What's Wrong with Baseball? (Why I Can Hardly Watch Anymore)

What's Wrong With Baseball?

If anyone watched Game 5 of the 2017 NDLS series with the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs all elements of the troubling state of baseball was on full display. Games take too long to play. At four hours thirty-seven minutes, this was the longest nine inning game in division playoff history. Players make too many mistakes--fielding errors, mental errors, throwing errors, base running errors.

I turned off last night's game when LF Jayson Werth whiffed on an easy line drive. The ball was hit several strides to his left and and a bit shallower than he was playing and instead of simply trotting over there and catching it he decided to slide and attempt to make the catch. Totally missed it and the ball went to the warning track. This was in the sixth inning and was about 2 hours 45 minutes after the game had started. I remember when entire games lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes and we thought they were taking too long.

1. Games take too long. Players step out of the batters box and adjust their batting gloves, take a deep breath, look at the pitcher, adjust their cup, adjust their helmet, look at the third base coach, step in the box. It doesn't need to be like this. Batters go into a game with a game plan for the starting pitcher. Look for a certain pitch, drive it to a certain field. The ball/strike count can change the strategy somewhat, but my point is that the batter doesn't need to step out of the box, contemplate what he's going to do, adjust his equipment, etc. etc. Just stand in there and execute your game plan.

Pitchers stand on the mound too long before delivering the pitch. Catchers run out and talk to the pitchers. This happens a lot. Pitching coaches come out and talk to the pitchers. Pitching changes are numerous, sometimes a reliever pitches to only one batter. Replay reviews take time. It shouldn't take over three hours for a typical MLB game. It should take 2 1/2 hours, tops.

2. Players make errors, a lot of them. Some of them are mental errors that don't show as fielding errors in the box score. In last night's game a Nats runner got picked off of first base by a throw from the catcher. This was in a one run game with a runner on 2nd base as well. In other words, there was no reason for the guy on first to be so far off the base--with a runner ahead of him on the basepaths there's nowhere for him to go. (Lengthy video review ensued delaying game.)

In the ALDS Game 2, the Yankees put a pinch runner in at second base in the 11th inning of a tie game, no outs. Everyone on the planet knows a bunt is coming, with the runner moving over to third base. Instead the pitch is high and outside, the catcher snaps a throw to second base and they pick off the pinch runner. You are a pinch runner. The game is tied. Your job is to not get picked off. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Children know you don't run toward third until the ball is put in play.
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My son and I have a term for this, #thisisthemajorleagues? We sit with jaws dropped looking at fundamental mistakes that we wouldn't dare have made when we played but it is on ongoing everyday occurrence in the major leagues.

Anyone see the Yankees/Indians ALDS Game 5? The Yankees were leading 3-2 going into the top of the ninth inning. The Yankee's Aaron Hicks singled to left field, the ball went THROUGH THE LEGS of the left fielder with Hicks taking 2nd base on the error. Todd Frazier walked. With two outs Brett Gardner is having an epic at-bat fouling off pitch after pitch, just waiting to get one he can drive. He hits a single to shallow right field, the right fielder scoops up the ball and throws to the cut-off man. But the throw, which looks to be only about 125 feet, falls short, hits the infield dirt and gets away from the shortstop allowing Frazier to score all the way from first base. On a single to right field. The right fielder could not throw the ball on the fly to the shortstop. The SS, a guy that makes a living fielding ground balls, can't handle the throw. Just sloppy, sloppy play.
Gardner's RBI single

Take a look at this play, which burned up about 10 minutes last night. Two outs, runners at first and second. Catcher Matt Wieters allows third strike to go through his legs. Batter is entitled to run to first base. Wieters collects ball and throws it off line of first base. The ball goes past the first baseman AND past the second baseman backing up the play. Runner from 2nd base scores. On a strikeout that should have ended the inning. When Wieters collected the ball he allowed to pass through his legs, did he plant his feet and rifle an accurate, overhand throw to first base? No. He grabbed the ball and threw sidearm while off balance, a recipe for throwing wild.
Russell scores on an error

Last night Max Scherzer hit a batter with a pitch with the bases loaded. Really? Also last night two runs were scored on wild pitches. Really? This is the Major Leagues? This is stuff you see in Little League play.

Anyway, it's gotten to the point where I cannot watch a half hour of major league baseball without seeing some sort of error, faux pas, or screwup. One time during a Twins/White Sox game I saw four incidents in a half inning.

How about you? What do you see as problems with baseball?

 

Now that you mention it...

Notice that the OF made a good play off the carom off the wall, then executed a perfect throw to the cutoff man. The cutoff man made a decent throw to the plate, the catcher made the first tag, then alertly made the second tag (notice he correctly clamps the ball in his glove with his free hand) and then comes up looking to throw the batter-runner out! I'd say this is a blown call by the third base coach, sending the second runner home.

 

While this is true, it does not affect my enjoyment of watching the game.

 

Here's a screen grab I made of a fly ball that no one on the White Sox wanted to catch. This is the major leagues?

 

Here is the Werth error, er, I mean Addison Russell's double:

Russell's RBI double

See what I mean about errors not showing up in the box score? Yes, I know, this is not an "official" error since it never touched Werth's glove, but still...


HA HA! When searching for this particular play, this result popped up. This is not an official error:

Russell's two-run double

This is from the 2016 World Series. This is the Major Leagues?

 

This is the Major Leagues?

The Houston Astros beat the NY Yankees 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th inning tonight. With Jose Altuve on first base Carlos Correa laced a double to right center field. Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge threw the ball to the shortstop Didi Gregorius covering second base, Gregorius relayed the throw to home where Altuve was a dead duck, would have been out by a mile....if only catcher Gary Sanchez would have caught the ball. But he didn't, Altuve scored and the Houston fans went wild.

But hang on...Judge had no business throwing the ball to the shortstop covering second base. He should have thrown to the second baseman, Starlin Castro, who was in position as the cut-off man in short right-center field. Casto could have thrown home in an attempt to get Altuve. It's the bottom of the ninth. Altuve is the lead runner and the winning run--you've got to get him out. You don't care about the batter-runner going to second base. Aaron Judge not hitting the cut-off man was a mental error. Still, Sanchez should have caught the ball and applied the easy tag.

So two mistakes on one play--not throwing to the cut-off man and the catcher dropping the ball. See it here:

Correa's walk-off RBI double

Oh, Reformed would be happy to know that Justin Verlander pitched a complete game for the Astros, striking out 13 Yankees, and got the win.

 

Wait until you see the reversal of an excellent throw out play at home in the Dodgers/Cubs game. Now there was a Major League play. But the new rule about catchers needing to give runners a lane to home plate reversed it. This video review process is ruining baseball. First the pickoff play in the Cubs/Nats game that was changed from safe to out, now this one. Pathetic.

 

Good point.
The counterpoint would be the players are supposed to be Major League ballplayers so they should be able to keep their head in the game no matter what.

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The Yankees addressed this and said that Judge threw to Gregorius at second base instead of Castro in the cut-off position because "Gregorius has the stronger arm." So to me, that is an admission that Castro is not really a major league player. After all, he is the assigned cut-off man on that play and yet they don't involve him in the play because his arm isn't good enough.

 

Oh boy. Take a look at this. This is the Major Leagues?

Catch the ball? No, I don't want to catch the ball. It's too hard of a play!

Bird's ground-rule double