Is this baseball...or FOOTBALL?

[thaskalos]

The baseball season started with the pitchers dominating...as the hitting stats declined sharply while the no-hitters proliferated. But now the tide has turned...and the final scores have gotten ridiculous. What gives?

[sharkey11]

hitting always catch up to pitching . mlb isnt what it used to be players only hit and run better today fielding only a few are @ mlb level but its still fun to watch i guess

[P.Rosa]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

The baseball season started with the pitchers dominating...as the hitting stats declined sharply while the no-hitters proliferated. But now the tide has turned...and the final scores have gotten ridiculous. What gives?

MLB forced the pitchers to keep their balls clean.

"It all flew under the radar until recently, when MLB announced it would crack down on pitchers using goop, beginning June 21. The penalty for offenders is an ejection and 10-game suspension with pay, but the team cannot replace the suspended player on the roster."
https://www.wtsp.com/article/sports/...1-aa74804541b8

[JimG]

MLB Baseball is full of guys that hit .230 or less with 25+ homers and 150+ strikeouts. Most could not lay down a bunt if their life depended on it.



NBA Basketball is now basically just 3 pt. shooting contest.


NFL football the rules now obviously favor offense and they may as well put a dress on the quarterbacks.


Rereading the above, I sound like a bitter old man. I guess I am.


Jim

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by P.Rosa

MLB forced the pitchers to keep their balls clean.

"It all flew under the radar until recently, when MLB announced it would crack down on pitchers using goop, beginning June 21. The penalty for offenders is an ejection and 10-game suspension with pay, but the team cannot replace the suspended player on the roster."
https://www.wtsp.com/article/sports/...1-aa74804541b8

I completely forgot that!

[jay68802]

The last time MLB changed the baseball they use, they really flattened the seams. This made the ball move less when thrown because there was less turbulence caused by the flat seams. Pitchers also lost grip. Some started using stuff to help them "grip" the ball better. The most common was sunscreen applied to their arm, and then when on the mound add rosin fro the rosin bag. Giving the pitcher a better "grip" and increasing the RPM's of the ball. That caused more movement to the ball. MLB is now cracking down on stuff like that.

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by JimG

MLB Baseball is full of guys that hit .230 or less with 25+ homers and 150+ strikeouts. Most could not lay down a bunt if their life depended on it.



NBA Basketball is now basically just 3 pt. shooting contest.


NFL football the rules now obviously favor offense and they may as well put a dress on the quarterbacks.


Rereading the above, I sound like a bitter old man. I guess I am.


Jim

It seems the younger fans love offense. Give me a pitcher's duel or a defensive struggle football game any time. Because sneezing on a guy is a foul now in basketball the only time you will see a low scoring basketball game is if both teams were throwing bricks. College football scores often look like college basketball scores.

[FakeNameChanged]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

It seems the younger fans love offense. Give me a pitcher's duel or a defensive struggle football game any time. Because sneezing on a guy is a foul now in basketball the only time you will see a low scoring basketball game is if both teams were throwing bricks. College football scores often look like college basketball scores.

My wife used to call me a sports nut, back when we were younger. I just said to her the other day, you know I haven't watched one Phillies game all year, and only a few innings last summer.
But I did watch several innings yesterday and found that I still love the game. It was the Little League World Series.

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by FakeNameChanged

My wife used to call me a sports nut, back when we were younger. I just said to her the other day, you know I haven't watched one Phillies game all year, and only a few innings last summer.
But I did watch several innings yesterday and found that I still love the game. It was the Little League World Series.

When I was younger I was a hardcore MLB fan, lived in SoCal either watched or listened to every Angel and Dodger game I could. When I got old enough to drive would go to one or two Angel games a week if they were in town. Moved away but would still go to a game now and then as my dad had season tickets. Last MLB game I attended was 4 of the 1986 ALCS, California ended up blowing that 3-1 series lead.



Same thing happened to me as with many others, stopped following MLB, no idea why for me. Only games I have watched in the last dozen years were when the Nationals were in the world series. I also have watched the little league world series every year and have attended a handful of minor league games.

[Marshall Bennett]

There's always been cheating in some form or another, and all was dealt with. Bigger stronger players tend to favor pitchers over batters. Only Nolan Ryan was clocked at 100 mph 40-50 years ago. Now there are dozens. Bob Gibson posted a 1.12 ERA in 1968 and only 6 players in both leagues batted over .300. They lowered the pitching mound to compensate. Pitchers benefit more from strategic changes.
Steroids and corked bats benefited hitters most, but not until pitch count became a factor, pitchers were routinely striking out 250-300 batters a season none the less.
I believe cheating is an overrated factor in any number of years as a whole.

[ReplayRandall]

I've decided to share my pick to win the WS this year, after completing thorough, tiring and boring analysis, I bet at 11-1 the Milwaukee Brewers to win this years World Series....Bet a couple of bucks yourself and we'll all be drinking SUDS in celebration.

[dnlgfnk]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

I've decided to share my pick to win the WS this year, after completing thorough, tiring and boring analysis, I bet at 11-1 the Milwaukee Brewers to win this years World Series....Bet a couple of bucks yourself and we'll all be drinking SUDS in celebration.

Nice play.

Both Fangraphs and Five Thirty Eight have the Crew at 6-1 to win WS.
34-16 since All Star break is only a game off LA best 35-15.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by dnlgfnk

Nice play.

Both Fangraphs and Five Thirty Eight have the Crew at 6-1 to win WS.
34-16 since All Star break is only a game off LA best 35-15.

I just checked. Fangraphs now has the Brewers with an 11.5% chance of winning the WS...and Five-Thirty-Eight has them at 11%. That's roughly 8.7-1

[dnlgfnk]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

I just checked. Fangraphs now has the Brewers with an 11.5% chance of winning the WS...and Five-Thirty-Eight has them at 11%. That's roughly 8.7-1

Yeah. I use an older "odds to Pct. chance" converter from every race run in N.A. some years ago. I'm sure the odds have changed slightly.

When I construct an odds line, I simply proportion the older pcts. to equal 100%.

[FakeNameChanged]

Originally Posted by jay68802

The last time MLB changed the baseball they use, they really flattened the seams. This made the ball move less when thrown because there was less turbulence caused by the flat seams. Pitchers also lost grip. Some started using stuff to help them "grip" the ball better. The most common was sunscreen applied to their arm, and then when on the mound add rosin fro the rosin bag. Giving the pitcher a better "grip" and increasing the RPM's of the ball. That caused more movement to the ball. MLB is now cracking down on stuff like that.

I once owned a ball that Satchel Paige pitched in an exhibition game near my hometown. My dad caught it when the batter fouled it off. I lost it when hurricane Agnes flooded my parents' home in 72. In my mind's eye, I can still see Satchell's slinky-like delivery, he would have been somewhere in his mid-fifties when we saw him.