The 2015 Major League Baseball season is approaching; and as new Commissioner Rob Manfred settles into his office, he is faced with many challenges.
While baseball fans around the country anticipate melting snow making way for green ball fields, Commissioner Manfred is trying to find a way to modernize “America’s pastime.” MLB is attempting to make the sport relevant in the fast-paced world that we now live in. Freshening up baseball is possible. but it will not come without resistance and growing pains.
One idea that has been mentioned to speed up baseball games for quite some time now is the institution of a pitch clock. Having a clock on the field, like the NFL’s play clock, would be beneficial to the game’s pace of play. A pitch clock experiment that is being used in the Arizona Fall League also extends to pitching changes and a time limit between innings. The pitch clock will have growing pains, as players adjust to the more structured feel of the game, but it will be best for the game in the long run. Baseball currently has too much downtime and ambiguity between plays that allow games to drag on into the night.
Another way in which baseball can draw more viewers is to have a computerized strike zone that gives higher strike calls and less low strike calls. MLB has used computer technology for years to outline the strike zone. They can use this technology to eliminate the ambiguity that exists now from umpire’s strike zone to strike zone and create a uniform zone–no matter which umpires are on the field. The reason why MLB can benefit from raising the strike zone is because more fly balls will occur, which could then translate into higher home run totals.
Fox Sports had an article by Robert Arthur discussing the changing strike zone. The article talks about how in recent years, the strike zone has expanded in the bottom of the zone and ground ball rates have increased. Since ground balls have increased and fly balls have decreased, home run totals have dropped. Fans love home runs; and using a uniform strike zone enforced with the latest technology would be a great way to freshen up the sport up, and give the players a more consistent strike zone and the fans more offense.
MLB has recently implemented instant replay, and many fans have been concerned about it further slowing down the pace of play. One way replays can be sped up is if MLB uses the Hawk-Eye-like technology tennis has been using since 2006. Hawk-Eye technology has been successfully used in reviews for almost a decade in tennis, and it only takes seconds to use. The technology can track the trajectories of balls and tell umpires where they landed taking out the possibility of human error.
MLB could obviously not use this in all replays, but it could be used for home run calls and foul ball calls. It would be a great way to speed up the current replay system on those calls as well as add excitement, while the crowd waits to see the call come in on the Jumbotron.
It will be interesting over the next few years to see how Major League Baseball and new Commissioner Rob Manfred try to revitalize the sport. The challenge will be difficult because baseball, by design, is a slow-paced and methodical sport and, at times, fans want it to be something that it is not. Baseball does not have constant movement, like soccer or numerous collision plays like football.
Even though baseball is not the most action-packed sport by design, there are ways in which MLB can make it more relevant to an impatient and younger generation.