The plague that is afflicting Major League Baseball and how to fix it:
Alex Bingham
If you talk to anyone about their thoughts on major league baseball in recent years, they will likely respond with similar concerns. It isn’t hard to tell that the game has evolved over time. Gone are the days when hitting for contact, base stealing, and playing defense were prioritized. Through the progression of advanced analytics and the improvement of player performances by way of advancing biomechanics, the game has diverged from its more exciting versions, where balls were put in play more often — where more action happened in the field — towards a game filled with walks, strikeouts, and home runs.
This year 37.1% of at bats finished in one of these three outcomes, a sharp increase from the 29.2% a decade ago, and with the decline of exciting action in the sport, has come a consequent decline in interest, especially amongst younger viewers.
The MLB has the oldest audience of any professional sport in America. This speaks to Major League Baseball’s shrinking appeal amongst young people; a shrinking popularity that, if unchecked, will eventually lead to much larger declines in American Baseball’s popularity as its older fanbase passes on. The danger for a downfall of the sport is abundantly clear, but not all is lost. The MLB features an enticing group of young stars, stars such as Ronald Acuna Jr., Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr, but for the league to regain its popularity, especially amongst younger fans, it will need to make several rule changes to modernize how the sport is played.
For a start, the MLB should change the dimensions of the pitcher mound either by moving the mound back or lowering the mound itself. In fact, changing the dimensions of the mound has already been done before — in 1968. As pitchers were getting better and better and increasing their velocities, the game was shifting towards a much more pitcher-friendly version in the years leading up to ’68. Then, the league reduced the height of the pitchers mound. As a result of this change, scoring subsequently increased from 6.84 runs per game to 8.14. Like in 1968, strikeouts have once again soared to dominance. To continue playing the game unheeded, using dimensions intended for pitchers that don’t throw as hard, is almost foolish; so like the league did in 1968, it is again necessary to change the dimensions of the mound.
While a change to the game like changing the mound would counteract the evolution of the game from a player performance standpoint (preventing possible developments such as pitchers throwing harder), my second proposed change — to shorten the basepaths — will counteract the analytics that have reduced the prevalence of base running in baseball.
Historically, teams would look to manufacture runs through stealing bases and providing sacrifice hits to advance the runners. But, as analytics have made more of an impact on the game, managers have realized that these types of moves produce less runs than the now more common approach of seeking walks and swinging for power. By shortening the basepaths, runners have less distance to travel, thus making it easier for stolen bases and longer extra base hits like triples to occur when advancing. Consequently, by providing more opportunities for baserunning, the MLB could create more opportunity for flashier defensive plays, and other displays of athleticism that are some of the most exciting aspects of the sport.
American Baseball has changed. The MLB is living in the 21st century, with modern analytics and biomechanical tools that have improved player performances and strategy, and yet, the league has continued to be played with a 20th century rule book. These factors have resulted in a on the field product that is steadily declining in excitability, and with that decline, losing the attention of younger fans. Now sitting at a crossroads, it is imperative that the MLB fix baseball.