# MLB: Post-Season 2019 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [September 30, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046 "2019-09-30T14:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 31
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/601 "2019-10-31T14:17:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > As long as the games are broadcast on TV, they will never appreciably shorten them. We all know the way to get sub-3 hours games is to kill all the commercial breaks. - Shorten breaks before it kills the sport, back to 70’s standards. That is at least 9 minutes per game clawed back. It will help. - Batters have to stay in the box. No more stepping out between every pitch. - Pitchers have to throw the ball. Get that pitch clock in, even when runners are on. - It’s drastic, but relievers having to face a minimum number of batters (or end the inning) will help the game more than it hurts it. This one is really happening I understand. - Too much is open to review. Not sure if it really is helping the game. It kills the pace of game. - Mound conference limitation has barely made a difference, maybe shorten the time too? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/602 "2019-10-31T14:18:51Z")
Verlander may be a future Hall of Fame member, but he stinks when it counts the most. In the World Series, Verlander is 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA in seven career starts. The Nationals should give him a full share for vital services rendered. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/603 "2019-10-31T14:21:04Z")
I fell asleep at 2-1, but was ecstatic to wake up at 3 a.m., and check my iPad to see the news the Nats beat the Astros. Been cheering them the whole time, and I will always root on the NL team (with the possible exception of rooting for the Indians, unless they’re playing my Cubs. And, yes, that means I’ll cheer on the Cards against any other AL team.) Plus what a great, wild Series with the home team losing every single game. Plus, I’ve always had a place in my heart for the Expos. A very satisfying Series ending for me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/604 "2019-10-31T14:22:47Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Congrats to Nats. The Road Warriors? > > Next year, lets give people what they really want, Yanks vs. Dodgers. Most of the people who want that are dead. Maybe you’ve heard this already, but the Dodgers aren’t in Brooklyn anymore. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/605 "2019-10-31T14:25:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > As long as the games are broadcast on TV, they will never appreciably shorten them. We all know the way to get sub-3 hours games is to kill all the commercial breaks. Absolutely. This also explains playing baseball until the end of October. Both of which drive away viewers. But as long as all the commercial time is still being grabbed up, this will not change. I used to be sad when the season was over; now I’m relieved. (All the tinkering with bullshit rules also drives me nuts but that’s another gripe.) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/606 "2019-10-31T14:45:07Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > - Shorten breaks before it kills the sport, back to 70’s standards. That is at least 9 minutes per game clawed back. It will help. > - Batters have to stay in the box. No more stepping out between every pitch. > - Pitchers have to throw the ball. Get that pitch clock in, even when runners are on. > - It’s drastic, but relievers having to face a minimum number of batters (or end the inning) will help the game more than it hurts it. This one is really happening I understand. > - Too much is open to review. Not sure if it really is helping the game. It kills the pace of game. > - Mound conference limitation has barely made a difference, maybe shorten the time too? Can we now all at least agree that the Phantom Intentional Walk hasn’t done a damn thing to shorten the games? and… oh yeah… Ladies and Gentlemen… your World Champion Washington Nationals! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/607 "2019-10-31T14:58:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I fell asleep at 2-1 I fell asleep before the Nats even scored. Been fighting off a head cold since Saturday afternoon and my body was telling me it’s time to lie down. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/608 "2019-10-31T15:03:52Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Verlander may be a future Hall of Fame member, but he stinks when it counts the most. In the World Series, Verlander is 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA in seven career starts. The Nationals should give him a full share for vital services rendered. This is baffling. Kershaw too. Great pitchers who fail when it counts most. It has to be mental, right? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/609 "2019-10-31T15:46:10Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > This is baffling. Kershaw too. Great pitchers who fail when it counts most. It has to be mental, right? Great pitchers also fail occasionally in mundane, low-stakes, middle-of-the-season games. Can we distinguish between “great pitchers who fail when it counts most” and “great pitchers who happen to have their failures in games when it counts most”? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/610 "2019-10-31T15:58:17Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Most of the people who want that are dead. Maybe you’ve heard this already, but the Dodgers aren’t in Brooklyn anymore. They are each leagues biggest draws in the 2 largest media markets. So it would help the World Series’ Ratings at least. Also they have played each other as NY vs. LA 4 times now. Still well short of the 7 for NYY vs. Brooklyn. It has been 38 years now since the last WS meeting. It is time. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/611 "2019-10-31T16:05:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Great pitchers also fail occasionally in mundane, low-stakes, middle-of-the-season games. Can we distinguish between “great pitchers who fail when it counts most” and “great pitchers who happen to have their failures in games when it counts most”? It’s the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/612 "2019-10-31T16:15:31Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > They are each leagues biggest draws in the 2 largest media markets. So it would help the World Series’ Ratings at least. Why should the ratings be important to us as fans and viewers? If people want to watch, great; if they don’t, no skin off of my back. Sure, baseball is a business, but it’s not like it’s going to go bankrupt and shut down. Worst possible result of poor ratings is a less lucrative TV contract and not-quite-so-stratospheric bidding over free agents. