Originally
posted by
Bombay:
I'd prefer that there be stiffer penalties to actually change the behavior. Imagine if NFL imposed a no hitting the QB in the head rule, but only fined you $500 each hit and did not give you any kind of in game penalty for it?
Auto- Balls and Strikes for offenses would be a step in the right direction. Stepping out of the batters box and getting an automatic strike, that would cause you to think twice. A pitcher getting an auto Ball for wasting time...
Apples and Oranges. The players hitting the QB in the head may have a motivation to do so--it helps their team, and it might help them financially because they'll be seen as a better defensive player.
Standing outside the batter's box for 10 extra seconds doesn't inherently do anything to the pitcher (it could mess with his rhythm theoretically, but it's not an automatic), and they're certainly not going to get paid more because of those extra 10 seconds.
ford's right. It's a game without a clock, so there are potentially problems with timing, especially the more they commercialize the game (which, along with the La Russa style bullpen management, I would argue is a way bigger problem than a batter stepping out).
If the timing of the game is why you hate baseball, you probably weren't going to like it if the game were 10-15 minutes shorter anyway.