Toonstruck 1 » The most-heard sound at major league

NEW YORK (AP) — ballparks this year was “Strike three!”A whiff of offense would be nice rather than all those nights filled with nonstop whiffs.Strikeouts will exceed hits over a full season for the first time in major league history. The overall batting average has dropped to its lowest level since 1972 Andrelton Simmons Jersey , the year before the designated hitter. Lefty hitters — facing smothering defensive shifts — have fared even worse, with their lowest average since 1968, before the pitcher’s mound was lowered.Starters throw fewer pitches and hard-throwing relievers are changed more frequently. The game has transformed at a dizzying pace.“We need to thoughtfully review the trends,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday.Manfred looks ahead to a postseason featuring 20-year-old Atlanta star Ronald Acuna Jr., Boston, the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs and possibly Los Angeles Dodgers, too.But much of the offseason will be spent analyzing historic changes.There were 40,196 strikeouts and 40,098 hits through Wednesday, and Ks exceeded hits over a full month for the first time in April, then again in June and September. Before this year, the previous low differential for a full month was in April 2017, when there were 138 more hits than strikeouts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Strikeouts have set a record for the 11th consecutive season http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-yunel-escobar-jersey , surpassing last year’s 40,104.The .248 big league batting average is down seven percentage points from last year and a Steroids Era high of .271 in 1999, part of an all-or-nothing approach at the plate. And the .244 average for left-handed hitters is the lowest since .242 in 1968, according to Elias, diminished by defensive shifts placing three infielders on the right side.No wonder batters swing for the fences.“Years ago, if a player had more strikeouts than hits, they didn’t get out of Class A ball,” said Dan Duquette, the Baltimore Orioles‘ executive vice president of baseball operations, who went on to suggest his solution.“Ted Williams had some good ideas: three balls and you go to first base; make home plate smaller so you don’t have to defend as much territory,” Duquette said.“It’s something to consider, because, really, it’s an entertainment business Martin Maldonado Jersey , right? That’s what the fans want to see. It’s a good place to start the discussion. Who am I to argue with the greatest hitter that ever lived?”The analytics revolution has metamorphosed this most traditional of sports. Innings per starting pitcher dropped from 5.89 in 2012 to 5.38 this year and pitches per start from 95 to 88 over the same period, according to Sports Info Solutions.Pitchers per game for both teams rose from 7.68 to 8.34 over that span, according to Major League Baseball, with average fastball velocity increasing from 91.6 mph to 92.8 mph over the past six years, according to Sports Info.“The players have been forced to adapt a lot over the last few years based on the changes that are being recommended to them, that are being guided by those not on the field. So the game has changed quite a bit,” said players’ association head Tony Clark, a former All-Star first baseman. “The question that I believe we all need to ask is based on where the game is, where the game appears to be going, if the current baseball fans find it appealing, if they are interested in the way the game is being played.”No big league team had fewer than 50 sacrifice bunts in 1972 and no club dropped below double digits until Texas had nine in 2005. This year, Toronto has five, Oakland six, and Boston and the Los Angeles Angels seven each.No pitcher has thrown more than two complete games. The previous low for a leader was four.James Shields with 11 in 2011 has been the only pitcher to reach double digits since Randy Johnson in 1999. The game was far different when Fernando Valenzuela had 20 in 1986; this year’s major league total is 41.“You see the bullpen earlier http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-j.-c.-ramirez-jersey ,” said Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez, the 2010 NL batting champion. “Back in the day, the biggest thing for a pitcher was going the distance. You don’t see a lot of complete games anymore. I feel like as a hitter, you have a better chance if you face a guy more than two or three times. Nowadays, you might face a starter twice and then get a lot of matchups: lefties on lefties, righties on righties.”Scoring at 4.45 runs per team per game is down only slightly from last year’s 4.65 and up from its recent low of 4.07 in 2014, with home runs averaging 1.15 per club per game, a decrease from last year’s 1.26 record.The “Three True Outcomes” have become the talk of dugouts, front offices and fans: walks, strikeouts and home runs.“People get locked into one type of swing, and they’re going to stick with it no matter what you do on the defensive side,” said Minnesota manager Paul Molitor, a Hall of Famer. “I think that’s why the effectiveness continues on the shift.”Manfred says changes are understandable.