Potential new MLB rules

[Todd4State]

1. There is talk of a universal DH in both leagues. Personally I like the fact that pitchers hit in one league and not the other but this wouldn't bother me. My idea is to let pitchers hit and have a DH- so 10 in the batting order. And let MLB teams can pick any pitcher to hit whether he is playing or not or has been subbed out.


2. There is talk of lowering the mound or moving the mound further back. Thanks Jordan Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, and Justin Verlander.** I don't really like this rule. I like watching pitchers dominate some.


3. Pitchers would have to pitch to three batters at a minimum. So- no more LOOGY throws one pitch and gets a LH hitter out and then bring in someone else. Really would change strategy- of course relief pitchers that have closer splits would be valued more than ever. I think this could lead to more intentional walks potentially. Like- have a LHP throw to a LH hitter, IWBB RH hitter and then come back and throw to a LH hitter. The main intent is to minimize pitching changes leading to shorter game times and more offense. Again- not wild about this. You should be able to use players as you see fit.

4. Expanding rosters from 25 to 26. I LIKE this. Personally I'd expand it to 28.

5. Talk about changing how service time is calculated. This NEEDS to be done. Teams are keeping good players in the minors so that they can save money down the road. Which honestly sucks for the player and the fans. See Hunter Renfroe. Like the talk here.

Basically MLB is trying to shorten games and create more offense. I say legalize steroids and let's have 1998 but now with pitchers throwing 105 MPH.

I also hope to see MLB expand to Montreal and Las Vegas.

[ckDOG]

Not a big baseball guy but rules changes are always interesting.

1) where did the talk about eliminating the shift go? Last I heard some were tossing around the idea of requiring a minimum number of players on each side of the center line. I hope it died. That's risk reward defense that can be beaten by signing versatile batters.

2) if the goal is shorter games, why not regulate how many pitches a relief guy must make in the BP before coming in and cut the on field transition from one pitcher to the other? Or is the transition time more for the benefit of the batter than it is for getting a pitcher warm? Or, regulate the amount of pitchers you can have active foe a game so there is less incentive for a LOOGY.

[Schultzy]

http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/8126341/mlb-pace-play-problem

The problem has been too much time between pitches (last 25 years or so at least). The pitcher just needs to get on the mound and pitch, the hitter just needs to get his ass in the box and get ready to hit.

And the umpires need backing from the league to enforce this because there are too many human rain delays between pitches. There was a thread about this Rick Reilly article when it came out in 2011 and many in the thread panned it but I agree with it.

[Liverpooldawg]

1. There is talk of a universal DH in both leagues. Personally I like the fact that pitchers hit in one league and not the other but this wouldn't bother me. My idea is to let pitchers hit and have a DH- so 10 in the batting order. And let MLB teams can pick any pitcher to hit whether he is playing or not or has been subbed out.


2. There is talk of lowering the mound or moving the mound further back. Thanks Jordan Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, and Justin Verlander.** I don't really like this rule. I like watching pitchers dominate some.


3. Pitchers would have to pitch to three batters at a minimum. So- no more LOOGY throws one pitch and gets a LH hitter out and then bring in someone else. Really would change strategy- of course relief pitchers that have closer splits would be valued more than ever. I think this could lead to more intentional walks potentially. Like- have a LHP throw to a LH hitter, IWBB RH hitter and then come back and throw to a LH hitter. The main intent is to minimize pitching changes leading to shorter game times and more offense. Again- not wild about this. You should be able to use players as you see fit.

4. Expanding rosters from 25 to 26. I LIKE this. Personally I'd expand it to 28.

5. Talk about changing how service time is calculated. This NEEDS to be done. Teams are keeping good players in the minors so that they can save money down the road. Which honestly sucks for the player and the fans. See Hunter Renfroe. Like the talk here.

Basically MLB is trying to shorten games and create more offense. I say legalize steroids and let's have 1998 but now with pitchers throwing 105 MPH.

I also hope to see MLB expand to Montreal and Las Vegas.

The DH is a Communist plot designed to bring down America.

[Cooterpoot]

Pitchers aren’t paid to hit.

