Bill James’s Interpretation on how to fix Baseball

I was recently reading an article that was written by Bill James called “50 Ways to Stop Baseball from Being Swallowed up by Home Runs and Strikeouts”. In this article, he would go onto give us 30 solutions to fixing baseball. By fixing baseball, he meant making it more aesthetically pleasing to the fans across the world. His ideas range from lowering the mound, to giving players suspensions if they do not follow certain rules, to cash prizes if a team is able to keep their game around the 2 hour mark. So in this article, I will be evaluating some of his ideas, and adding some input of my own.

In his essay, James mentions 3 main topic points:

1. Increasing Rate in Home Runs
2. Increasing Rate in Strikeouts
3. Pace of Play

I will be explaining and then rating each of his ideas for each of the 3 main topics. Throughout certain suggestions, I also will be providing my input.

First let’s go over his ideas to decrease the rate of Home Runs:

1. (a) Move the batters box one inch from the plate (6/10)

This is Bill James’s first idea on how to decrease the rate of Home Runs across the MLB. He goes on to say that with the increased protection that the batters have received, they are more inclined to lean into the pitch and get plunked. With these batsmen leaning into the pitches, this gives them 3 huge advantages. 1) makes it easier for him to get to an outside pitch. 2) makes it easier for him to pull a pitch. 3) prevents the pitcher from working inside and potentially hitting the batter. I believe that this an okay start to fixing the increase of the long ball. I do have one qualm with this idea, and it is the fact that this increases the pitcher’s strike zone. We will be talking about the increase of strikeouts later, but for now I would just like to point out that with batters moving an inch back, pitchers getting even more control of the box. It seems like James is substituting one problem for another, which is not what we want.

1. (b) Actually enforce the rule requiring the batter to stay in the batters box (6/10)

This rule is quite similar to the one before, hence why I am making it 1a and 1b. Here James is proposing that we enforce the rule to prohibit batters from planting their feet outside the box, and stepping way out of the box to hit the ball. This is also to allow the pitcher to work inside and have more equilibrium within the game. My thoughts on it are similar to the suggestion beforehand.

2. Deaden the baseball (8/10)

By deadening the baseball, Bill James means raising the stitches and reduce the resiliency of the ball. Now some people might think that this completely gets rid of Home Runs, which makes baseball more boring. However this increases the chance of a ball in play, and more hits inside the park which make for a much more fun and active game.

3. (a) Every fence that creates a Home Run must be 340 feet from Home Plate or 20 feet high

3. (b) A ball hit by the batter must travel farther than 350 feet, if it not then it is ruled a double (9/10)

These two rules are similar, and try to eliminate the cheap shot Home Runs that many players get over the course of a season. For example in Fenway Park, the right field fence is below 20 feet, and is only 308 feet from Home Plate. This means that many players can hit fly balls that will sneak over the fence for Home Runs, while others will hit balls 350 feet, yet not get any compensation for their work. The current MLB rulebook states that a ball must travel 250 feet or more to be considered a Home Run. If it bounces before it reaches that mark, then it shall be a double. Well, why not switch the 2 to a 3, and create a Home Run pole to determine which hits are doubles and which are Home Runs. This could now switch the strategic means of a team because it becomes easier and more profitable to go for a double than a Home Run.

Now let’s go over his Ideas to decrease the rate of Strikeouts:

1. Enforce the rule that the pitcher is supposed to have his foot on the rubber when he delivers the pitch (7/10)

This is no longer a suggestion by Bill James, and more of enforcing a rule that pitchers across the league are constantly breaking. Pitchers can now throw a 57-foot fastball which will then clock in faster on the radar gun, which will make the pitch even harder for the pitchers to hit. This also enhances a pitchers breaking ball because a shorter distance will give it more movement and a higher spin rate; higher spin rates have dramatically increased strikeouts within the past few years.

2. Move the mound back a few inches (7/10)

By moving the mound back around 3 inches, the hitter would then get about .002 seconds more to read the pitch. This solution would reduce strikeouts because it would give batters a tiny bit more time to react to a 95mph pitch.

