Moving back the pitchers mound.

[sikeston bulldog2]

Good morning.

Someone here put a finger on it. The continuous sliding downward the batting stats and the huge increase the last 20 years in strikeouts.

Cant be the hitters. Too many are in this boat, in fact, most of them. Very few who hit well and K fewer. That’s 20 years at 26 players per team each year. Somewhere around 15000 hitters.

Times have changed. Athletes are bigger and stronger.plus now the power arm era. Too big and strong for the distance between the mound and home plate.

Many will tout the EV and LA phenomena as a role player. I agree. But not nearly as much as the mound/ home distance.

So I ask- is this an idea, and what would be appropriate- a foot?

Thanx and enjoy.

[ramfandan]

Good morning.

Someone here put a finger on it. The continuous sliding downward the batting stats and the huge increase the last 20 years in strikeouts.

Cant be the hitters. Too many are in this boat, in fact, most of them. Very few who hit well and K fewer. That’s 20 years at 26 players per team each year. Somewhere around 15000 hitters.

Times have changed. Athletes are bigger and stronger.plus now the power arm era. Too big and strong for the distance between the mound and home plate.

Many will tout the EV and LA phenomena as a role player. I agree. But not nearly as much as the mound/ home distance.

So I ask- is this an idea, and what would be appropriate- a foot?

Thanx and enjoy.

Good morning to you too ! A foot seems quite extreme . We have 60 ft. 6 inches now .. I bet even a move an added 6 inches would make a big difference 61 feet However, I am not advocating for that move. What would be interesting is to have veterans like Adam Wainwright, Scherzer, Sonny Gray weigh in on the effect to their arms to go further back . Also get feedback from the veteran top hitters on their thoughts on your subject.
Be a fun presentation to have them all weigh in on your thought .

[sikeston bulldog2]

Good morning.

Someone here put a finger on it. The continuous sliding downward the batting stats and the huge increase the last 20 years in strikeouts.

Cant be the hitters. Too many are in this boat, in fact, most of them. Very few who hit well and K fewer. That’s 20 years at 26 players per team each year. Somewhere around 15000 hitters.

Times have changed. Athletes are bigger and stronger.plus now the power arm era. Too big and strong for the distance between the mound and home plate.

Many will tout the EV and LA phenomena as a role player. I agree. But not nearly as much as the mound/ home distance.

So I ask- is this an idea, and what would be appropriate- a foot?

Thanx and enjoy.

Good morning to you too ! A foot seems quite extreme . We have 60 ft. 6 inches now .. I bet even a move an added 6 inches would make a big difference 61 feet However, I am not advocating for that move. What would be interesting is to have veterans like Adam Wainwright, Scherzer, Sonny Gray weigh in on the effect to their arms to go further back . Also get feedback from the veteran top hitters on their thoughts on your subject.
Be a fun presentation to have them all weigh in on your thought .

Hey good morning sir. Yes I note you say six inches may be all that’s needed. Once pitchers are muscle trained and conditioned, they should have minor issues on the body; you’d think. Over a period of years.

My intent isn’t that though. It’s how to restore offense to the game. It seems the way we go now isn’t it.

What do you think.

[The Nard]

No. Today’s “power pitchers” have enough trouble throwing strikes, commanding the zone. Moving it back would make that worse.

As for batters, they need to learn to shorten and flatten their swings with 2 strikes on them. Yes, it’s that simple.

[sikeston bulldog2]

No. Today’s “power pitchers” have enough trouble throwing strikes, commanding the zone. Moving it back would make that worse.

As for batters, they need to learn to shorten and flatten their swings with 2 strikes on them. Yes, it’s that simple.

Thanx. Ok that simple. Why then don’t the hitters do that. 780 players on the 26 man rosters, and averages are at record lows.

I don’t disagree. But the kevel and rate of success is baffling.

[scoutyjones2]

Leave it as is.

No need to tweak it. Batters will learn or not get paid.

[tgharris]

This is only an observation, not a statement pro or con.

Bulldog: remember George Hendrick, and how he'd get his back foot on top of...and even a little outside the back line of the batter's box? Apparently he thought that extra few inches helped.

He's the only example I can think of off-hand, but he can't/couldn't be the only one.

A little off topic: I remember Mike Shannon saying on the broadcast once that "Silent George" talked to him. And Jack Buck answered the Hendrick talked to him to....just not for interviews.

[OldRed]

No.

[tgharris]

Leave it as is.

No need to tweak it. Batters will learn or not get paid.

There's something to be said for this. They've jerked the game around enough.

[sikeston bulldog2]

This is only an observation, not a statement pro or con.

Bulldog: remember George Hendrick, and how he'd get his back foot on top of...and even a little outside the back line of the batter's box? Apparently he thought that extra few inches helped.

He's the only example I can think of off-hand, but he can't/couldn't be the only one.

A little off topic: I remember Mike Shannon saying on the broadcast once that "Silent George" talked to him. And Jack Buck answered the Hendrick talked to him to....just not for interviews.

this one I like. It architectures my soul. Batters have a whole box to maneuver. Some in front, some in back. All gaining or giving six or more inches.

So far, the board says no.

[sikeston bulldog2]

And it’s not like baseball doesn’t mind un standard measurements.
All home run walls are different from stadium to stadium. Can you believe this - the home run, the ultimate hit, has no standard measurements in baseball.

Then the foul lines. Some are huge, some are minimal. Then the area behind home plate. Some bigger some smaller.

The lowering of the mound.

