Baseball is changing, but is it for better or for worse?

Over the past couple of years, the game of baseball has changed significantly. From the ways players train to the ways players approach the game, the game has been made different. The question is, has it changed for better or for worse?

The energy that players show on the field os a lot more electric in today’s era of baseball. Bat flips after home runs happen almost every time now, while in earlier times they almost never happened. Some people do not like bat flips as they think it is showing the pitcher up. Dan Buffa, a sports reporter, said, “It’s sports and the last time I checked, human beings play them, so chill out about the bat flip and toss crying game.” Players have become more “disrespectful” and enthusiastic. Players are showing off a lot more and trying to draw attention from fans.

The style of play has changed big time in baseball, too. The shift is being played in the field a lot more often because of the pull hitter mentality becoming more constant. Pitchers have started to drastically walk a lot more batters due to intimidation at the plate. There is more intimidation because of the constant improvement from hitters. The home run is becoming a lot more common as players swing for it more. The New York Post says, “Thus, the best counter [to the increased difficulty in stringing together hits] was to try to generate runs with one swing.”

Technology has allowed players to study the game at a much higher level than in earlier times. Players have been taught to focus on launch angle and exit velocity. Chas Pippitt, a sports analyst, says research “goes into great detail about what launch angles are the most successful for everyone and who are the best “launch angle hitters” in Major League Baseball.” With the daily new info on launch angle, players have changed their swing to a more power-focused swing. This causes more home runs to be hit and slugging percentages to increase.

Even pitchers are changing their focuses in training. New technology has also impacted the pitching industry. They have started to focus more on velocity and spin rate. A sports writer, Tom Knuppel says, “A higher spin rate fastball will appear to rise, and is more difficult to square up.” The piece of equipment that reads spin rate is called a Rapsodo. It is used by all 30 MLB teams and over 175,000 players. Almost every pitcher training facility has one now as it gives a lot of helpful feedback.

In general, the game has changed significantly. From the passion and energy players have on the field to the technology being used to train, the game is constantly changing. The game is becoming more flashy and less gritty. The question I ask you is, do you think it is changing for better or for worse?