[Goldendawg]

I watch college baseball when State plays. My family, late Dad and his brothers brought me up a Cardinals fan when I was a boy in the early 60's. Spent many a summer night out in the car with them listening to them on the radio (it had the best reception). Later, as a teen, it broke my heart when they traded Ted (Simba) Simmons. I never followed them again. Was a a big A's fan when they were so wild and winning so many World Series. Quit following MLB when the salaries got so far out of hand. Will always remember the quote of Tug McGraw, when he signed his first $100K salary, "I'm gonna spend 90% of it on wine, women, and song and waste the rest." Read that in "Sports Illustrated". The Yankees during the Reggie and Catfish years were good. Haven't followed it since. Do follow State players in the league. That's it.

[Maroonthirteen]

Only rules change needs to be, DH
Both leagues. Also require pitchers to throw fastballs. Maybe a smaller strike zone. Make it a scoring game.

[Really Clark?]

Only rules change needs to be, DH
Both leagues. Also require pitchers to throw fastballs. Maybe a smaller strike zone. Make it a scoring game.

Require pitchers to throw fastballs? You mean only fastballs? If so that’s a big no and won’t ever happen. And shouldn’t. Scoring is fine and been rising the last 4 seasons

[Todd4State]

Require pitchers to throw fastballs? You mean only fastballs? If so that’s a big no and won’t ever happen. And shouldn’t. Scoring is fine and been rising the last 4 seasons

I think they want even more offense though. Just about every rule is aimed at that. Home runs did go down by about 500 last year. Not really enough to be a trend- sure. But I think MLB is wanting McGwire/Sosa/Bonds type seasons from players now that they game is "cleaned up".

[Pit Bull]

I'm old school. Pitchers gotta hit!!

[Cooterpoot]

If MLB wants high scoring games, then let them juice. Stop keeping these guys out of HOF when MLB is minipulating the game to get bigger numbers just like those guys were doing.

[MetEdDawg]

1. There is talk of a universal DH in both leagues. Personally I like the fact that pitchers hit in one league and not the other but this wouldn't bother me. My idea is to let pitchers hit and have a DH- so 10 in the batting order. And let MLB teams can pick any pitcher to hit whether he is playing or not or has been subbed out.


2. There is talk of lowering the mound or moving the mound further back. Thanks Jordan Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, and Justin Verlander.** I don't really like this rule. I like watching pitchers dominate some.


3. Pitchers would have to pitch to three batters at a minimum. So- no more LOOGY throws one pitch and gets a LH hitter out and then bring in someone else. Really would change strategy- of course relief pitchers that have closer splits would be valued more than ever. I think this could lead to more intentional walks potentially. Like- have a LHP throw to a LH hitter, IWBB RH hitter and then come back and throw to a LH hitter. The main intent is to minimize pitching changes leading to shorter game times and more offense. Again- not wild about this. You should be able to use players as you see fit.

4. Expanding rosters from 25 to 26. I LIKE this. Personally I'd expand it to 28.

5. Talk about changing how service time is calculated. This NEEDS to be done. Teams are keeping good players in the minors so that they can save money down the road. Which honestly sucks for the player and the fans. See Hunter Renfroe. Like the talk here.

Basically MLB is trying to shorten games and create more offense. I say legalize steroids and let's have 1998 but now with pitchers throwing 105 MPH.

I also hope to see MLB expand to Montreal and Las Vegas.

Things I like:

Change in service time calculation and roster expansion

Things I hate:

Lowering the mound and forcing pitchers to face 3 batters.

Things I loathe entirely

Universal DH

All of these are going to be issues though. Baseball is trying to expand to broaden the fan base. But I heard a great argument the other day. Baseball can't be both in favor of a pitch clock to try and shorten games while also being in favor of universal DH. DH on average will have around double the BA of a pitcher which will lengthen NL games.

I'm a baseball purist and always have been. Grew up playing the game and have since coached it at the high school level. I love the strategy. Bunting, having to make decision on situationally replacing your starting pitcher if they are coming up to hit in a critical mid game scenario, using bullpen guys situationally. That's what makes baseball great. But most fans don't watch sports to think. They watch sports to be entertained and for the majority of people watching sports, watching people fail 70-80% of the time in the run scoring part of the game makes it inherently not entertaining for many.

I'll be interested to see what takes hold and what doesn't.

[shoeless joe]

I love the NL style of play and the difference between that and the AL is the DH. so I wouldn’t support that change. Also, I love watching good pitching and don’t need 8-5 type games to enjoy baseball. IMO the game has gotten back to where it needs to be...30 homers means something, .320 avg is elite.