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/613 "2019-10-31T16:32:38Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Why should the ratings be important to us as fans and viewers? If people want to watch, great; if they don’t, no skin off of my back. > > Sure, baseball is a business, but it’s not like it’s going to go bankrupt and shut down. Worst possible result of poor ratings is a less lucrative TV contract and not-quite-so-stratospheric bidding over free agents. The rating is a decent indicator that it would be a popular match. From the AL Yanks or Red Sox will draw the most fans and from the NL; Dodgers, Giants, Cards & Cubs. Yanks vs. Dodgers has happened the most and covers the largest markets and is bi-coastal as a bonus. I think they are the 2 biggest international fan-bases. I know the Yanks are #1. Also I never expected to get into a debate over a plausible match up that was more than half joke. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/614 "2019-10-31T17:11:39Z")
GO NATS! This is the first time one of my teams has won a 7-game series to become champions. (I’m also a Colts fan). ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/615 "2019-10-31T17:13:42Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Why should the ratings be important to us as fans and viewers? If people want to watch, great; if they don’t, no skin off of my back. It will be when lack of ratings relegates the World Series to ESPN, or MLB Network, or the Regional Sports Networks, the way it did with the NHL for decades. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/616 "2019-10-31T17:50:49Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > It will be when lack of ratings relegates the World Series to ESPN, or MLB Network, or the Regional Sports Networks, the way it did with the NHL for decades. Other than the World Series, the baseball postseason hasn’t been on broadcast TV in decades. So already, all except for those 4-7 games, you’ve got to pay someone for the privilege of watching it. IOW, that wouldn’t be much of a change from the status quo. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/617 "2019-10-31T18:34:34Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Home team loses each and every game. First time in MLB history and I dare say never in any other sport for a 7 game series. If it happened in any other other sport I’d like to know. > > Fans in these parts look at Scherzer and Verlander and think: suppose they stayed in Detroit? Don’t know if any other time two future HOF pitchers have been former players for the same team. Never. In fact, after game 6 our (Blue Jays’) announcers mentioned that they had discovered that no team in MLB, NBA, or NHL had had the first 6 games of a 7 game series won by the away team. So that was a record–held for one while day–until last night. It certainly was a strange series. FWIW, I thought that Houston was playing in zombie mode once they fell behind 3-2. Their ninth inning, in particular, was pathetic. Here is an interesting stat. In their first 50 games of the season the Nats were 19-31. After that they won at a .6607 clip (74/112). The Astros season of 107/162 gives an average of .6605. I don’t know what happened after those first 50 games, but Washington was clearly a different team and one not inferior to Houston. Go (ex)Expos! ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/618 "2019-10-31T18:54:44Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I think I disagree. > > The rule says the batter is out if, because they were out of the running lane, they interfere with the fielder catching the ball. The rule also specifically says that the batter is allowed to leave the running lane to touch the base (duh, since the base is not in the running lane). > > Turner ran straight to first, which from the (right-handed) batter’s box put him generally on the fair side of the foul line; his foot touched the grass a couple times. The throw was from well into fair territory, so it didn’t come close to Turner’s path at all. The first baseman had a perfectly good look at the ball, but the throw ended up wide, and he couldn’t reach past Turner who arrived at the same time as the ball. The ball hit Turner in the back of his right leg just after his foot hit first base. > Now, I was cheering for the Nats, but I still think the correct ruling is that the only potential interference happened when Turner was literally touching first base, a place where he had every right to be by rule and therefore could not commit interference. The fact that he was out of the running lane earlier had nothing to do with the potential interference and therefore is immaterial. Play should stand. First of all it’s a judgement call and the umpire didn’t have to make that call. It’s a bullshit call to make considering the circumstances. I did not realize that Trea Turner was already on the bag when he touched the first baseman’s mitt. I think he ran into the mitt before he touched base. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/619 "2019-10-31T18:54:57Z")
Continue with the celebration, but when you’re ready to move on to the off-season, there is now [a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21948507#post21948507). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046/620 "2019-10-31T19:10:46Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > The Braves moved to Milwaukee in '54 (?) and won the WS in '57. Even better, the Dodgers moved to LA in '58 and won in '59. > [@cmkeller](#): > > While this doesn’t beat the aforementioned 1959 Dodgers (how could anyone?), in the “faster than the Nats” category, the Oakland A’s won the series in 1972, having moved from Kansas City in 1968. The Nats won their first WS in their 15th year in their new city. More rapid championships, most already mentioned: Brooklyn/LA Dodgers: 2 years (1958 to 1959) Boston/Milwaukee Braves: 5 years (1953 to 1957) Kansas City/Oakland A’s: 5 years (1968 to 1972) St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles: 12 years (1954 to 1966) Longer droughts: Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins: 27 years (1961-1987) Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves: 30 years (1966-1995) NY/SF Giants: 53 years (1958-2010) The Kansas City A’s never won a Series (13 years). The Washington Senators II/Texas Rangers (48 years) and Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers (50 years) are still waiting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season-2019/841046.md?page=32)