Todd4State
08-07-2021, 11:27 PM
After our AAAA all-star team lost to a team of NPB (Japan) baseball players it got me to thinking.
Rob Manfred is a terrible commissioner. All he does is come up with new rules to "quicken the pace of the game" and does little to promote the sport. MLB needs a commissioner that focuses on growing the sport instead of trying to rewrite the rulebook and make it unrecognizable.
Let's start with today:
MLB needs to put together a dream team for baseball like the NBA did in the Olympics in 1992. And then what the NBA did so well was promote the heck out of those players. MLB could and should do the same. The argument has always been- well the Olympics takes place during the middle of the season. And it clearly does. But the baseball portion only lasted one week. MLB could simply either start their season a week sooner or later to recoup the lost time. Have the Team USA play a couple of exhibition games the day before and after the All-Star break in July when most of the players will be mostly together anyway just a few weeks before the tournament starts and then let them get together a couple of days before the Olympic play starts to get things down. It's very doable. And the players will be in midseason form so it shouldn't affect them as far as concerns about them being in shape like the World Baseball Classic. Offer the players on Team USA a substantial reward of 2 million dollars apiece for winning the Gold medal and 1 million for playing. It will be even easier to do this with the Olympics being in Los Angeles in 2028 the next time baseball will be played in the Olympics.
World Baseball Classic- See above. And yes, I know we won it last time.
MLB- the game itself. Believe it or not I am for some of the rule changes. I am also against other rule changes. I am against moving the mound back, eliminating the shift, 7 inning double headers, and making the bases larger. I am OK with the new extra inning rules especially after I have been through some long extra inning baseball games. I am for automated strike calling systems and at the same time recognize that they need work at this time. The reality is guys like Angel Hernandez and Joe West get way too much attention and that's not a good thing for the sport. I don't pay to watch the umpires. I pay to watch the Cardinals. I pay to watch the players.
Offense in MLB and beyond. There is some valuable technology out there. I think knowing things like exit velocity, launch angle, and bat speed are all valuable. But I think there is a disconnect with hitting philosophy where some people came up with the idea that striking out is OK and it's all about hitting home runs. And we are seeing the result of that as well as the result of pitching staying ahead of the curve while hitting has gone backwards because of the failed pull everything approach. MLB needs to promote the fundamentals to go along with the advanced metrics that are out there now. They need guys like Mike Trout to be at the forefront of that. When players start to use a more gap to gap approach it will naturally take care of the shift to where it isn't used as much.
Expansion- MLB needs to get the A's and the Rays situated. My hope is that they get new stadiums and then the issue is solved. If not- move the A's to Las Vegas. Once that gets settled I would like to see MLB expand by two more teams- Montreal and Portland or Las Vegas depending on the A's situation. Over the next 20-30 years I would like to see MLB expand to as many as 40 teams in the US, Canada, and Mexico. But that's a long time from now. I could see potential MLB teams in Montreal, Portland, Las Vegas, Buffalo, Nashville, Charlotte, Vancouver, San Antonio, Mexico City, and Salt Lake City among others.
The Minor Leagues- I think the new system is much better than the old one with just the four levels and then some rookie ball affiliates. And the pay should increase for the players as well.
College- We've talked about this ad nauseum. Increase the scholarships to 25. Other 10 spots can get financial aid or walk-on completely. Play the CWS Finals on Fourth of July weekend making it more of a spectacle. The timing of the draft may need to change because of how the transfer portal operates. Having the draft in August may be better with a two week signing deadline. The NCAA maybe should also have some more flexibility with the portal as well. Keep the draft at 20 rounds. I would like to see MLB involved more with college baseball. Have a game of the week on MLB Network. Sponsor some preseason tournaments at MLB parks.
Improving minorities in baseball- I would like to see MLB have a league that is for minorities only that is a pure developmental league. I'm thinking like a 6 team league that would be a tribute to the Negro Leagues- the Kansas City Monarchs, Homestead Grays (D.C.), and Pittsburgh Crawfords, and then one team in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Again- promote the league and show games once a week on MLB Network and every once in awhile on ESPN. Players in this league can enter MLB via the MLB draft. Have an age range of 17-24. After age 24 a player in this league is then deemed a free agent. Also- MLB should have a HBCU World Series- and Birmingham would be PERFECT for this.
Improving the talent pool in baseball in general- As I have said before- have a blue collar baseball league for players that do not want to go to college. Similar idea as above. Have a team made of the military- each branch having their own team and then have teams made up of first responders- a police team, a firefighter team, and a team of EMT personnel. Same age range as above. Let them play games at military bases and then have a championship in the middle of America somewhere like Indianapolis. Same draft rules as above.