The adding of a larger base. Taking away inches from the playing field.

So baseball doesn’t mind fooling with measurements.

[ramfandan]

Leave it as is.

No need to tweak it. Batters will learn or not get paid.

Hey Scotty, your reply inadvertently nailed it. Players,unfortunately, have learned that hitting the long ball is where you get paid. Case in point. Willy Adames got to free agency with Brewers. The guy didn’t have good batting average , always had high strike out rates, but could Jack homers.
That final year with Brewers he hit 34 homeruns.
Giants paid him what $28M AAV in his deal with them.
Look at Brendan Donovan , very good bat to ball skills, hit .287 ? , and strikes out at low rate but doesn’t hit many HR’s
In two years when he gets to free agency, no way would a team pay (using 2025 Adames $$$) $28M for him .
That’s the sad thing .players see the homeruns get the big bucks.
Even players admit that .

[sikeston bulldog2]

Leave it as is.

No need to tweak it. Batters will learn or not get paid.

Hey Scotty, your reply inadvertently nailed it. Players,unfortunately, have learned that hitting the long ball is where you get paid. Case in point. Willy Adames got to free agency with Brewers. The guy didn’t have good batting average , always had high strike out rates, but could Jack homers.
That final year with Brewers he hit 34 homeruns.
Giants paid him what $28M AAV in his deal with them.
Look at Brendan Donovan , very good bat to ball skills, hit .287 ? , and strikes out at low rate but doesn’t hit many HR’s
In two years when he gets to free agency, no way would a team pay (using 2025 Adames $$$) $28M for him .
That’s the sad thing .players see the homeruns get the big bucks.
Even players admit that .

I disagree/ they will learn or not get paid. It’s been a big decline for decades, and players are still getting paid at record pace.

Question- if they did move it back six inches, does that now favor the offense. If so, by a large margin?

[scoutyjones2]

Leave it as is.

No need to tweak it. Batters will learn or not get paid.

Hey Scotty, your reply inadvertently nailed it. Players,unfortunately, have learned that hitting the long ball is where you get paid. Case in point. Willy Adames got to free agency with Brewers. The guy didn’t have good batting average , always had high strike out rates, but could Jack homers.
That final year with Brewers he hit 34 homeruns.
Giants paid him what $28M AAV in his deal with them.
Look at Brendan Donovan , very good bat to ball skills, hit .287 ? , and strikes out at low rate but doesn’t hit many HR’s
In two years when he gets to free agency, no way would a team pay (using 2025 Adames $$$) $28M for him .
That’s the sad thing .players see the homeruns get the big bucks.
Even players admit that .

Most effective way of scoring runs...the long ball. Deal with it...gotta be multi dimensional as a team. Hurdy gets on base, has no true position. Doesn't even steal bases. Adames generates way more offense and scoring runs is important.

Now tell us about Guerrero Jr., or Jose Ramirez? Hell, tell us about Winn

Takes all types on a team, but producers get paid. As they should

[sikeston bulldog2]

Leave it as is.

No need to tweak it. Batters will learn or not get paid.

Hey Scotty, your reply inadvertently nailed it. Players,unfortunately, have learned that hitting the long ball is where you get paid. Case in point. Willy Adames got to free agency with Brewers. The guy didn’t have good batting average , always had high strike out rates, but could Jack homers.
That final year with Brewers he hit 34 homeruns.
Giants paid him what $28M AAV in his deal with them.
Look at Brendan Donovan , very good bat to ball skills, hit .287 ? , and strikes out at low rate but doesn’t hit many HR’s
In two years when he gets to free agency, no way would a team pay (using 2025 Adames $$$) $28M for him .
That’s the sad thing .players see the homeruns get the big bucks.
Even players admit that .

Most effective way of scoring runs...the long ball. Deal with it...gotta be multi dimensional as a team. Hurdy gets on base, has no true position. Doesn't even steal bases. Adames generates way more offense and scoring runs is important.

Now tell us about Guerrero Jr., or Jose Ramirez? Hell, tell us about Winn

Takes all types on a team, but producers get paid. As they should

The long ball is the quickest way to score. It happens about 1-2 times a game, leaving 7 plus innings for smaller ball. That portion needs work. Better hitting. Then to my point.

Is a six inch move a needle mover for the offense.

[rbirules]

No. Today’s “power pitchers” have enough trouble throwing strikes, commanding the zone. Moving it back would make that worse.

This is a common misconception that since there's been a rise in strike outs (and HRs) that there has also been a rise in walks. We just think of it more since Moneyball came out and OBP became a more widely used stat.

Pitchers (as a collective group) are actually incredibly consistent and adaptive to strike zone changes. They consistently walk between 8-9% of batters they face.

MLB BB%:
1945 - 9.1%
1955 - 9.5%
1965 - 8.2%
1975 - 9.0%
1985 - 8.6%
1995 - 9.1%
2005 - 8.2%
2015 - 7.7%
2025 - 8.4%

In the last 20 years "power pitchers" are walking batters less than at any time since the dead ball era. Strike outs are the problem. Pitchers throw harder than ever and produce more spin than ever. As a result it's harder to put a ball in play than ever, thus harder to get a hit than ever, and thus harder to string together hits to get a run than ever. So hitters swing for the fences because it takes one swing to generate a run (or multiple runs).

How do you counteract these pitchers? Lower the mound? Move the mound back? Shrink the strike zone? Change the ball to make it harder to spin? I don't know, I think shrinking the zone would be the easiest, especially if we go to a ABS system, or at least a logical first step.