Where did my beloved baseball go?

I was watching some of game seven of the World Series and Im saddened to say that the game is no longer the game I grew up loving. There is a familiarity that gives me hope that some lost aspect of the game will return but it never does.

A triple play is more likely to happen than a bunt to advance a runner.
Batter after batter swinging at pitches that bounce several feet in front of home plate.
The strikeouts in a game is amazingly high. Literally double the numbers from the 70s and 80s.
Every batter swings for the fences.

I miss Pete rose and his weird stance that gets 4000 hits..
I miss Ryan Sandburg and his smooth fielding 2nd base glove.
I miss Ozzie smiths backflips.
I miss Reggie Jackson vs Nolan Ryan.
I miss Steve Garvey with his Popeye forearms.
I miss Ricky Henderson stealing every base.
I miss Jim Leyland sneaking smokes in the dugout.

I miss baseball....

a reply to: Bluntone22

I would blame video games for the general decline in sports and other outdoor activities.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: Bluntone22

I would blame video games...

Can you please detail how video games are affecting current MLB style of play?

OP literally said the game is different because everyone is swinging for the fences to make a name for themselves instead of teams employing traditional strategy (e.g. bunting, base-stealing etc.)

Please oh please explain how this is related to video games.

At least it isn’t soccer.

a reply to: dfnj2015

I don't think there is a decline in sports,,, at least not around me.
Actually I think participation is up.
Travel sports are really popular.

And the athletes in baseball are bigger and stronger than ever..

My problem is the style has changed.

originally posted by: Metallicus
At least it isn’t soccer.

Yup...

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: dfnj2015

I don't think there is a decline in sports,,, at least not around me.
Actually I think participation is up.
Travel sports are really popular.

And the athletes in baseball are bigger and stronger than ever..

My problem is the style has changed.

I think this might be what she he is trying to state...

I still go outside and talk to people. Until I go to my barber whom runs a sports betting business on the side.





I like my hair and sports.

a reply to: Metallicus

A MEN!
But Rugby is very acceptable.

Definitely don't play small ball and defense is usually an afterthought, LOL and this pitch count thing drives me crazy I grew up with Carlton and Ryan and Niekro throwing complete games and you were a wuss if you came out early. LOL don't change anything MLB has had a resurgence partly because fantasy sports.

a reply to: Bluntone22

I used to love playing baseball when I was younger but these games are too long.
I can’t sit still watching them.

If they wanted to fix baseball they should cut the games back down to 154 in a season, make them 7 innings long and start each batter with a 1-1 count. It would shorten the games to a perfect length.

a reply to: Bluntone22

I’d like to add Tony Gwynn to your list.

The left-handed hitting Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, tied for the most in National League (NL) history. He is considered one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. Gwynn had a .338 career batting average, never hitting below .309 in any full season

He could hit it into any gap. At the plate he thought more like a golfer trying to put the ball into a specific location, Not just beast mode, trying to smash the ball over walls.

I miss it too...

a reply to: Observationalist

Loved Tony gwynn...
And
Mike Schmidt
Jonny bench
Andre Dawson
Greg Maddox

It's called analytics. Every sports franchise in the world is obsessed with it. Unfortunately, it is making a lot of the sports those franchises play in more and more unwatchable. It seems like a lot of the action is now taking place off of the field or court in the hands of the number crunchers.

Basketball in particular is dreadfully boring to watch these days. It's like watching a rec league team down at your local gym. Dudes just chucking shots and nobody plays defense. I watched some of the NBA playoffs last year and it disgusted me how many times I saw a guard walk the ball down the court and go straight to the basket with no one on the opposing team bothering to stop the ball. When I was kid a defender would lay you out if you tried that crap -- especially in the playoffs.

a reply to: Bluntone22

LOL@ Greg Maddux. Don't get me wrong here, he was absolutely fantastic AND a hometown boy to boot.

