 second time limit for your walk up music and to be in the batters box ready to go after the last recorded out that is never enforced. There is a time limit between pitches for both the batter and the pitcher that is never enforced.

If you’re going to have rules then you must enforce them. Instead of setting up a committee to make new rules that aren’t going to be enforced or followed either why not just stick with what you have? This sounds like it’s going to be a debacle much like the home plate collision rule that has somehow become objective and inconsistent in its enforcement.

Don’t fix what isn’t broken and don’t throw crap against the wall hoping it will stick. 

MLB Changes Transfer Rule Back

I ran a fantasy baseball league for many years, and one thing I absolutely would not do is change a rule during the season. However, Major League Baseball doesn't feel the same way, as they have gone ahead and changed one of their rules.

The rule that was changed had to do with players dropping a ball after it was caught. This is mainly seen during double play attempts, as the fielder at 2nd base receiving the throw would transfer the ball from the glove to their throwing hand. In the past, if they dropped the ball the runner was still out as the fielder had clearly caught the ball first. But before this season the rule was changed so that the runner in that case would be safe. It didn't go over well, and for good reason.

Derek Jeter and the Yankees were only one of many victims of this rule change, which doesn't make any sense to me. I suppose it's like a receiver in football having to keep control of a catch after they hit the ground in order for the catch to count. I mean, the receiver has already caught the pass, just like the fielder in baseball has already caught the ball. So it should be a reception/out.

Well, MLB felt differently than I do and changed it. Key word there is "felt". Recently it was announced that the rule is going back to the way it was and should be. As long as the fielder has caught the ball, the runner will be called out, regardless if the fielder drops the ball or not when transferring it to their throwing hand.