We have some proposals of our own
The recently proposed “Golden AB” rule, in which a team could choose to send its best hitter for any given AB has caused a stir among the baseball community. The general consensus among the Lookout Landing staff (with a notable exception, regular readers/listeners of the site can probably guess who) is that the proposal is a cheap gimmick that aims to artificially increase abstract “excitement” by removing a significant part of the magic of the game: that any player can become the hero at any moment. The Dylan Moore 2021 grand slam would not have happened. Abe Toro hitting a grand slam off of Kendall Graveman would not have happened. Mitch Haniger’s 3-run bases loaded, 2 out walk-off double last year would not have happened. The Golden AB seeks to increase the number of “marquee matchups” in each game, cheaping their import.
And for what? For a slight increase in OBP? The difference between an average hitter and the best on any roster is significant, but not remarkably so. The way we see it, if you want to change the game, go big. So we’ve prepared a slate of alternate rule changes for you to peruse. Who knows? We might have even had an honest-to-goodness good idea.
Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
Jake P: The 10 worst teams each year get an extra strike in every AB for the following season.
Something that I frequently see cited as a problem with parity in the league. The richest teams can afford to field the best teams, and leave the poorest teams left in the dust. It’s unfair! And not conducive to a competitive environment where any team has a chance to win it all.
Introducing: The fourth strike! This is a rule borrowed from the ashes of Blaseball, which I’ve written about here. For the following season, the 5 worst teams in each league will receive a fourth strike for all of their at-bats, allowing them just a little bit more flexibility in approaching teams with “better” players. The best way for a bad team to beat a good one is to chase their starter. Adding a fourth strike would make that easier, increasing pitch count and forcing the opposition into the bullpen earlier. This would increase the chances that a poor quality team could win games, and bring them closer to a playoff spot.
Now some of you may be thinking “But Jake! That will only lead to gimmicky championships when a 4-strike team wins the world series!” And that’s true! But is it any more gimmicky than a deferred money championship? Or a Golden AB championship? We’re not looking for good rules here, only ones that are better than the Golden AB and actually are aimed at a “problem” with MLB.
Bee: Move all inter-divisional matches to the final stretch of the schedule.
Scheduling nightmare? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely. Keep it where every team plays every other team, but save all the division matchups for the end of the season. Even the teams doing poorly that year will always want to play spoiler if possible, and the matchups between those vying for their top spot will become event viewing.
Jake P (again): The ball must be pitched, not thrown, and the batsman may request a high or low pitch.
Harkening back to the “original” rules of the game, the so-called Knickerbocker rules, this would return major league baseball to its roots. Under this rules change, the ball must be thrown underhanded and to a location requested by the hitter. The goal is to increase the number of balls in play, thus increasing the amount of action per game, which would increase viewership, and thus money for the league. It’s a win for everyone. And don’t let anyone tell you that underhand pitching can’t be fun. College softball pitchers are incredibly fun to watch, and they throw underhand from flat ground! Surely MLB pitchers can make it work.
This rule also satisfies the crowd that says that major league baseball has lost its way, that it’s not the game it used to be. By bringing back one of the Knickerbocker rules, we can literally make baseball the game it used to be. Let’s just not bring back the rule where a ball caught on a single bounce is an out.
Matthew Childs/Reuters via Imagn Images
Bee (again): The ultimate league expansion, and the World Series becomes an actual World Series.
The league expands by several teams, both new and old, and by a few leagues. A league is created for our northern neighbors, the Canada League. Overseas a coalition of teams from the NPB and KBO would make up a league, and truthfully I don’t have a good name for what such a league might be called, but it sounds cool as hell. The Canada League would naturally be headlined by the grand return of the Expos to Montreal (in spirit a return, the Nationals will be left to fester thrive in D.C.). And seeing as each of the leagues would not play each other until playoff time, the reclassification of Toronto into a different league entirely would uniquely spare Seattle fans from that yearly torture, unless of course they faced each other in the postseason. Create a league for all of baseball south of the United States as well, and start giving recognition for a region that loves the sport as much as we do, and not just recognition for the stars we can steal away. As for the current American and National league, the names will no longer make sense and need to change, and so they will be consolidated into one league. Divisions, no divisions, I could go either way. The playoffs then see the top four teams of one league go up against the top four of another, and the four leagues split into pairs to play bracket style tournaments until only two teams remain. They rotate which league faces which for the tournaments each year, and that is a World Series. Mostly.
