Call to the pen
Fansided

4 ideas to improve Major League Baseball in 2022

By Jonas Thoms

HOUSTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 02: The Atlanta Braves celebrate their 7-0 victory against the Houston Astros in Game Six to win the 2021 World Series at Minute Maid Park on November 02, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 02: The Atlanta Braves celebrate their 7-0 victory against the Houston Astros in Game Six to win the 2021 World Series at Minute Maid Park on November 02, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – JULY 28: The scoreboard is seen after the Arizona Diamondbacks scored the go ahead run in the top of the 15th inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 28, 2014 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Diamondbacks won 2-1 in 15 innings. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – JULY 28: The scoreboard is seen after the Arizona Diamondbacks scored the go ahead run in the top of the 15th inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 28, 2014 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Diamondbacks won 2-1 in 15 innings. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Change extra-inning rules

I’ll admit, I don’t hate the automatic runner rule on second base as much as I thought I would. If nothing else it’s kept me from staying up for hours only to watch my team lose in the 17th inning. But it still seems contrived to me. It’s different enough from the rest of the game that it feels like an inadequate solution (not to mention the annoying amount of unearned runs in relievers stat lines…). Nonetheless, the rule change has done a lot to limit how long a Major League Baseball game can be and, for the most part, fans appreciate that.

My solution is one that may cause some outrage, but here goes … ties. I can hear you all quoting Bear Bryant now, “Ties are liking kissing your sister!” However, hear me out. First off, this would only be for the regular season. If the game is tied after the ninth inning the teams go to extra innings, no gimmick-y rule changes. Same rules apply but the game will be over after 12 innings no matter what. Who knows? Maybe this would lead to more teams taking risks in the 12th inning because they really need a W. I bet it would keep more fans staying up to watch games in extra innings.

Before MLB added rules for extra innings (2019), there were 37 games that made it past the 12th inning. That is 1.5% of the 2,429 games played that year. That number is pretty consistent among recent seasons and has been as low as 24 (or 1%) in 2017. So each team would have one to two ties a season, but they’d be saved from having to make emergency roster moves because of 17-inning marathons in the middle of a two week span with no off days. It’s worth it, in my opinion.

Ranking the 12 winningest teams in MLB history. dark. Next

Final thoughts

All of the rule changes above are in the spirit of having more teams play more meaningful games for longer into the season and having their best players be a part of the action as much as possible. I love baseball and think that, in general, the product is really good and the season is compelling. That said, baseball is always better when the games matter for your team. So, Rob and Tony, make it happen!

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