I wouldn’t mind seein some pitching change rule changes like mentioned and could do without the shift although it isn’t a deal breaker for me

[Spectre]

The main focus of MLB right now should be getting more balls in play and lessening the number of strikeouts. The fan experience is getting dull and attendance is dropping. Lower the mound!

Ban the overshift. Yes it goes against my sensibilities, I don?t care. We need more offense and BALLS IN PLAY. Lefties now essentially are HR, BB, or bust. Unfair since you have to run to first base, I doubt the shifts would be as dramatic if players had the option to run to 3B on a batted ball. You MUST have four players on the dirt (standardized dirt layouts/white line for AstroTurf) at the time the ball crosses the plate AND two must be on each side of 2B... OF can shift as normal.

The universal DH is a must. Pitchers are worse than ever at the plate and there is too much invested in them by the clubs for them to be at the plate. What if NFL teams required 2 running plays for kickers each game.

Love the expanded rosters and the idea of limiting the number of pitchers on each roster to 12.

LOVE the three batter minimum or end an inning rule. I would alter it though and allow a change IF you allow a runner to get on base. So if a pitcher comes in and strikes a guy out he has to face the next guy but if he gets on you can yank him. Excluding IBB?s of course.

[Quaoarsking]

There's no reason to ban the shift. If a batter can't do this, he deserves to be out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R01CYgrEEZ0

[msstate7]

There's no reason to ban the shift. If a batter can't do this, he deserves to be out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R01CYgrEEZ0

I don't wanna ban the shift; but as a braves' fan, I don't want Ronald acuna, Freddie freeman, or josh Donaldson laying down bunts... well, unless it's a must we get someone on. I wanna see sluggers slug

[The Federalist Engineer]

Too many teams is the problem. Not the game itself. It's a crazy idea but shorten the season to 100 games and have MLB1 and MLB2 where the worst 2 teams auto drop to MLB2 and 3rd and 4th play in a survival playoff

Getting dropped creates serious survival drama

[msstate7]

Too many teams is the problem. Not the game itself. It's a crazy idea but shorten the season to 100 games and have MLB1 and MLB2 where the worst 2 teams auto drop to MLB2 and 3rd and 4th play in a survival playoff

Getting dropped creates serious survival drama

I love the long season.

[MetEdDawg]

The main focus of MLB right now should be getting more balls in play and lessening the number of strikeouts. The fan experience is getting dull and attendance is dropping. Lower the mound!

Ban the overshift. Yes it goes against my sensibilities, I don?t care. We need more offense and BALLS IN PLAY. Lefties now essentially are HR, BB, or bust. Unfair since you have to run to first base, I doubt the shifts would be as dramatic if players had the option to run to 3B on a batted ball. You MUST have four players on the dirt (standardized dirt layouts/white line for AstroTurf) at the time the ball crosses the plate AND two must be on each side of 2B... OF can shift as normal.

The universal DH is a must. Pitchers are worse than ever at the plate and there is too much invested in them by the clubs for them to be at the plate. What if NFL teams required 2 running plays for kickers each game.

Love the expanded rosters and the idea of limiting the number of pitchers on each roster to 12.

LOVE the three batter minimum or end an inning rule. I would alter it though and allow a change IF you allow a runner to get on base. So if a pitcher comes in and strikes a guy out he has to face the next guy but if he gets on you can yank him. Excluding IBB?s of course.

Someone made this argument the other day on the radio. The original rules of the NFL don't require kickers to run the ball. But the original rules of baseball did require pitchers to hit until they were modified for the AL to have a DH. There's a big difference there between those two scenarios because one requires a position to do something not asked of him in the rules.

All of your rules changes you want are for one reason. Fan interest. And that's why baseball is looking at them. I personally hate them except for the roster expansion. That I'm in agreement with. But I don't like rules telling a manager how he can use his players. I think that's insane. Well coach you have to use your pitcher for 3 batters. That's like saying you can't sub out your DL on 2nd or 3rd down because he has to play at least 3 plays on a drive even though you have a better situational matchup on the bench. That to me is insane, although I do believe that there is potential room for compromise because of the situational micromanaging of some managers and throwing guys too many times in a span of days. I think mandatory rest days after a certain number of days pitching would be an alternative. But I don't like requiring someone to perform a certain number of times. That's not required in any other team sport.