Kate: Bring the re-entry draft to MLB
As Rob Manfred continually casts about for ways to keep fans of even bad teams engaged, I’m shocked he hasn’t yet landed on the easiest win, which involves plagiarizing from the Dominican League: the re-entry draft. In LIDOM, the six teams play a fifty-game schedule into December, at which point the top four teams play a red robin-style tournament of 18 games into the end of January, and then the top two teams play a best-of-seven series, just like the World Series. However, there’s one key difference; starting with the first round of playoffs and again for the finals, playoff teams are eligible to “re-draft” certain players off the eliminated teams provided the player agrees and the team agrees to make the player available. Everyone wins: teams get better (and thus theoretically the level of competition improves); fans of playoff teams get new faces to cheer for and fans of eliminated ones get a stake in the playoffs; players get to keep collecting a paycheck, or getting at-bats if they’re in LIDOM trying to make up time after an injury or suspension.
Admittedly, it’s hard to see MLB teams enthusiastically loaning their superstars to wear another jersey in the playoffs, potentially exposing them to injury, but they could be encouraged with incentives: other teams could bid prospects or even competitive balance draft picks or international bonus money, and teams could select who they wanted to loan to, potentially playing spoiler for a divisional rival and creating solidarity among certain clubs (and their fanbases). It would also be player service; imagine if the Mariners had freed Félix to pitch in the playoffs, even a little. But really, this plan would help the fans of perpetually-disappointing clubs at least get to participate in a little bit of post-season fun; what if A’s fans had gotten to see Brent Rooker bashing his way through the playoffs wearing the kelly green A one last time? (also in this scenario the player wears the jersey of the club that picked him up, but is allowed to wear the hat from his regular-season club). Realistically, it would probably have to be constrained to players entering free agency, which almost makes this idea make sense. But I like the big dream of unshackling the best players, even for a short while, from the teams that have refused to build around them, refused to invest money or resources so those players get to taste sweet nectar of the postseason; and allowing long-suffering fans that feeling of flight right alongside them.
Nick T: A home run shouldn’t count towards a player’s on-base percentage.
While this rule doesn’t necessarily shift the league and the sport as dramatically as some of the other rules proposed here, it is nevertheless something that has been on my mind for years. It also comes with a neato companion rule for the NFL that interceptions should count as completions, but we don’t have to get into that right now. The concept here is pretty simple. Home isn’t a base, it’s a plate. It’s right there in the name. After a home run the pitcher goes back to the wind-up, they don’t need the stretch because a baserunner isn’t taking a lead off of home. They are chilling back in the dugout getting butt pats and some gatorade after their exhausting 360 foot light jog. You can’t hit a homerun and then steal first base (although there might be potential there for a different, crazier rule change). All other counting stats remain unaffected by this rule change. Player’s still get their slugging percentage, their four total bases, it counts as a hit for their average, etc. But I fundamentally disagree with the idea of “that guy hit a homerun, therefore he was on base.” He wasn’t, and I’m sick of pretending he was.
The new formula for calculating OBP: (H + BB + HBP – HR)/(AB + BB + HBP + SF)
For context, this proposal would drop Barry Bonds’ career OBP from .444 to .384, and for a more modern example, Aaron Judge would drop from a career .406 OBP to just .333. The value of the home run itself isn’t diminished by this rule change. Where there is baseball there is a market for home runs, but no more shall the big power guy be conflated with the on-base guy. You want slugging percentage and on-base? Allow me to introduce The Double! Coming to an outfield gap near you!
Becca: After the top and bottom of two extra innings, a home run duel ensues.
Based loosely off of 2021 rule changes in MiLB’s Pioneer League, a type of home run derby would occur after a certain number of extra innings are played. The Pioneer League’s rules take away extra innings altogether, and substitute with a knock-out style, “sudden death” home run duel. Each team designates a hitter to receive five pitches, and the winner of the game is determined by most home runs hit across those five pitches. If the game is still tied after this, another hitter is selected by each team and the process continues until one team wins.
For MLB’s adoption of this rule, there will still be two extra innings played, the top and bottom of the 10th and 11th inning, as to not take away the excitement of extra-inning play. However, if neither team has won after both extra innings, the game will end with a home run duel in the same style as the Pioneer League. This rule change would avoid straining pitchers in long games and providing more rest for other players, while adding more variety and thrill to the game with the home run duel taking place after extra innings.
Eric: Teams who play in stadiums without roofs can choose to take the L due to a weather related postponement, or they may choose to play the game at the opposing team’s stadium (only if they have a roof).
We have the technology to eliminate weather delays and postponements, now it’s time to make teams pay who have refused to play in a weather-protected stadium in spite of the obvious perennial weather issues that come up (all the Midwestern teams in the spring, all the East Coast teams with summer rainstorms, etc). Stop wasting our time, dummies. Time to pay up.