Strikeouts are killing baseball

On the other hand, home runs are up considerably and the two are linked. I keep hearing over and over about various hitters taking a more aggressive approach that leads to more power, but less contact. That is how you end up with situations such as Yonder Alonso, who has 12 home runs by mid-May after never hitting more than nine in a season before this season.

Of course, some folks are going to just assume that power spike is chemically driven. That is also possible, but he is far from the only hitter whose home run totals and strikeout rate are both trending up.

 

Out of all the things that are "killing" baseball, strikeouts are not on my list.

Pitching changes.
Pitching conferences.
Commercials.
Players out of the batting box.
God Bless America on Sundays.
Replay.
The delay before deciding the replay.


I didn't think the time taken for IBB was killing the game. But what do i know?

 

WTF is up with so many pitchers throwing upward of 100 pitches by the 5th inning?

 

The Arrieta Effect

 

I agree with the premise that they're a problem. I don't know how they're "killing" baseball.

The follow-up question, then, is: what to do about it? Tinker with the zone? It's already amoeba-like from umpire to umpire as is.

I think we're due for a correction over the next few years as teams realize strikeouts do in fact hurt your offense. There is only team right now -- the Yankees -- that ranks in the top 10 in strikeouts and also ranks in the top 10 in average runs scored. Last year, the Jays and Cubs were the only teams in the top 10 in strikeouts (8th and 9th) to make the playoffs.

 

Take a couple inches off the strike zone.

 

Honest question: Shouldn't we be saying "bad hitting is killing baseball" instead? How can a fundamental part of the game being done well be killing it? Shouldn't the other side of it being done poorly take the blame?

 

No, always blame the successful people for the failures of others. jk

 

It's a regular thing.

 

Overall, it isn't being done poorly. Runs per game are 4.50, which is a big uptick from recent years and from the '80s to early '90s before steroids took hold.

It's a stylistic change in the game not unlike the three-pointer. Teams accept more failure because the payoff for success is that much greater.

 

Very rarely commented upon is the near-total disappearance of the stolen base from the game.

SB success rates are higher than ever, but attempts have just kept dropping and dropping.