[Spectre]

The sport will wither and die on its current trajectory. Three true outcomes may be the most efficient mechanism right now but it results in a boring game of standing around. It’s incentivized further by the overshift. The game will slowly fade into more obscurity without incentivizing balls in play. That’s the bottom line.

Add DH
Ban infield shifts
Ban one batter specialists
Lower mound - hell move the thing back to 61’ while we’re at it

All of these work to to produce a better product AND game. Singles should be singles not lineouts to the 2B playing 40 feet into RF.


I would also LOVE for the minor league system to somehow be transformed to a relegation type setup. Four AAA teams rise each year to the big leagues. 2 AL and 2 NL. It would revamp the entire minor league system but would expand interest in the sport all over America.

[The Federalist Engineer]

I love the long season.

The 1920 season...

No silly divisions, just 8 and 8 with a long season

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Major_League_Baseball_season

[msstate7]

The sport will wither and die on its current trajectory. Three true outcomes may be the most efficient mechanism right now but it results in a boring game of standing around. It’s incentivized further by the overshift. The game will slowly fade into more obscurity without incentivizing balls in play. That’s the bottom line.

Add DH
Ban infield shifts
Ban one batter specialists
Lower mound - hell move the thing back to 61’ while we’re at it

All of these work to to produce a better product AND game. Singles should be singles not lineouts to the 2B playing 40 feet into RF.


I would also LOVE for the minor league system to somehow be transformed to a relegation type setup. Four AAA teams rise each year to the big leagues. 2 AL and 2 NL. It would revamp the entire minor league system but would expand interest in the sport all over America.

Wither and die?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/11/22/mlb-revenues-exceed-10-billion/890041001/

Attendance down, yet revenue is up

[MetEdDawg]

You want to get rid of the shift? Tell players to grow nuts and bunt against it. They refuse to do it. Teach guys how to hit the ball.

We want more action according to some, but they mean homers. They want more homers and that what we are getting. Unfortunately to get that you have to increase strikeouts and that's what we get too. We don't have guys hitting 50 anymore but we've got a bunch of guys hitting 15-20 now. Boom or bust is what's been created.

[Quaoarsking]

The "original rules" argument doesn't hold much water either, since the rules are drastically different today than they were in the 1860s in areas way beyond the DH.

[fader2103]

I say eliminate the DH in both leagues. I'm a fan of small ball and like the chess match it brings with you deciding to put down a bunt. Give the hitter the green light or sub in.

[Spectre]

You want to get rid of the shift? Tell players to grow nuts and bunt against it. They refuse to do it. Teach guys how to hit the ball.

We want more action according to some, but they mean homers. They want more homers and that what we are getting. Unfortunately to get that you have to increase strikeouts and that's what we get too. We don't have guys hitting 50 anymore but we've got a bunch of guys hitting 15-20 now. Boom or bust is what's been created.

Boom or Bust is boring. MLB is becoming more and more irrelevant. Lower the mound, back it up six inches, and kill the shift. Keep low seams to reduce movement on pitches but deaden the ball just a tad so it pays more to hit line drives than fly out to the warning track. We need balls in play..Action... College has the right balance now.

Get radical. Make an inning 4 outs instead of three.

The nba added a three point line. Radical. They need to follow the Colin Cowherd idea and have the line go out on the side of the court and eliminate the corner 3.

[Quaoarsking]

I was a sub-.100 hitter my last year of Little League and even I could lay down a bunt in the general direction I wanted to. If hitters don't want to be shifted against, all they have to do it prove that they can regularly hit it to the spots of the field that are left open.

Should football defenses be required to cover the field evenly rather than focusing on spots where the QB is most likely to throw it? Of course not, and the same principle applies to baseball defenses.

[BoomBoom]

1. There is talk of a universal DH in both leagues. Personally I like the fact that pitchers hit in one league and not the other but this wouldn't bother me. My idea is to let pitchers hit and have a DH- so 10 in the batting order. And let MLB teams can pick any pitcher to hit whether he is playing or not or has been subbed out.


2. There is talk of lowering the mound or moving the mound further back. Thanks Jordan Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, and Justin Verlander.** I don't really like this rule. I like watching pitchers dominate some.


3. Pitchers would have to pitch to three batters at a minimum. So- no more LOOGY throws one pitch and gets a LH hitter out and then bring in someone else. Really would change strategy- of course relief pitchers that have closer splits would be valued more than ever. I think this could lead to more intentional walks potentially. Like- have a LHP throw to a LH hitter, IWBB RH hitter and then come back and throw to a LH hitter. The main intent is to minimize pitching changes leading to shorter game times and more offense. Again- not wild about this. You should be able to use players as you see fit.