3. Back off calling strikes on so many checked swings (5/10)

There were 42,823 strikeouts in 2019 which was an MLB high, meaning that around 1/3 of teams outs resulted in strikeouts. I believe that this stat shows that checked swings and checked swing strikeouts are not the MLB’s most important issue and is actually being well officiated by umpires across the league. I view a full swing by a batter as when more than half of the bat has crossed Home Plate, which in my eyes is an easy concept to follow and comprehend.

4. Lower the Pitcher’s mound by a couple of inches (8/10)

The reason that there is an alarming increase of strikeouts around the league is mainly because pitchers are throwing faster and therefore hitters are swinging harder. By lowering the mound by a couple of inches, you are cutting into the momentum that a pitcher can use as they release the pitch; by slowing their process down, you are cutting into strikeouts which is one of baseball’s end goals.

Finally we will go over Bill James’s ideas to speed the game up

1. The Number of Pitching Changes are limited, a team can make a mid-inning change once a game(8/10)

In terms of speeding the game up, this is a good idea that has been addressed with a minimum 3 batter rule for any pitcher starting or entering a game. This helps the game move along faster, and helps the flow of the game so baseball doesn’t have to deal with more pauses/breaks.

2. Cut down on players stepping out of the box between pitches (8/10)

With this proposition Bill James goes on a rant on how pitchers are giving batters the time to adjust and get ready for the pitch, instead of staying put in the batters box during the whole at bat. This can easily be fixed, as umpires get to decided whether the players call for time is legitimate or not.

3. Limit a team to using three pitchers in the first 9 innings, 11 pitchers on a roster, 7 pitchers in a 3 game series or 10 in a 4 game series (6/10)

While I can definitely see the value in adding this rule, I am also worried about the prospect of an injury or bad game from a certain pitcher, that could hamper the staff for weeks to come. This definitely addresses pace of play, but could hamper a teams ability to do well during the season.

4. Limit each team to one roster move each week unless an emergency arises, and stop using openers (7/10)

This is to stop teams from sending players to the majors for a game or two, and then sending them back down to recharge their batteries. The reason that Bill James is so against this, is because he argues that the MLB needs identifiable players starting games instead of no-name castoffs.

5. Limit a pitcher throws to first base to 2, after a third unsuccessful, the batter automatically goes to first (9/10)

I agree with this idea because a large part of the time, pitchers are throwing to first base not to get the runner, but to avoid pitching to the batter, to set him out of rhythm. These wildly unsuccessful throws to first make the game unnecessarily longer, which is exactly what we do not want.

6. If batters wear protective gear to the plate, force them to wear it around the bases (5/10)

I see where Bill James is coming with this take and I also believe that is nit appealing to watch batters take off their gear and pass them onto the coach. However I also think that it is necessary to wear this gear since pitchers are throwing harder, and are challenging the plate more often which could lead to injuries without these elbow pads and shin guards. Bill James needs to find a happy medium here.

Well there you have it, these are the main ideas that Bill James suggested on how to fix baseball. Of course none of these are perfect which is why I spent time critiquing every single one and providing my analysis on his thinking.

To switch it up here are some Bill James ideas that I didn’t like as much.

1. Getting rid of protective gear

While I understand why Bill James wants to get rid of the gear, there are others way to get hitters to back off the plate. The truth is that there are countless injuries across the sport with batters already wearing gear, so imagine them with no padding at all; just a senseless idea.

2. Economic incentive for teams to play at a better pace

Again I think that paying teams or giving them over incentives in order to play faster, is a good idea with too many loopholes. First, if teams are forced to play at a faster pace, this could lead to senseless plays, and just a sloppy game of baseball overall. Second, this completely changes the complexion of baseball a steams are now less focused on winning a World Series and instead on gathering all the incentives that they can.

3. An umpire’s decision on a stolen base is not appealable

While umpires usually make the correct call, there are countless moments where fielders miss a tag, or runners evade the tag, yet they are called out. We could set a rule where a team has one challenge per game instead of two, but can use as many as they want if they keep getting them right. This would allow for certain plays to go to review, but only if the umpire clearly made the wrong call. This is a better alternative to what Bill James is offering.

https://www.billjamesonline.com/the_aesthetic_issues/