Marlins' Don Mattingly Says Baseball Is 'Sometimes Unwatchable' Amid Rising Strikeouts And Spate Of No Hitters

(CBSMiami)- Major League Baseball has seen six no hitters thrown through the first month and a half of the season, one shy of the record for a full season (seven) that's been done four times in league history (1990, 1991, 2012, 2015). No hitters, usually, are joyous occasions becoming the talk of the national sports conversation. This year however, they've led to more questions about the way the game is played and the dominance of pitchers. Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly said in his post-game press conference Thursday that the game has become unwatchable at times because of the lack of action.

Responding to a question from a reporter asking for his thoughts on the rash of no hitters to start the year, Mattingly said that while they're a great accomplishment, they're also a by product of the way the league has been trending for years now.

"Absolutely, if a guy throws a no no it's great for us. I'm just thinking about it, you asked me if I had thought about all these no hitters and I think, in general in the game that's really more the talk that where does this get better? Because it's great for your team when a guy throws a no no, it's great for that guy, it's a great accomplishment," Mattingly said. "But, when there's so many, so early, strikeouts are at an all-time high, things like that. It tells you that there are some issues in the game that need to be addressed. And they're going to take awhile. Because this started 15-16 years ago with the swing changes and the philosophy changes with all of the analytics of the three run homer and all that stuff. It's been coming and it's been building and now we're at a point where it's getting so much attention because it's just a game that sometimes is unwatchable. Guys you talk to, they don't even like watching games because there's nothing that goes on in them."

Marlins fans don't have to look far for evidence of what Mattingly is talking about. The team has struck out 426 times this season, sixth-most in MLB. The team batting average (.230) stunningly ranks near the middle of the pack in the league (19th).

Strikeouts have been on the rise consistently since 2006 but the pace has accelerated over the last six full seasons (2020 not included). There are plenty of factors, changes to hitters approaches at the plate, pitchers using foreign substances to increase grip and spin rate, and a change in how pitchers are used among them.

What changes to make in order to get more action in the game looks like it will continue to be a major topic of discussion throughout this MLB season.