4. Expanding rosters from 25 to 26. I LIKE this. Personally I'd expand it to 28.

5. Talk about changing how service time is calculated. This NEEDS to be done. Teams are keeping good players in the minors so that they can save money down the road. Which honestly sucks for the player and the fans. See Hunter Renfroe. Like the talk here.

Basically MLB is trying to shorten games and create more offense. I say legalize steroids and let's have 1998 but now with pitchers throwing 105 MPH.

I also hope to see MLB expand to Montreal and Las Vegas.

Allow the DH, but shift the rules against it enough that a good hitting pitcher would be preferable to using an average DH. At a minimum, make the DH bat ninth. Shift it back to being for hitters to have a day off from the field, and away from professional DHs. Maybe go even further, like 3 balls to a pitcher is a walk, 2 strikes to a DH is a K. A pitcher gets an extra base after a hit.

[Really Clark?]

As regards to the shift, you don’t even have to bunt to beat it (even though players suck at it in today’s game because they don’t spend time on it) but you don’t have to pull everything close to the strike zone. Teams don’t even have to try and work middle in to a hitter to make sure they pull it. The constantly work away to a pull shift because a lot of hitters don’t hit oppo. Even commentators talk about this in games a lot. Drive a ball oppo enough and the make them pay for shifts.

[Really Clark?]

I think they want even more offense though. Just about every rule is aimed at that. Home runs did go down by about 500 last year. Not really enough to be a trend- sure. But I think MLB is wanting McGwire/Sosa/Bonds type seasons from players now that they game is "cleaned up".

It was still very high. The 3 of the 4 highest HR totals in history were 2017, 2016, and 2018. (In order with 2000 as the second most). It?s already turned as far as HR the last 3 years.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Too many teams is the problem. Not the game itself. It's a crazy idea but shorten the season to 100 games and have MLB1 and MLB2 where the worst 2 teams auto drop to MLB2 and 3rd and 4th play in a survival playoff

Getting dropped creates serious survival drama

The fight to avoid relegation in European soccer creates almost the same level of entertainment when watching two of the worst teams in the league play as watching the two teams fighting for the championship. It'll never happen, but it would be nice to force the likes of the Marlins to not be able to just pack it in and call it a season 30 games in every year.

If you want to get really radical, there's basically already a 4 level pyramid in professional baseball. Imagine the MS Braves at least having the potential to able to work their way up to the MLB. Again, will never happen, but its fun to play with.

[Spectre]

We are almost to the point where 1/4 of at bats ends in a K. A bunch of .230, 25 HR, 175 K hitters makes for a horrible product.

[The Federalist Engineer]

We are almost to the point where 1/4 of at bats ends in a K. A bunch of .230, 25 HR, 175 K hitters makes for a horrible product.

It's a Dan Uggla league ... Mark Lemke is extinct

Lemke struckout 348 times in 11 wonderful years of production...a piece of work like Uggla has stuckout 1348 in 10 years with half that time as a journeyman

[Cooterpoot]

Baseball is going to kill itself while trying to increase offensive numbers. They don’t realize most fans like the game for things other than the HR. When it becomes the NBA on a diamond I’m done with it. Especially when Bonds and Raffy etc. are banned for basically doing the same thing.
Let’s hit HRs and score a lot, but ban the guys that hit HRs and drove in runs and call them cheaters. MLB is trying to cheat the fans.

[msstate7]

It's a Dan Uggla league ... Mark Lemke is extinct

Lemke struckout 348 times in 11 wonderful years of production...a piece of work like Uggla has stuckout 1348 in 10 years with half that time as a journeyman

Dan uggla was a much better player than lemke.

Lemke career slash line: .246/.317/.324
Uggla: .241/.336/.447

fWAR...
Lemke 7.0 over 11 seasons ~ 0.64 per season
Uggla 23.4 over 10 seasons ~ 2.34 per season

[Spectre]

Baseball is going to kill itself while trying to increase offensive numbers. They don’t realize most fans like the game for things other than the HR. When it becomes the NBA on a diamond I’m done with it. Especially when Bonds and Raffy etc. are banned for basically doing the same thing.
Let’s hit HRs and score a lot, but ban the guys that hit HRs and drove in runs and call them cheaters. MLB is trying to cheat the fans.

