Oh crap, as in the union is apparently willing to cave on the issue of on field rule changes with 45 days notice. They also are willing to talk about the issue of a 14 team playoff format. Here is what is being discussed about the amateur international draft.
As long as we are going around canceling things, I guess we can forget about this years Rule 5 Draft.
Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are apparently healthy “for the start of spring training.”
The Angels hired Trey Hillman and Chris Carpenter for minor league player development roles. Of course, for the time being, they can’t hire the shortstop they need or otherwise “sort out the middle of their infield.”
Here is an inside the park home run courtesy of college baseball. And here’s a sac fly to score two runs. Pretty soon minor league baseball will be here as well.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Results have shown, pitch clock in the minors in average cuts 20-minutes off the game. Minimal. If managers kept their starters in the game longer and avoided the trot to the pitchers mound, better solution. A pitching change is what, 5-10 minutes? Per change? Maybe reduce the time between innings, by 1 minute per half inning. Nowadays, every hit or SB, the runner calls time to gather his junk and dust off the uniform.. I maintain, true baseball fans don’t care how long the game is.. Non-fans can leave or turn off the TV at any time.
By inserting a pitch clock, will pitchers be able to shake off the catcher? Will he be able to glance over at the runner(s)? Rickey Henderson would have a hey day in this environment. Holding the ball tends to freeze the runners. I have not been studying much of this to much but it’s the between innings that gripes me along with all the pitching changes cuz managers are analytic based. The game of baseball is just not meant to be governed by a clock but all for fixing the dead action.
Preparing to be butter cupped tomorrow:
https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/status/1501025549015212036
In the last week I’ve tuned into 3 NCAA Baseball games. My wife wants to have us see more minor league games this season. No downside here.
March Madness is upon us. Already some great games tonight, Championship Week. Watched some college baseball games too. Just a matter of time for when we’ll be voicing our displeasure about the Angels pitching.
March Madness can’t come soon enough.
another fun tidbit
“The Score’s Travis Sawchik recently tweeted, if the CBT had grown at the same rate as the league’s revenues from 2003-2019, it would have been set at $297 million in 2019 rather than $206 million”
The Owners argue that the players have agreed in the past to smaller incremental increases in the CBT in exchange for other concessions such as increases in minimum pay and arbitration eligibility increases . The CBT threshold has been pretty much rising during each collective bargaining agreement duration since its initial implementation in 2002. Over the last agreement it rose a total of $71 million over 5 years. While its my understanding that tomorrows discussions will involve the league proposing an increase in the CBT of about $110 million over a similar 5 year period.
So we will see.
If you have access to The Athletic this seems to explain the history of its rise and implementation.
https://theathletic.com/3166972/2022/03/07/rosenthal-how-was-baseballs-luxury-tax-supposed-to-work-rob-manfred-gene-orza-weigh-in/
Also, if I were the same size I am now, but was an ant, I’d be able to bench press a f***ing house. But I am not an ant, and at no point anywhere has anyone ever said the players, as a whole, should get paid any set percent of revenue.
This type of article reminds me of the whole concept that if we could just kill Jeff Bezos and divide up his fortune among the other 99%ers we’d all get to smile smugly as we gaze upon our single quarter and 1/5000th share of Amazon stock…. which is 90% of his worth.
Or I could just buy a really small incremental share of Amazon tomorrow.
Not picking on you Eric. I just hate supposedly intelligent journalists passing out envy bait like marshmallows for monkeys.
Gotta feel bad for the owners who pay all the expenses and are hardly making any money. This guy Ricketts, who owns the Cubs, probably barely has the $3.3 billion needed to buy Chelsea.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/ricketts-family-owners-of-the-chicago-cubs-reportedly-interested-in-buying-chelsea-fc/
I know a Chelsea he can probably buy for the cost of four drinks and a $50 pill the next day. Things really have gotten even more expensive than when I was last in London.
Yes but the English Chelsea has balls.
The sound of old men crying has awakened my mind to the question, how aware are we of past changes to baseball? How many changes have been made or tried over time? I know there have been a pile of them. I read that history book of the PCL and they tried all kinds of things.
This might be an interesting thing to look into if the Lockout drags on.
Some of the ideas the MLB has (I love the image everyone seems to have of the actual Bob Manfred sitting there with his Acco notepad brainstorming his thoughts under a scribbled heading ” How derr make baseball gooder….”) I am not a fan of. Starting the 10th with a runner on second has sucked.
