6-inning minimum for starting pitchers being considered by MLB commissioner's office

[Bob Dole]

Stop ****ing with the rules.

https://www.theblaze.com/fearless/ml...6LxtB-GuJnIDQg

he MLB commissioner's office is reportedly considering a rule change that would require starting pitchers to play at least six innings per game.

MLB officials spoke to ESPN and expressed that the league is looking to both have starting pitchers spend more time in the game and also cut back on injuries. While these two viewpoints seem contradictory, the league also reportedly wants more balance in terms of strikeouts versus hits. A pitcher who knows he has to stay in the game longer may take some velocity off his pitches, making it easier for the batter.

"We are interested in increasing the amount of action in the game, restoring the prominence of the starting pitcher and reducing the prevalence of pitching injuries," an MLB official told ESPN. "There are a whole host of options in addressing those issues."

The alleged objective is to prioritize starting pitching but also avoid leaving in a struggling pitcher simply to meet the six-inning minimum.

To counteract this possibility, some caveats would have to be carved out. Some of the suggested exceptions would allow a pitcher to leave the game after:

Throwing 100 pitches
Giving up 4+ earned runs
An injury followed by mandatory time on the injured list
In regards to the minimum, Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo said "I do that anyway."

"We all want to go at least six," he added.

"It's such a bad idea," baseball analyst Gary Sheffield Jr. told Blaze News. "So bad that it would never be considered by the players."

Sheffield stressed that requiring such a pitch count would be extremely detrimental to young pitchers.

"At the velocities they're throwing these days most young arms would explode."

Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen suggested pulling back on velocity would be an inevitable result.

"That's a tough thing, because that's where you get outs," Hazen explained.

According to Bleacher Report, MLB starters are averaging 5.25 innings in 2024 while Triple-A starters are averaging 4.3. This appears to reveal that development would be required in the minor leagues to extend the life of a starting pitcher another .75 innings in the majors.

Teams have become much more strict in terms of pitch counts for their starters in recent years, so much so that only 21 pitchers have thrown complete games in 2024. Just three pitchers — Kevin Gausman (TOR), Max Fried (ATL), Cristopher Sanchez (PHI) — have more than one.

Aside from the minimum-innings rule, the league has also reportedly considered limiting the size of pitching staffs and implementing the double-hook DH rule.

Currently being experimented with in the independent Atlantic League, the double-hook DH rule causes a team to lose their designated hitter if they remove their starting pitcher from the game.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by scho63

Baseball is better with the pitch clock but baseball's problem is NOT needing more runs. Baseball's problem is that only 6-7 teams compete every year since the late 70's, early 80's.

The NFL has the best structure by far to bring in new teams each year into the playoffs. 7-8 teams drop out and new ones come in on average each year.

When your team has had no hope for 45 years, why waste time watching?

That’s because of the power of the MLBPA in baseball. MLB would love a salary cap if they could get it, but that would lead to years of labor strife that nobody wants or needs.

[Dartgod]

How about just leaving the game the **** alone.

[Megatron96]

This cannot be real.

[Frazod]

All the stupid shit they've done and want to do yet they still let umpires call balls and strikes, despite having the technology in place to do it automatically and CORRECTLY.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

How about just leaving the game the **** alone.

That ship sailed years ago when analytics completely changed everything about the game and made it nearly unwatchable.

MLB wouldn’t be making these changes to what it once was otherwise.

[crayzkirk]

Sounds like the perfect thing for the big market teams to ensure they continue their stranglehold on the league. They can continue to buy up the talent and then feast on the lesser teams even more than they already do.

I believe baseball needs a real salary cap to make things fair. However, I'm pretty sure that the big market teams like things the way they are.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by Bump

all major sports trying to make defense harder because fans wanna see moar points

leave it how you found it IMO

It all went to hell when football added the forward pass.

[Valiant]

They love dumb rules. But won't put a salary floor or ceiling. Hell, I would be happy with a more NBA style. Give max contracts and or deals for homegrown talent.
These rules are to help ensure the big markets teams stay on top.
They love stopping metrics for defensive strategy. But make players hit better or for contact? Nah.