Doubt he ever threw a pitch over 90 mph but man did he have serious movement on the ball. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of movement on a pitch and I've been watching for 40 years. I have seen clips here and there of Gibson and Koufax and they were amazing but that was before my time. Never got to see a full game.

Jack Morris pitched the best game I've ever seen in the 1991 WS. Game seven, 10 inning shutout of the Braves. Smoltz was awful good also but got pulled. Can't beat a 1-0 extra inning game in game seven of the WS. Still have that one on videotape.

Rollie Fingers - just for the mustache alone.
Rod Carew
Kirby Puckett - Game six 1991 WS
Joe Morgan - pump that arm
Mike Hargrove - the Human Rain Delay
Wade Boggs and his fried chicken
Kirk Gibson - 1988, IIRC. Dude couldn't walk and his only at-bat was THAT one.
Fred Lynn - Classic moment and I see the whole game is on Youtube
Dennis Eckersley - He and Tony LaRussa changed the game forever into what you are now complaining about. Well, Bill James had a lot to do with that also.
Nolan Freaking Ryan. Seriously, seven no-hitters? And he beat the snot out of Robin Ventura and he was an old man at that point.

Anyway.............

a reply to: putnam6

Definitely don't play small ball and defense is usually an afterthought, LOL and this pitch count thing drives me crazy I grew up with Carlton and Ryan and Niekro throwing complete games and you were a wuss if you came out early. LOL don't change anything MLB has had a resurgence partly because fantasy sports.

Remember Mets pitcher "Little" Al Jackson who threw 10 complete game shutouts , recently passed away

Today have "analytics: - bunch of geeks with computer telling manager how to make lineup, how many pitches should throw , when to substitute

Look at Game 6 World Series - yanked Strasburg with 7-2 lead and only 1 out in 9th inning Why not leave him in to finish game?

Went to a lot of games this year. The HR's are excessive but if you are at the game it's intoxicating seeing a grand slam or balls heading your way in the stands. TV misses that aspect.

One thing that would help people enjoy the game at home more is showing what the batter is seeing from behind the plate. It's hard to appreciate the skill of pitchers with the frontal view.

One time I was almost directly behind home plate and could see the ball action. It's amazing. Umpires needs a GOPro because I don't think people really understand how damn hard it is to hit the ball or what different pitches look like for a batter. The average person can catch a football, make a 3 pointer but no way they are hitting a baseball from a ML pitcher with much success.

a reply to: Bluntone22

This sounds like a crotchety 'when I was your age' type complaint. The game constantly changes, it has for over 150 years. The style today is not the same as the 90's, 80's, 70's, 30's, 20's or whenever. Ten years from now it will have evolved again.

originally posted by: RazorV66
a reply to: Bluntone22

I used to love playing baseball when I was younger but these games are too long.
I can’t sit still watching them.

This is a common sentiment, of course, but a big part of that is we just don't have (or give ourselves) the time to sit down -together or alone- to watch baseball games.

During playoffs and World Series games when my team was in it, my wife would watch with me. We had a blast wat hing the drama unfold. When I was a kid, when we'd visit my grandparents on a Sunday, we'd all be watching. We'd be visiting too, but the game would be on and we'd all be loosely paying attention - moreso when something would happen.

The game changes - sometimes its pitching dominant, other times its OBP and manufacturing runs, right now its strikeouts and home runs dominating the game. Just like football vacillates between defense/time of posession and offense/passing.

The reason I don't watch more is, by the time I get home from work, its either 10p, or on earlier days, its homework / playing with the kids. On days off, there's too much to catch up doing to just sit and watch a game. If I was retired, I'd probably take in 40+ innings a week.

a reply to: Bluntone22

It isnt the same game at all really.

Worse, after last nights game its clear the game has, like everything else in this country, become politicized. Thats the only logical answer to a team like the Astros laying down for a second rate opponent like the Nationals. Message sent, message received. South Americans hate Trump.