But seriously. Baseball will be destroyed by not letting Pedro Beaz take forty seconds between pitches to find his gods, then another ten to talk to them, then a few more to decide he likes the pitch…. then he throws to first? Bigger bases? That’s a big problem? Are you guys sure you’re not just being a little dickish about any old change that comes down the pike?
And the part of “the base” you seem to want to cater to is way closer to dying than breeding and earning so that’s probably not gonna happen. I love baseball, but it is boring a lot of the time and that does need to change if MLB wants zoomers getting into it at age 10 or what ever. None of my nieces, nephews or their friends watch baseball, even if they play it. That’s not a good sign, and “this is the way it’s always been so f*** you” isn’t really roping them in. I understand if baseball worries more about making annoying kids enjoy the game the men with 5-15 years left on God’s green earth, especially if those old men can only offer the solution of “those kids should just like it” to the problem. They could completely overhaul the game into something a 16 year old would like, I may not like some of the changes, but I’ll probably still enjoy the game.
I get your point but I don’t find anything about baseball boring.
My 7 year old grandson plays little league and last year when he was 6 he watched it on TV.
Yeah, but do you honestly think, on a macro level, grade school boys are watching baseball as much today as even ten years ago?
I never see kids playing baseball. The only people playing anything similar, which is softball, are 30+. Kids play basketball
As has been pointed out, the only thing you need for roundball is one ball and a basket (latter to be found at a park).
For baseball, you need gloves (1 for every two people minimum) and at least one bat.
Gloves aren’t cheap.
The other issue, which is not economic but practical, is of course the number of kids you need to field a team and play a game.
Not if your a real man. Back in my day we just stuffed a bunch of Kleenex in on of our mom’s church gloves…. if you were a pussy. Real man boys just played with no glove and if your hand hurt you just looked at it and grunted “shut up wuss”. Baseball has been ruined by the glitz and glamour of mitts.
MLB actually has their own program called “RBI” which stands for “Reviving Baseball in the Inner City.”
I think this is a positive step to keep baseball alive with the youth of America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reviving_Baseball_in_Inner_Cities
And that program has been around for 30+ years. But, regrettably, I’m not so sure how successful its been.
Just another few million dollars…. then we can all stop feeling guilty that black kids don’t give a shit about baseball.
That horse just isn’t gonna drink unless it wants to.
Well, it is not as if there are no black kids joining MLB in recent years. Just look at the Tigers, they have alot of young Afro-American talent in their system and at the big club. We have Jo Adell and the Mariners have ALOT of black talent.
Though the percentages are admittedly still low compared to for instance Latin players some within the sport are encouraged that things are changing :
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/08/14/mlb-black-players-signs-of-growth-100th-anniversary-negro-leagues/3366480001/
Yeah. I personally think that more and more black kids will get interested in the sport. I don’t think access is that big a problem, if you want to find a ball field they’re out there in a lot of parks and high schools etc. Usually they are empty. Mitts don’t cost anymore than basketball shoes. People of all types spend money and put out effort for what they are interested in.
Baseball has a really solid black history full of a bunch of the best players ever. As it becomes more and more obvious that football is a meat factory and doesn’t pay most players well and basketball is a sport where 12 guys matter total and it ruins your knees more black kids are gonna realize that, while they can’t be instantly good at it like basketball, their skills and drive will be really well suited to baseball…. and they can make way more money doing it. I mean, I can just imagine what a guy like DK Metcalf could do if he spent a few years getting good at baseball…. hot damn!
They probably won’t overtake white/latin players in the mix, but I think they’ll be a growing piece of the pie at some point.
What do you have against old men? Week can’t go by without this gripe from you. Are you paranoid that they are coming for you? I have no issues at all with baseball being boring ever, at any level, is that because I’m turning 70 next month? Who said 70 is old?
Because seniors see things different than you, we are dim witted or slow or is it we are jump stupid compared to you. My views are different than yours very often, so that in it’s self shows you are more often wrong than right? I just do not know how you will handle getting old without an accompanying depression. Most here are maybe older than you so, if you take us out of CTPG’s who will read your post? Getting old is not in it self a disease, it is natural progression.
I am an old man.
Everyone is jump stupid compared to me.
“My views are different than yours very often, so that in it’s self shows you are more often wrong than right?” Is that a question or a statement? Either way, sure, OK.
I am already old. I plan to avoid getting super old by dying in battle against my enemies…. most likely the Dutch…. they are always quietly up to something.
