ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - It's a question many baseball fans ask each other on bar stools and couch cushions: "What's one rule Major League Baseball should change to make the game better?"
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Well, we asked a man who actually has some say in possible rule changes, St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, who sits on the Playing Rules Committee. After admitting that he wasn't really prepared for the question by our Mike Claiborne during Sports On a Sunday Morning, here's what he said:
"I would probably have to say the strike zone. In terms of the ability to really change how that is called. Because I think if you have the ability to lower it to some extent you might change the high fastball, high spin, which I think in a lot of ways leads to high strikeouts."
Discouraging pitchers from throwing 98-105mph fastballs with massive spin rates may also be a move that would protect hitters, as Mozeliak and the Cardinals saw a handful of what could have been tragic hit-by-pitches this season. Most notably, the pitch from Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera that hit 2021 NL MVP Bryce Harper in the cheek.
"The strike zone could really change how we think about the current game. One of the things that I think baseball would like to see is more balls in play, less strikeouts. And perhaps lowering the zone a little bit to get more balls in play might be something that from a fan's standpoint might interest a lot of people."
Speaking of rules that would affect the pace of the game, Mozeliak also mentioned his support for a pitch clock to come to the majors after some experimentation in the minors last season and Arizona Fall League in recent years.
"It is noticeable. It's working at those lower levels so I don't know why you wouldn't want to try to see something at the major-league level that would maybe help shorten the length of a game but also create more pace. I'd be in favor of that."
And while we had Mo on the air, we got some insight into any possible additions coming to the MLB squad via trade or free agency.
Mozeliak first agreed that "pitching, pitchers and maybe a little bit more pitching" is the biggest area of need for St. Louis. He says he's also excited about a number of prospects who he expected to be coming up to St. Louis within "the next 24 months" and doesn't want new additions to block their paths to the big leagues.
He also doused any rumors of the Cardinals' possible pursuit of a free agent short stop:
"I like our everyday club. We just touched on a lot of these younger players. And probably the one area that gets picked on a lot is short stop and I just want to remind people that 2020 was a tough year for Paul DeJong with COVID, there's no doubt. And this past year his broke his ribs and when you're a hitter that's tough. So as we look to 2022 I'm pretty optimistic that you're going to see something out of him. But in the mean time, there's lots of doors to be knocked and phone numbers to be dialed so we'll see what happens over the next two months."
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