Speed Thrills

Baseball's acceleration is real. And revolutionary.

MLB ‘23 going from 1st to 3rd

Baseball games are taking an average of two hours, 37 minutes to play. That’s faster than any year since 1984 which, by my journalism degree math, was 39 years ago.

Let me repeat that. I might have typed too fast for my tradition-loving friends. 2:37. 39 years.

Given that the regular-season results are similar to what we saw in spring training and what some minor leagues enjoyed last season, it’s safe to assume this ain’t no statistical outlier. All it’s doing is revolutionizing the game.

If you still love hardball, this is great stuff.

The death of shifts and bigger bases have had their desired effects, too. Yahoo:

Through 11 days of the season, (teams are) slashing .249/.325/.410. There have been 240 attempted stolen bases (195 of them successful). At the same point last season, MLB was collectively batting .233/.313/.377, with only 179 steal attempts.

The new spice, then, is attributable mostly to the shift restrictions that have allowed for more singles and the pickoff limits and bigger bases that have spurred on more stolen bases.

To recap: MLB is playing faster games with better pace and more action.

Cynics might suggest it’s doubly great for Reds fans, who now can endure the Club’s losses more quickly. Consider it the ballgame version of faster Novocaine injections. But, we digress.

Now, if Baseball could figure a way to shorten ad breaks between innings. . . start by snuffing out Scott from Scotts. (Fie on!) Scott. (Fie on!) him.

I’ve noticed it with Tommy Thrall and Jeff Brantley. I could be imagining it, but I swear each is more atop his game-calling game than in the past. They have to be, yeah? Their pace is dictated to them. Too often before this year, that pace dawdled. So did their words, especially when the Reds were getting clobbered.

The best thing is, baseball’s essential character has not been disrupted. Part of its appeal is that it lolls.

It does what, Doc?

Baseball lolls. Its lack of incessant urgency allows for normal breathing and the occasional trip to the beer line. We can still visit with our pals at the ballpark. Unlike football, we’re not a bunch of screaming lunatics for three hours. The social aspect is still there.

But here’s something else. It’s an even better outcome than speedier games that still allow for loll:

What strategic advantages does the new speed promote, and which clubs are best able to take advantage?

Rookie Corbin Carroll has 5 stolen bases for Arizona

Case in point: The generally lowly AZ D-Backs just took three of four from the generally high-ly LA Dodgers over the weekend, including the last three in a row. During those three Ws, AZ stole eight bases, including five in their 11-6 win on Sunday.

The Diamondbacks don’t have LA’s talent or payroll, but they have a bunch of young, athletic players who over the weekend ran sprints. Arizona has stolen 17 bases already, 2nd-best in baseball. Amazingly, they’ve been caught just once. The Dodgers have two stolen bases and have been caught three times.

Which gets us to the Reds.

They had an impressively aggressive spring. So far, it hasn’t translated: Five SBs, four times caught. Nine teams have fewer steals. Only one team has been caught stealing more. It’s not because the Club’s OBP lacks; the Reds are 13th in the majors in on-base percentage.

Are they not running enough? Or do they simply lack the speed to run more?

(One caveat: Aggression on the basepaths isn’t simply defined by stolen bases. The Club has been adept at the First to Third Game.)

How does a GM gameplan for the new realities? How does a manager adjust?

Are older pitchers going to wear down sooner? The pitch clock makes them work faster. How will that play out?

Will it be more advantageous to have hitters with better-looking spray charts? Of course. Does that require more of an emphasis on averages than power? It would seem to. We’re probably not going back to Whitey Herzog’s 1985 Cardinals. (Hitters are still K-ing at impressive rates, partly because the pitching is so good.)

But if you’re running an organization, how much will the new reality impact your beliefs on acquiring talent, at all levels?

I’m thinking that guys with the skills of, say, Willie McGee, will rise. One-trick ponies like, I dunno, Rowdy Tellez, Joey Gallo and all unofficial members of Pull-Hitting, Free Swinging, Softball Playing Nation will not be the assets they’ve been in the Three Outcome Era that baseball looks to be leaving behind.

This is fascinating to me.

Is it because I have Nerd Tendencies when it comes to hardball?

Now, then. . .

THE REDS ARE ALREADY EDGING INTO dangerous waters. TML’s First Rule of Sports Engagement is this:

Never, ever praise your team for trying hard.

At the pro level, try-hard is assumed in the contract. This isn’t Little Billy’s 4th grade Whippy-Dip League. A key tell, in any sport, that a team is lacking is when its coach/manager or, worse, its own players, begin talking up their effort.

Good teams don’t talk about playing hard. They just play hard. It’s the minimum wage of jock currency. Teams that praise their own effort are rarely winning teams.

The Reds are encouraged by the fact that they Don’t Give Up. They battle, they grind, they stick together. OK. It’s all laudable and true. It’s a good survival skill across a six-month season of six games a week. Attitude can’t be quantified.

But at some point, trying hard isn’t enough. Sometimes, trying hard justifies complacency. We didn’t win, but we sure tried hard. Great, but winning is all that counts. Maybe we could hear someone from the Club say that.

PROGRAMMING NOTE. . . I am retired, yeah? I’m doing what I can to remember that. So starting tomorrow, I’m off to Tucson for four days of committing golf. Maximus has a mansion there. He’s hosting Pogo, Bengal Boy and yours truly. He’s giving the cook, the butler and the chauffeur the weekend off. We three ‘Nati boys are expected to fill in.

I called dibs on driving. Max’s Bentley should be adequate for our needs. Pogo’s skill at grill marks makes him the obvious chef choice. Bengal Boy already dotes on and worships the Men; worshipping us should be a breeze.

See youse Monday. If I come back.

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Of all the Van tunes I’ve posted in This Space over the past 18 years of TML, I’ve never posted this one. It’s among my favorites.