You’re not 70 old and I’m pretty sure 2002 is going to get you somehow. Probably with a no name Pic
I hope it’s Pete Alonso. I miss him. And some muscle arm emojis.
We got you though.
After you die, we’ll throw hotdogs at 2002’s face
I’ve gone to Long Beach State games each of the last two weekends. Both times my son has said “let’s go to Angel Stadium, daddy.”
I love the fact he considers the Big A our place. Hopefully we get back there sooner rather than later.
My dad used to call it our home away from home when I was younger, and we were there at least once a week when the season was on.
Hope you get to make more memories soon, Jeff.
Ah, thanks. I’m sure we will.
Those damn Koreans took our Hwang-Hyun Kim away.
Well, I just had to check in here to comment on what MLB has cooking right now. Though I am okay with banning defensive shifts (in a limited way), I was aghast when I just read on ESPN that MLB is planning on implementing “a 14 second pitch clock.”
Manfred is indeed intent on killing baseball as we know it. If this rule change actually hits the field it is the beginning of the end. Major League Baseball as we know it will be dead! The only major American sport that stands alone as timeless, as sacred in it construction will have been destroyed.
It should come as no surprise that Rob Manfred will go down in history as the man responsible for killing the great game. Lockout aside, this is a very sad day indeed.
Yes. If players are only allowed 14 seconds between pitches the game will most certainly die. I mean, if the game is less slow and boring what will be the #1 complaint about baseball then? And without complaining does humanity even exist? So really, this could be the end of humanity as we know it.
It probably won’t kill the game, but a good chunk of us, myself included, are just wholly opposed to clocks being introduced into the sport. I’d still prefer not to have the between innings clock.
Baseball takes however long it takes to get 27 outs.
But I know others disagree.
“Slow and boring.” Is that what all the young people who watched those streams on You Tube and Facebook were saying?
Besides, if you want to speed up the game there are alot of ways to do it without putting a hard clock in a game whose unique feature is not having one. Here’s an idea : how about having an unofficial 25 second limit for pitchers between pitches.. If the pitcher goes over the first time he gets a warning from the HP Ump. After the warning he must throw the next pitch within 15 seconds. If he goes over again, then a ball and a 1-0 count is given to the very next batter. That should fix things I think…
And this would not require a clock on the field. Only the HP Ump need keep track of the time between pitches. I don’t necessarily think this is ideal, but it is also not nearly as bad as putting a hard clock on a game that has never had one nor ever should.
People talk about how we need to make the games shorter for the current generation and their attention spans, but forget they’ll sit and watch someone Twitch stream for hours on end lmao.
It’s not that the game takes too long, it’s the boring that sucks. And the time between pitches is a big part of that. The whole world wants a pitcher, not a belly itcher.
And yet the NFL is so damn popular, when all they do is stand around.
If they want viewership to expand, they need to make the barrier for entry lower. I don’t worry about the kids that have the love passed down from their parents, it’s the kids who gravitate towards basketball and football because they can’t afford to play baseball. And it’s ever more expensive to take the family to a game.
Now the NFL and NBA is not cheap to attend a game, but at least kids are still playing that sport at a community level regardless of household income.
Worrying about shaving 15 minutes off a game is just putting the cart before the horse.
A group of kids might be able to get by with one or two bats and one or two balls but those mitts can be expensive. Even a $20 youth mitt might be a bit much for a struggling parent trying to keep the kids in food and clothing.
Whoever invented wiffle balls was kind of a genius.
NFL does do a lot of standing around but their broadcasts have gotten REALLY good at hiding it.
I mean, we can all say “nuh uh” as much as we want. I myself watch baseball and enjoy it just fine. But the numbers don’t lie, the pols have been done, and younger people find watching baseball to be boring. If we want them to watch baseball, it needs to be less boring to them.
Watching Patrick Corbin stare at Yan Gomes for 50 seconds till the batter steps out, then do it again while Pedro Martinez tells me some stupid story about himself is probably the biggest culprit in all this. The games will just feel more exciting if the pitcher throws the damn ball, even if it’s a foul ball or ball 3.
I don’t doubt that at all. I just don’t think the reason they find it boring is because of the length.
It’s harder than ever to get started playing the game, more expensive to go to a game, and almost impossible to watch games on TV/streaming without some computer skills these days.
I find hockey insanely boring, but I didn’t grow up watching/attending/playing it. Plenty would call me crazy for that opinion. The solution isn’t to shorten hockey games.