Rob Manfred is a terrible commissioner. All he does is come up with new rules to "quicken the pace of the game" and does little to promote the sport. MLB needs a commissioner that focuses on growing the sport instead of trying to rewrite the rulebook and make it unrecognizable.
Let's start with today:
MLB needs to put together a dream team for baseball like the NBA did in the Olympics in 1992. And then what the NBA did so well was promote the heck out of those players. MLB could and should do the same. The argument has always been- well the Olympics takes place during the middle of the season. And it clearly does. But the baseball portion only lasted one week. MLB could simply either start their season a week sooner or later to recoup the lost time. Have the Team USA play a couple of exhibition games the day before and after the All-Star break in July when most of the players will be mostly together anyway just a few weeks before the tournament starts and then let them get together a couple of days before the Olympic play starts to get things down. It's very doable. And the players will be in midseason form so it shouldn't affect them as far as concerns about them being in shape like the World Baseball Classic. Offer the players on Team USA a substantial reward of 2 million dollars apiece for winning the Gold medal and 1 million for playing. It will be even easier to do this with the Olympics being in Los Angeles in 2028 the next time baseball will be played in the Olympics.
World Baseball Classic- See above. And yes, I know we won it last time.
MLB- the game itself. Believe it or not I am for some of the rule changes. I am also against other rule changes. I am against moving the mound back, eliminating the shift, 7 inning double headers, and making the bases larger. I am OK with the new extra inning rules especially after I have been through some long extra inning baseball games. I am for automated strike calling systems and at the same time recognize that they need work at this time. The reality is guys like Angel Hernandez and Joe West get way too much attention and that's not a good thing for the sport. I don't pay to watch the umpires. I pay to watch the Cardinals. I pay to watch the players.
Offense in MLB and beyond. There is some valuable technology out there. I think knowing things like exit velocity, launch angle, and bat speed are all valuable. But I think there is a disconnect with hitting philosophy where some people came up with the idea that striking out is OK and it's all about hitting home runs. And we are seeing the result of that as well as the result of pitching staying ahead of the curve while hitting has gone backwards because of the failed pull everything approach. MLB needs to promote the fundamentals to go along with the advanced metrics that are out there now. They need guys like Mike Trout to be at the forefront of that. When players start to use a more gap to gap approach it will naturally take care of the shift to where it isn't used as much.
Expansion- MLB needs to get the A's and the Rays situated. My hope is that they get new stadiums and then the issue is solved. If not- move the A's to Las Vegas. Once that gets settled I would like to see MLB expand by two more teams- Montreal and Portland or Las Vegas depending on the A's situation. Over the next 20-30 years I would like to see MLB expand to as many as 40 teams in the US, Canada, and Mexico. But that's a long time from now. I could see potential MLB teams in Montreal, Portland, Las Vegas, Buffalo, Nashville, Charlotte, Vancouver, San Antonio, Mexico City, and Salt Lake City among others.
The Minor Leagues- I think the new system is much better than the old one with just the four levels and then some rookie ball affiliates. And the pay should increase for the players as well.
College- We've talked about this ad nauseum. Increase the scholarships to 25. Other 10 spots can get financial aid or walk-on completely. Play the CWS Finals on Fourth of July weekend making it more of a spectacle. The timing of the draft may need to change because of how the transfer portal operates. Having the draft in August may be better with a two week signing deadline. The NCAA maybe should also have some more flexibility with the portal as well. Keep the draft at 20 rounds. I would like to see MLB involved more with college baseball. Have a game of the week on MLB Network. Sponsor some preseason tournaments at MLB parks.
Improving minorities in baseball- I would like to see MLB have a league that is for minorities only that is a pure developmental league. I'm thinking like a 6 team league that would be a tribute to the Negro Leagues- the Kansas City Monarchs, Homestead Grays (D.C.), and Pittsburgh Crawfords, and then one team in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Again- promote the league and show games once a week on MLB Network and every once in awhile on ESPN. Players in this league can enter MLB via the MLB draft. Have an age range of 17-24. After age 24 a player in this league is then deemed a free agent. Also- MLB should have a HBCU World Series- and Birmingham would be PERFECT for this.
Improving the talent pool in baseball in general- As I have said before- have a blue collar baseball league for players that do not want to go to college. Similar idea as above. Have a team made of the military- each branch having their own team and then have teams made up of first responders- a police team, a firefighter team, and a team of EMT personnel. Same age range as above. Let them play games at military bases and then have a championship in the middle of America somewhere like Indianapolis. Same draft rules as above.