Eno Sarris uses a combination of player quotes and statistical evidence to paint a bleak picture of the state of putting the ball in play. Brandon Moss:
Moss thought that hitters and pitchers together were working hand in hand to increase strikeouts. “They pitch to limit contact, and to get weak contact. And once they get ahead, they pitch for a strikeout,” Moss pointed out. “How do we combat that? We don’t give in. They don’t give in, we don’t give in.”
That effect has been documented by Russell Carleton: players are eschewing the two-strike approach in order to swing for the fences and look fastball no matter the count. And maybe that’s a decent approach, because hitters aren’t even seeing fastballs on 2-0 and 3-0 counts like they used to. “3-0 changeups and curveballs,” Moss muttered. “How about an automatic heater down the middle on 2-0. That would get us more balls in play!”
There is a lot of ideas in the article, and most of them get shot down. Jay Bruce has the best take on possible rule changes:
Rule changes seem like monkeying with the game, anyway. “I believe, just like anything, there’s evolution,” said Bruce. “The game is always going to demand that you, as a player, make the necessary changes to be successful. Baseball is changing. Guys used to leave the glove on the field for the other guy to use it; it used to be as big as their heads.”
When Bruce summed it up, he hit a note that could sum up the effort to undo what has happened to baseball recently: “Everything always changes, everything gets better.”
I like that Bruce links evolution with getting better. Evolution is about better survival, and for a baseball player, it’s how do I stay in the game, and keep earning a large salary. A really extreme example of not putting the ball in play is Jabari Blash who owns a career .197/.328/.361 slash line in 177 career plate appearances. He accumulated 29 hits, 26 walks, and three hit by pitches, striking out 64 times. Twelve of his 29 hits went for extra bases, six home runs and six doubles. He put the ball in play 84 times (counting home runs), not in play 93 times. There looks to be a limit to evolution in that direction, however, as the Padres sent Blash back to the minors.
Bruce’s point, and the point of a number of the players in the article, is that the incentives of the game push both sides toward fewer batting events that involve a fielder. A few weeks ago I suggest a monetary incentive for speeding up the game, and the same could apply here. Pay batters and pitchers when a ball is put in play (non home runs). No penalty for other outcomes, since there are times when the strikeout, walk, or home run is the right move. The incentive would be priced so that a player would consider trying to meet the ball on a two-strike pitch, rather than swing for the fences. I think the two types of incentives would work very well together to speed the game and get more action.
If you want to change the direction of evolution, you need to upset the ecosystem. Prices are signals, and paying for balls in play and faster games should move the game in that direction.