Bigger fish to fry before we worry about length(that’s what she said).
I’ve never had a problem with length;)
Bring back Angels baseball to KCAL 5!
That’s not what Wally, Chuck, and Chili told me.
I figured I’d let Mia swing for the fences on that one. I mean, it WAS a fastball right up the middle.
Most dick jokes are, to be fair.
A WTY 2017 era fastball.
So you’re into the group thing?
Organized team baseball is what really sends me over the edge.
One is glad to be of service.
Ah, but is one glad to have been serviced?
Maybe we should ask Wally, Chuck, and Chili.
Pretty sure the answer will be the same if you ask Manny, Moe and Jack.
Larry, Moe and Curly?
Tom Dick & Hairy?
My first question is, there are young people on Facebook and Youtube?
The rest of this comment…. Who is talking about a hard clock on the game? It’s a 14 second pitch clock and it would pretty much work the same way your 25 second time limit works. I mean LOOK, you a literally arguing for what Manfred wants and dying on a hill you already own. The clock is on a the field because no manager is gonna trust an ump…. and neither will you.
So this whole stink is because your eyes can see a clock during a timeless game? That’s what’s killing it for you?
Well, first of all, I said my hypothetical was not ideal. My preference would be to have no clock at all. It was my stab at a compromise should some sort of time limit be implemented. My thinking is that if MLB does indeed do this they would want there to be a clock on the field, just like that clock above the CF wall that shows time between innings or whatever the hell it shows… Once that thing showed up I saw the writing on the wall. I knew what MLB was moving towards..
And btw, have you seen the details of the MLB proposal ? I haven’t but I know they are talking about 14 seconds for no runners on and a 19 second limit with runners on.
How in the hell is that supposed to work? I mean, rush a throw over to 1B and greatly increase your odds of a wild throw? Even if you were in favor of a clock on pitchers most knowledgeable baseball people would have to admit that it simply does not work if runners are on base. It changes the game not just a little at that point, but drastically.
Here is what Max Scherzer (not some inexperienced rookie) had to say about the pitch clock :
I think that says it pretty well.
Look, here’s what Manfart’s idea is. I don’t know if it will change in a new iterations, but this is what Bref has….
20-second pitch clock with no runners on base.
A first violation would result in a warning by the umpire, and any subsequent one a ball is called.
In experimental MiLB games it was 15 seconds with no runners, 20 with them
20 seconds is a damn long time. You can get a pitch and hold a runner on first in 20 seconds. Go ahead and run 20 seconds on your phone timer, it’s longer than I thought it was. If they need it to be longer, they can always adjust stuff.
Max Scherzer is a red assed douche who always tries to make pitching sound like it’s performing brain surgery on the baby Jesus while rock climbing. He’s gonna have a problem with anything that sounds like anyone wants any input on his “art”. If they told him to slow down he’d give us the same line of crap.
In the end it doesn’t matter. The pitch clock is coming at some point because it makes the game feel less boring. I don’t think it really even speeds games up that much time wise, but it helps with pacing a lot. It’s worked in the MiLB so it’s probably coming to the MLB.
The one thing I agree with you on is that anything we say doesn’t really matter in the end because it is coming, sooner or later. I understand that. But I don’t have to be happy about it.
I also think it is funny that my idea about the warning and the time and the ball penalty is almost exactly what Manfred is planning. I swear I did not read anything about this prior to my comment… Maybe something entered my subconscious while I was in a hypnagogic state through the radio or something?
Manfred is trying to control your brain.
Well, the thing is, both your idea and Manfred’s is based on what’s already the MLB rules. I think the book is 12 seconds. Umpires just don’t enforce it.
The CIF used to be, and if I was wandering around a mound fuming because I was getting shelled for longer than that back in the day the ump would yell out at me to get on with it. It probably still is enforced. Nobody wants to watch a sixteen year old with control issues stare into the middle distance like he’s trying to solve string theory while the sun goes down.
College baseball also has a similar pitch clock.
So none of this should be all that earth shattering to MLB players. In fact, what’s crazy is that MiLB games I have watched without a clock, but also without MLB egos developed, move along similarly well. A lot of these hitters and pitchers don’t develop their “routine” until they reach the show.
I mean, watch MiLB kids in MLB Spring Training games if we ever have them again. They don’t do any of that bullshit because managers and coaches won’t suffer it from them. The MLB pitch clock is really just a bullshit limiter.