“I am not one to wail about the use of analytics,” he said. “You can’t stop really competitive Darin Erstad Jersey , smart people.”MLB and the union already have been talking. Their challenge is to decide whether narrowly tailored rules changes will counter changes, such as the use of minor league options and the disabled list to expand pitching staffs from 12-13 to what in effect is 17-18 for many clubs. The sides had an agreement in the last round of bargaining to expand the active roster from 25 to 26 from the start of the season through Aug. 31 and to lower it from 40 to 28 from Sept. 1 on, but the players backed out. Most teams would have carried another reliever.“I think it would have solved an even bigger problem, which is playing games differently in the month of September,” Manfred said. “It was a trade that I was prepared to make at the time I was doing the Basic Agreement. It was a trade I’m prepared to make now.”One trend players and management like: the average time of a nine-inning game has dropped to 3:00:35 from a record 3:05:11 last year, helped by new restrictions on mound visits. Trips to the mound without a pitching change have dropped from 7.41 to 4.00.“I don’t know if that’s necessarily the criteria as much as has it adversely affected the guys on the mound?” Clark said. “And the commentary that we’ve heard is no.”__AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley and AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Stephen Strasburg made all the necessary adjustments.The right-hander threw six effective innings, Matt Wieters hit a solo homer and the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 Monday night.Strasburg (7-7) gave up two runs and five hits, striking out five to rebound from a rough start against Philadelphia last week in his return from the disabled list.“So many little things hitters try to pick, so you always have to look at the tendencies,” Strasburg said. “It was progress.”The Phillies fell 3 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East after losing the opener for the seventh straight series. They’re 6-12 since Aug. 8 and have dropped five games in the standings during that span.Zach Eflin (9-5) allowed five runs — three earned — and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. His throwing error in the fourth cost him.The Nationals had the bases loaded with one out that inning when Strasburg put a bunt down. Eflin picked it up barehanded and his underhand toss to the plate sailed high for an error, allowing the go-ahead run to score.Adam Eaton followed with a slow roller to the same spot and Eflin made the exact same play and got the out at home.Trea Turner then knocked in another run on a bloop single that fell in because left fielder Rhys Hoskins broke back at first.“We gave them additional outs and you can’t do that against this team,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said.Eaton greeted reliever Luis Avilan with an RBI double in the sixth to make it 5-2.Hoskins crushed Ryan Madson’s first pitch in the eighth for his 27th homer.Justin Miller tossed a perfect ninth for his first save in his first try in his 39th appearance.“He comes in and brings so much energy on the mound,” Strasburg said. “The hard work pays off.”Washington took two of three from the Phillies at home last week after trading Daniel Murphy to the Cubs and Matt Adams to the Cardinals.Down 2-0 in the third, the Phillies tied it on an RBI triple by Roman Quinn and an RBI single by Cesar Hernandez. Strasburg struck out Asdrubal Cabrera swinging to strand runners at second and third.Eflin retired the first two batters before Bryce Harper http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-upton-jersey , Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto hit three straight singles in the first to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.Wieters led off the second with his sixth homer to make it 2-0. He said he was using a new bat after realizing the one he used the past few games was cracked.Strasburg allowed five runs and seven hits over four innings in Washington’s 8-7 win against Philadelphia last Wednesday.“He was able to locate his fastball, throw a high fastball, and made corrections since the last start,” Wieters said.BOOING THE BUFFALOWilson Ramos was thrown out trying to go first to third on Cabrera’s single to right and heard boos from Phillies fans even though he is playing hurt. Ramos recently returned from a hamstring injury and isn’t healthy enough to do more than jog, but he’s Philadelphia’s cleanup hitter and wants to be in the lineup to help the team chase a playoff spot.“He’s playing through a lot,” Kapler said. “He’s a guy who gives everything he has and he showed a lot of toughness.”NEW MAN ON TOPQuinn led off for the first time and Hernandez batted third for just the third time in 641 career games.TRAINER’S ROOMNationals: RHP Kelvin Herrera was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a torn Lisfranc ligament in his left foot. Madson took his spot after he was reinstated from the DL.Phillies: LHP Austin Davis (lower back tightness) began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. … INF Pedro Florimon (broken right foot) is continuing his rehab in Triple-A. … RHP Jerad Eickhoff (lat strain, finger) is expected to join the team when rosters expand Saturday.UP NEXTRHP Aaron Nola (15-3, 2.13 ERA) and RHP Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.13) face each other for the second straight outing when the Phillies and Nationals meet Tuesday night. Nola tossed eight innings in Philadelphia’s 2-0 win at Washington last Thursday.