You gotta give the people what they want -- and apparently MLB's internal polling shows that baseball fans want balls in play.
This nugget comes courtesy of veteran baseball executive Theo Epstein, formerly of the Red Sox and Cubs, who is now working as a consultant for MLB in its bid to optimize the game for fan consumption.
Epstein, 47, recently spoke to ESPN for a wide-ranging report on MLB's efforts toward this end, including its attempts to curb the polarizing explosion in strikeouts that the game has seen over the past half-decade.
The strikeout revolution in turn has led to a sharp decrease in balls in play, which is increasingly robbing fans of plays they find most exciting, including extra-base hits and stolen bases, Epstein explained.
"There's a lot more consensus on the direction of where the game should go," he told the outlet. "A lot more balls in play, a lot more athleticism, a lot more action. In the fan survey, three favorites at a game are triples, doubles and stolen bases."
According to ESPN, triples are pacing for a full-season low, doubles are down to their lowest rates in 30-plus years, and games are seeing the fewest stolen bases on a per-team basis since the mound was lowered in 1969, following the infamous Year of the Pitcher in '68.
While strikeouts are up, and balls in play and averages are down, it's not exactly accurate to say offense is down across the board. The 2019 season shattered the previous mark for total home runs hit in a season, and while the long ball rate was down a bit early in 2021, it was still in keeping with those of the second half of the last decade, when MLB is thought to have first started altering the ball.
All of which is to say, the preeminence of the "three true outcomes" -- walks, strikeouts and home runs -- is still very much in tact, despite baseball's efforts to put the ball in play more by leveling the playing field for hitters.
While controversial "substance checks" for pitchers are MLB's most obvious attempt at goosing balls in play, there are other, more drastic measures being tried out in the minor leagues.
Among the more notable of those potential tweaks is the independent Pioneer League's plan to move the mound back by about a foot, which according to Epstein could make a difference of more than a mile per hour on a pitcher's offerings.
The last couple years have brought some fairly drastic rule changes to MLB, including seven-inning doubleheaders, "ghost" runners on second base in extra innings, and the three-batter minimum for pitchers. And, from the sound of it, there may be more changes coming. Stay tuned.
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