You’re very astute on the lack of play, but I think you are missing the reason a little. MONEY! The game has been remade into a cash cow rather than a sport. All pro sports have. And rules go out the door shortly after they are proven an opponent of the transition. The game started changing dramatically in the 1980s when the long ball became the featured attraction. And it increased to the point of not being a team effort anymore but a player following.
So certain players were no longer paid to produce overall but to do one thing, dingers, pitchers didn’t go 9 innings, set up men were installed in staffs, and each team had a closer and until this year, specialty pitchers were in the pen. Utility players were more valuable if they could play numerous positions. And there was a steady run of a AAA team in the area to draw from quickly. So the roster isn’t 26 any more. And offence became the spotlight. Quick runs, not earned ones. And the addition of the DH.
They lowered the mound, decreased the strike zone and took more care to checking the ball for even a dirt spot. Fences were brought in, and the ball manufacturer was changed with a tighter wound core.
But batting averages went down while ERA’s went up. People don’t think about what that does to a game. It stops being a game and becomes an exhibition.
And the funny part to me is the amount of excitement involved as the lack of strategy goes down and the action comes almost to a halt. Outs made are mistakes almost as much as hits unless it is a home run by mishitting the ball.
A MLB players will bat, top end, around 650 times a year. Bonds is the single season HR leader with 73 in a single season in 2001. And on the average, batters in baseball, even with the DH, are striking out 23.7% of the appearances. And some wonder why the fans aren’t at the ball park? And the players have gone from a diverse group down to a breakdown of more than 40% of the league in Latin players, many that don’t even speak English which cuts down on player recognition. So the players are ghosts, not identifiable.
And as players got more spotlighted, they demanded more salary. And when ticket prices went to the moon and TV contracts got necessary, costs just short of burnout in the sun, people couldn’t afford tickets. And with the covid, it got worse. The players may have to go back to barnstorming to supplement their income for their mansions and cars. At least the second job is in the same field they have chosen.
wy69
This is happening in almost every sport now. Even in soccer, there are new players but unless their name is Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s nothing distinghuishable about them.