Strikeouts are killing baseball

Move the fences out some modest amount. Make the home run less likely, so the cost-benefit calculation shifts slightly away from it.

 

And deaden the ball.

I keep raising this as a thought experiment: How much less could an MLB player strike out if he actively tried to never strike out? How many strikeouts would Jose Altuve have in a season? Gwynn level? DiMaggio?

 

Will never happen but if more and more advantage is given to pitchers and fielders for pine-taring the ball and shifting, then decrease the length of home plate an inch on each side to make it 15 inches. Make pitchers have to earn their strikes. You'd see many more walks, and runners on base, which pretty much kills the shift. That's just a quick thought that hasn't been fleshed out. But at some point the scales have to balance back toward hitters.

 

I think MLB has long been convinced that fans want to see home runs, and they continually overplay their hand, first resulting in the steroid era, and now the strikeout era.

 

More walks?
MORE WALKS!??!!

 

Right. The issue isn’t not enough base runners. It is not enough balls put into play.

 

Probably but pitchers will have to throw more meaty strikes which will equate into more hits and runs.

 

I think that makes sense, for sure.

 

I must be the only idiot. I love the shifts. I love the creativeness of them. I love when players beat the shifts. I love bitching when they idiotically don't use what's given to them.

I love when players take extra bases as a result of the shift.

Shifts are practically the only interesting thing in baseball.

 

They will also leave their bats on their shoulders, milking walks. Yawn.
I've seen Red Sox Yankee games.

 

I don't have a problem with the shifting. The Astros used one yesterday on Gallo that brain-fucked him into striking out.

 

I don’t mind the shifts at all.