I think you can increase scoring AND make for a more exciting product. Let’s discuss things that seem way out there, but could juice excitement back into the game.

Reduce the defense to 8 players

Make the game 4 outs per inning rather than 3, but a strikeout counts for 2 outs.

Lower the mound a bit and move it to 61’.

[IMissJack]

I don't see how more offense leads to shorter games. If anything, more offense will just cause me to watch less. The fastest games I've ever seen are all pitcher dominated.

[Quaoarsking]

How about don't do anything radical to the game other than enforce a clock between pitches and innings? And I guess the DH for the National League is fine, but mainly for competitive reasons - during Interleague Play, the AL has a 9th everyday player that the NL doesn't have, and I don't like the imbalance.

I brainstormed one time maybe if a batter strikes out for the 3rd time in a game, he's ejected. I don't necessarily advocate it, but it would be interesting to see an Independent League try it and see if/how it changes things.

[coachnorm]

Baseball is probably aware of its crossroads. The young will not accept the game and its traditions because it is slow and boring because of its slowness. The old have accepted baseball's traditions and hold on. There is now a conflict of interest between the generations and the traditionalist are dieing off because of old age. Baseball just wants the money which means commercials which causes interruptions and the young will not tolerate this so hard decisions have to be made. To sustain itself baseball has to accommodate the young. Because of baseball not moving in a timely manner, a generation has turned its back on the game. Baseball better speed up the pitchers and ban the batters from leaving the box in additions to others things that breach traditional baseball or be be prepared for a bad future.

[Choctaw Dawg]

We are almost to the point where 1/4 of at bats ends in a K. A bunch of .230, 25 HR, 175 K hitters makes for a horrible product.

I 100% agree with this, the fact that Bryce Harper is about to get a huge contract when he hit .217 last year is cause of a horrible product.

[msstate7]

I 100% agree with this, the fact that Bryce Harper is about to get a huge contract when he hit .217 last year is cause of a horrible product.

No he didn't. Bryce slash line: .249/.393/.496. Ops .889

[Spectre]

I don't see how more offense leads to shorter games. If anything, more offense will just cause me to watch less. The fastest games I've ever seen are all pitcher dominated.

If you incentivize balls in play and punish strikeouts you won?t have 10 pitch AB?s. Game moves quicker and has more action. The problem is sitting around bored watching the pitcher and catcher throw it back and forth while batter slowly walks back to the dugout or to 1B. HR?s are fun, but a couple fun 10 seconds over 3 hours does not a good product make.

[IMissJack]

Making the umps call balls and strikes the way the did in the old days, as the rules are written (letters to the knees) would force hitters to swing instead of waiting for a perfect pitch, since the actual strike zone called today is small. Watch old film, and the catchers are barely squatting behind the batter sometimes.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Dan uggla was a much better player than lemke.

Lemke career slash line: .246/.317/.324
Uggla: .241/.336/.447

fWAR...
Lemke 7.0 over 11 seasons ~ 0.64 per season
Uggla 23.4 over 10 seasons ~ 2.34 per season

Your right- I am over emphasizing that Uggla only became garbage in Atlanta, when it mattered to me.

But, Uggla was getting paid like a marquee player. Where Lemke was clutch in the post season and not paid to lead the team in RBIs

Now I am throwing an ace. Gary Sheffield is my guy. He struckout fewer times in 22 years of glorious baseball than the new normal Uggla in 11 years. Comparing marquee salary to marquee salary.

[BrunswickDawg]

Dan uggla was a much better player than lemke.

Lemke career slash line: .246/.317/.324
Uggla: .241/.336/.447

fWAR...
Lemke 7.0 over 11 seasons ~ 0.64 per season
Uggla 23.4 over 10 seasons ~ 2.34 per season

I'd take a team of 9 ATL Lemkes and beat your team of 9 ATL Ugglas 9 out of 10 times. FWar be damned.

[msstate7]

I'd take a team of 9 ATL Lemkes and beat your team of 9 ATL Ugglas 9 out of 10 times. FWar be damned.

You better have 9 of Pedro Martinez bc you wouldn't score a lick. Want me to compare their career hits, walks, extra base hits? Lemke was a good glove and that's it. He was a black hole on offense

[msstate7]

What a lot of you guys miss in the Ks are bad are that they only count as one out. Case in point, the 2 being discussed here...

