MLB three-batter minimum

As I understand it, they can only come out due to injury/illness at the ump’s discretion. So it may not be quite as simple as....

Could be an opportunity for retired professional soccer players to get jobs as consultants to teach the fine art of faking injury. 

It does seem to me that umps will be (and should be) reluctant to overrule a P who is claiming injury. Would you want to be the guy who forced a kid with a sore arm to stay on the mound, only to find a few days later that he needed surgery?  

Will be interesting to see how far teams are willing to push things. Why not tell your former one-out lefty specialist: “if your arm isn’t feeling 100%, then better safe than sorry—no point in risking getting hurt.” On the other hand, if you require guys to sit out a while after claiming injury, then you are encouraging them to pitch through pain in a sport that already has an epidemic of arm problems. 

Have the batters stay in the box the entire AB and watch the game fly by. Not a fan of the 3 batter min rule.

signed,

Dad of a reliever

cabbagedad posted:

Does anyone else see a big flaw in this one?  If I am reading the rule correctly, if a P is injured or ill, he can come out.  But there is no corresponding "sit" rule.  In other words, there is nothing from stopping a P to fake an injury and be replaced since he is immediately eligible to return the next game.

So, tactically, are we going to see a bunch of fake injuries (signaled by the coach) that will backfire and make the game even longer instead of shorter?  In fact, this gives a team even longer to have the next relief guy warm up.  I don't see an umpire sticking his neck out, from a liability standpoint, and calling out a P for faking.

Faking an injury??  At the direction of the team's manager???   C'mon.

I really can't imagine any of these highly trained, highly talented, highly paid professional athletes acting unethically or in an unsportsmanlike manner, gaming the rules,  or doing anything to besmirch the honor of the game or the reputation of themselves and their teams.

Shoveit4Ks posted:

Have the batters stay in the box the entire AB and watch the game fly by. Not a fan of the 3 batter min rule.

signed,

Dad of a reliever

I'm for that!  Started with Mike Hargrove years ago (they called him the human rain delay).  Now every batter has to go through his own particular routine, adjust and reattach his batting gloves, take practice swings, spit, knock dirt of his cleats, etc. etc. between every pitch.  How has that become the standard now?  It drives me nuts but apparently not the commissioner.  Stay in the box.  Is this legit gripe or do I need to let it go and get with the times lol?

Qhead posted:

Shoveit4Ks posted:

Have the batters stay in the box the entire AB and watch the game fly by. Not a fan of the 3 batter min rule.

signed,

Dad of a reliever

I'm for that!  Started with Mike Hargrove years ago (they called him the human rain delay).  Now every batter has to go through his own particular routine, adjust and reattach his batting gloves, take practice swings, spit, knock dirt of his cleats, etc. etc. between every pitch.  How has that become the standard now?  It drives me nuts but apparently not the commissioner.  Stay in the box.  Is this legit gripe or do I need to let it go and get with the times lol?

I am for this. Son always works quickly. First time teams see's him he used to just chrn through the lineup. Until the opposing coach caught on. Then every batter would step out of the box. 

He is pitching in Mens leagues now and he is very affective. Until someone figures out to slow him down. He is still very good and gets lots of outs. Just not quite so affective when he can work quick. Get the right catcher and they do not get the batter time to think. 

I’d also love to see batters stay in the box. But I am also the father of a P. My son likes to work fast, and will “quick pitch” any batter who isn’t on his toes. So after a few quick outs, the opposing team starts slowing things down.

The struggle between pitcher and batter to control timing is part of the game. Making guys keep one foot in the box helps some—but only some.  You can still call time and adjust all your Velcro...

My beef is with umps who will let a hitter call time after a P  has started his wind up. I see it far too often: Hitter has squared up to the plate but wants a couple of practice swings. He looks up and sees P beginning his delivery, so he panics and throws up a hand for time. Pitcher has to stop mid-action (or even deliver a pitch anyhow)—shouldn’t grant time out to batters who aren’t paying attention.  

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Qhead posted:

Shoveit4Ks posted:

Have the batters stay in the box the entire AB and watch the game fly by. Not a fan of the 3 batter min rule.

signed,

Dad of a reliever

I'm for that!  Started with Mike Hargrove years ago (they called him the human rain delay).  Now every batter has to go through his own particular routine, adjust and reattach his batting gloves, take practice swings, spit, knock dirt of his cleats, etc. etc. between every pitch.  How has that become the standard now?  It drives me nuts but apparently not the commissioner.  Stay in the box.  Is this legit gripe or do I need to let it go and get with the times lol?

I am for this. Son always works quickly. First time teams see's him he used to just chrn through the lineup. Until the opposing coach caught on. Then every batter would step out of the box. 

He is pitching in Mens leagues now and he is very affective. Until someone figures out to slow him down. He is still very good and gets lots of outs. Just not quite so affective when he can work quick. Get the right catcher and they do not get the batter time to think. 

My son's catching coach used to be a D1 HC and he talks about this all the time. Attack the hitter with tempo and leverage. My son is working with the high school pitching staff on pitches to throw next if they get a first pitch strike. Basically, they want to get to where they aren't even giving a sign. Strike one, fire the ball back to the pitcher and the pitcher is ready to go right into his delivery.