MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

Good. Baseball isn't a serious spectator sport. It's only interesting to statisticians. Now there will be more work for them to do, adjusting for bat type in addition to stadium dimensions, rule changes, etc. to compare players across eras. And more HRs might make it a little more interesting to spectators as long as the OBP doesn't increase to prolong an already too long game.

The statistical record might require a whole new set of asterisks for Torpedo-using batters.

> Good. Baseball isn't a serious spectator sport. It's only interesting to statisticians

What makes a spectator sport "serious"?

The average MLB game had almost 30,000 spectators in the 2024 season[1]. That's a lot of statisticians.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2024/10/01/mlb-atten...

You can put a basketball game on anywhere in the world, and people will watch it, even if they haven't watched basketball before. People only watch baseball out of tradition. MLB didn't even have a play clock until 2023, letting batters step out of the box at whim and create even longer periods with no action.

> You can put a basketball game on anywhere in the world, and people will watch it, even if they haven't watched basketball before

What the heck is this confident assertion based on?

From showing basketball to people who haven't watched a basketball game before.

baseball is a very complex game. That's what makes it so great to spectate. The footwork, the defensive organization, the dynamics between pitchers and hitters. Its expansive. There's so much to learn about, there's so many opportunities for unique play.

Just checkin’

Baseball is a different spectator sport. You don't have to pay attention to it 90% of the time. If you're looking for a game to pay attention to constantly, then yeah baseball's not ideal. But if you're looking for a game to put on in the background, or go to a ballpark and have a picnic, then baseball's the perfect sport. Also, regarding your last sentence, the new pitch clock rules in 2023 have helped a lot, bringing average game time from ~3 hours to ~2.5 hours, which seems like a small difference but has helped a surprising amount

I like to say that baseball goes perfectly with radio: it can be enjoyed as a low bitrate entertainment.

That said there’s actually a fair amount going on during any one play; who’s warming up in the pen? Where are fielders shifting to? What’s the lead off look like? television and radio both edit most of this out to focus on the pitcher or the hitter, which I think makes baseball less interesting to watch or listen to than to attend. Of course you might want to bring some extra entertainment to the park, just in case

Source: Trust me bro

My favorite thread here. In essence making the case for baseball in that you don’t have to pay attention and it’s even better when you can’t see it, only hear about it. But it’s all true. Having a game on the radio outside with a group of friends having a good time not really paying it too much mind and then everyone alert during a moment of built up tension and release is what summers are all about.

But what if I have watched basketball and I don't watch it. Basketball is a boring game until there's 5 minutes left.

Uhh basketball has plenty of issues, like 6 timeouts in the last two minutes, way to many 3s, traveling everywhere that make it hard to watch.

And then it takes 30 minutes to play the last 5 minutes... ugh.

How do three pointers or uncalled fouls make a game hard to watch? If anything, they make it easier for a first time watcher. Timeouts in the last few minutes happen only when the game is close, prolonging the suspense. If the game isn't close, it ends faster.

Baseball is twice as long and boring to most people all the way through, so we seem to be in agreement.