Lemke in career 3664 PA, lemke had 94 GIDP.
Uggla in career 5509 PA, uggla had 75 GIDP

So in 1845 less PA, lemke hit into 19 more double plays. Lemke got 2 outs at a much higher clip... maybe more Ks by Lemke would've been a good thing

[RougeDawg]

Baseball is going to kill itself while trying to increase offensive numbers. They don?t realize most fans like the game for things other than the HR. When it becomes the NBA on a diamond I?m done with it. Especially when Bonds and Raffy etc. are banned for basically doing the same thing.
Let?s hit HRs and score a lot, but ban the guys that hit HRs and drove in runs and call them cheaters. MLB is trying to cheat the fans.

What this guy says. MLB is falling into the trap of the instant grits, instant news, impatient society we have today add in that baseball is a thinking mans game, you already eliminate a large swath of the population as viewers. Those clowns aren?t watching any way. Why piss off the loyal fans you do have to cater to those who will never attend even if you allow the defense to hit the guy with the ball for an out or allow the hitter to carry the bat and knock the throws away.

TV coverage was the biggest factor in baseball attendance. Baseball is played during the hottest time of the year and the clients most apt to attend are 40+. As they age the AC and Couch start to look more appealing than 95 degree stands. It still amazes me that they still build professional sports stadiums south of the Ohio river without some sort of retractable roof. Houston routinely air conditions the stadium all day and just opens up for the game. Makes it much more bearable to watch in the sweltering summer months.

Bottom line is yes, MLB must get creative but they cannot try to cater to an audience that never will attend.

[coachnorm]

What this guy says. MLB is falling into the trap of the instant grits, instant news, impatient society we have today add in that baseball is a thinking mans game, you already eliminate a large swath of the population as viewers. Those clowns aren?t watching any way. Why piss off the loyal fans you do have to cater to those who will never attend even if you allow the defense to hit the guy with the ball for an out or allow the hitter to carry the bat and knock the throws away.

TV coverage was the biggest factor in baseball attendance. Baseball is played during the hottest time of the year and the clients most apt to attend are 40+. As they age the AC and Couch start to look more appealing than 95 degree stands. It still amazes me that they still build professional sports stadiums south of the Ohio river without some sort of retractable roof. Houston routinely air conditions the stadium all day and just opens up for the game. Makes it much more bearable to watch in the sweltering summer months.

Bottom line is yes, MLB must get creative but they cannot try to cater to an audience that never will attend.

Very respectable statement and mostly on point. You have stated the heat for a summer game which is on point. I would like to state that extending the games to assure commercials are shown extends the time period being fried to death by summer heat. There might be a threshold of exposure to elements. Shorten the games means shortening heat exposure and maybe more will attend. Remember while commercials are being shown, viewers just leave the television and do something else while the attendees are imprisoned waiting for the game to proceed? Your last statement has credibility but the reality is the young have rejected baseball in a sustainable manner and the graybeards are dieing off. Baseball can not sustain itself buy catering to the dieing off and not their potential replacements? Summer basketball and soccer are harvesting the replacements?

[The Federalist Engineer]

Very respectable statement and mostly on point. You have stated the heat for a summer game which is on point. I would like to state that extending the games to assure commercials are shown extends the time period being fried to death by summer heat. There might be a threshold of exposure to elements. Shorten the games means shortening heat exposure and maybe more will attend. Remember while commercials are being shown, viewers just leave the television and do something else while the attendees are imprisoned waiting for the game to proceed? Your last statement has credibility but the reality is the young have rejected baseball in a sustainable manner and the graybeards are dieing off. Baseball can not sustain itself buy catering to the dieing off and not their potential replacements? Summer basketball and soccer are harvesting the replacements?

Check out this article on the nature of soccer fans in Atlanta....maybe baseball teams need a roof and move to the suburbs.

American cities are not the same demographics as the past. Not a reason to change baseball, in my opinion. I went to an MLS game in northern New Jersey, the crowd is like another nation, with another language with some familiar things still present.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/23/atlanta-united-atl-soccer-football-love-story

[coachnorm]

Check out this article on the nature of soccer fans in Atlanta....maybe baseball teams need a roof and move to the suburbs.

American cities are not the same demographics as the past. Not a reason to change baseball, in my opinion. I went to an MLS game in northern New Jersey, the crowd is like another nation, with another language with some familiar things still present.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/23/atlanta-united-atl-soccer-football-love-story

Not to say that you are not credible but who is going to replace the graybeards when they die off? If baseball does not change, the graybeards will be baseballs legacy.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Not to say that you are not credible but who is going to replace the graybeards when they die off? If baseball does not change, the graybeards will be baseballs legacy.

The greybeards are not dying off - the graybeards got rich, the richest people on Earth. They had fewer kids than preceding generations of Americans, some much less than others.

Baseball will be fine. It's awesome the way it is.

[Spectre]

Baseball will be fine. It's awesome the way it is.

They wouldn’t be looking at these changes if that were true. Nobody wants to pay good money for walks and K’s.

[msstate7]

Baseball will be fine. It's awesome the way it is.

Yep. The ones that care so much ?saving? baseball by changing aren?t fans of it start with

[msstate7]

?The bottom line for Major League Baseball continued to be strong in 2018, even as growth slowed compared with previous years.

For the 16th consecutive year, MLB saw record gross revenues. For 2018, baseball-related revenues were $10.3 billion, according to industry sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The revenues do not include the $2.58 billion sale of BAMTech to Disney that is reported as capital.

The league passed the $10 billion threshold in 2017, but growth slowed from the highly accelerated rate seen in years prior.

The league saw gate revenues flat for 2018, but because of a 4% drop in attendance attributed largely to bad weather in the spring and a change in how the Miami Marlins and the Toronto Blue Jays accounted for sales, ancillary revenues tied to attendance, such as concessions and parking, sagged.
While attendance was down, television revenues were largely flat, with no significant deals kicking in. Sponsorship revenues were up.

While growth slowed in 2018, don?t expect that to continue heading into the 2019 season. More than one lucrative sponsorship deal is on the horizon, as are new revenues from a streaming media rights deal with DAZN. In 2022, a new extension reached with FOX will kick in; it totals $5.1 billion and runs through 2028. Talks to determine whether ESPN and TBS continue to carry MLB nationally are ongoing, and those deals could kick in then as well.

Since 1992, when Bud Selig took over as commissioner on a full-time basis, league gross revenues have grown 377% when accounting for inflation.?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2019/01/07/mlb-sees-record-revenues-of-10-3-billion-for-2018/amp/

...

If you consider Forbes a credible source (I do), then doesn?t sound like mlb is in trouble at all

[BuckyIsAB****]

1. There is talk of a universal DH in both leagues. Personally I like the fact that pitchers hit in one league and not the other but this wouldn't bother me. My idea is to let pitchers hit and have a DH- so 10 in the batting order. And let MLB teams can pick any pitcher to hit whether he is playing or not or has been subbed out.


2. There is talk of lowering the mound or moving the mound further back. Thanks Jordan Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, and Justin Verlander.** I don't really like this rule. I like watching pitchers dominate some.


3. Pitchers would have to pitch to three batters at a minimum. So- no more LOOGY throws one pitch and gets a LH hitter out and then bring in someone else. Really would change strategy- of course relief pitchers that have closer splits would be valued more than ever. I think this could lead to more intentional walks potentially. Like- have a LHP throw to a LH hitter, IWBB RH hitter and then come back and throw to a LH hitter. The main intent is to minimize pitching changes leading to shorter game times and more offense. Again- not wild about this. You should be able to use players as you see fit.

4. Expanding rosters from 25 to 26. I LIKE this. Personally I'd expand it to 28.

5. Talk about changing how service time is calculated. This NEEDS to be done. Teams are keeping good players in the minors so that they can save money down the road. Which honestly sucks for the player and the fans. See Hunter Renfroe. Like the talk here.

Basically MLB is trying to shorten games and create more offense. I say legalize steroids and let's have 1998 but now with pitchers throwing 105 MPH.

I also hope to see MLB expand to Montreal and Las Vegas.

Now THAT I would watch

[BuckyIsAB****]

My biggest beef with pro baseball is that there is so much complicated shit like service time and arbitration and all that that is extremely confusing and hard to follow. Not to mention that they play 163 games it makes the reg season drag and the games dont mean as much.

As far as on the field Im good with most of it except the strikeouts now. Guys dont even give a shit about striking out and it happens entirely too much. In college and high school ball if you strike out you are the biggest loser on the face of the planet and it means something to the P. Its not like that in the MLB