When I coached and umpired CIF and many years before that JC Ball as umpires we were requested to move the game along rapidly, especially if one team had a long bus ride back home. The quicker the game moves the less grief for the Blue.
I’m not necessarily opposed to a pitch clock, but 14 seconds seems a bit short.
That said, here are two positive articles (one paywall and one a dirty, bad website that you should be ashamed for ever visiting) on the 15-second pitch clock in the Low A West division last year:
https://theathletic.com/news/minor-league-pitch-clock-cut-game-times-by-21-minutes-in-2021/P9gjgRqcHZeR/
https://thinkbluela.com/2021/06/new-pitch-clock-receiving-favorable-reviews-in-milb-testing/
Some people says you can’t smell a website.
https://thinkbluela.com
Today is historic for me. After reading the two articles you put up, I am more a believer that the pitch clock will benefit the game. Does this mean Manfraud thoughts are entering my hardheaded preconceived opinions?
The letters after each piece have positive fan post. Does the pitch clock come in analog?
Sundial
Yeah. I know. I’ve been to a bunch of pitch clock MiLB games. They were just plain better. I swear to gah most of us will like it because it causes what we all yell that we want. The pitcher gets the ball and gets on the damn rubber instead of wandering around being dramatic and important. The fielders get in position instead of looking for split ends. The batter gets in the box. Annnnnddddd…. BASEBALL!
In trying to appease the non-fan of the sport of Baseball are both sides giving up on the game the real fan knows.
Are Robo-Umps going to improve the Balls and Strike calls signifyingly enough that taking the human element away will improve the game?
Are larger bases going to attract more fans because of the game will go faster in creating outs quicker or does it backfire because it lends itself to less action.
Does adding a pitch clock to speed up the game bring in new fans? Or could just not allowing pitchers and hitters not being allowed stepping off the rubber or out of the box with no clock be enough to help cut down time?
How did starting a runner on second base in extra innings help, or did it?
7 inning games on a double header day improve the game or did the fringe fans pack a game because it would be shorter?
Did cutting down mound visits lessen game times?
Maybe you have other questions that can be added here. We all have different answer to apply to my questions, but my biggest point is why changes are being made aimed at the occasional fan who really does not care. So, a study says if the game was shorter, they will attend more? Fix the cause of the problem should have been five years ago not now with radical solutions is how it now comes down to moves that change a game that does not need radicalized changes.
If you lose your base, you will lose everything. Rob Manfraud is not a fan of the game, at least he has shown he is not for the last 5 years. He believes that the game needs to modernize to create new revenue, while also believing he will keep the old revenue coming in. Baseball has never really lent itself to major change in the past. The fan experience has kept people coming to the Ballpark. What has changed is how the MLB facilitators have changed. Ever go to kid’s game just to see non major league team names? That’s because those leagues be it park and rec or Little League or PONY League leagues have to pay to use the MLB team names. While MLB may pat itself on the back for working with the communities they play for, how many junkets do you see? At Christmastime maybe a few at the team Stadium. Teams and Players want compensation, sad but true.
Shuttering Minor League affiliates down was just nothing more than trying to cut expenses while alienating the fan base more. So in over 40 communities future fans are not going to make plans to see big leagues games or purchase hats or jersey’s or have a favorite player.
Is changing the game more important than promoting the game and it’s players? It would appear that is the case.
I know this was long and thanx for reading, what do you have as Questions for MLB.
I don’t think any of those changes are really about appeasing non-fans or fans at all. It’s about appeasing television networks that pay for broadcast rights. A 3 hour 2 minute game means the channel has to either cut the last 2 minutes of the game or cut into the show that comes after. A 2 hour 59 minute game ends just in time for the next show to start. A 2 hour 40 minute game gives them 20 minutes of post-game show.
A pitch clock also reduces non-action time, allowing them to get to commercial breaks faster.
You’re thinking are these changes really going to draw in more fans? And answering no.
Manfred is thinking are these changes really going to drive away loyal fans? And answering no, but it will increase the price TV networks will pay to show the games.
As TV ratings continue their downward spiral as the demographics show an older audience, I do believe that he is trying to appeal to a younger group through changing what he perceives as an old school game. I do believe Rob Manfraud is not the person to revitalize the game. The best way is to realize the TV ratings is to sell the game that exists today.
As the game is moving to new fields to exploit such as streaming, MLB seems to believe they cannot compete with NBA and NFL without change. TV ratings for MLB have never been as high as those two sports, but ballpark attendance sinking should at least be level and it is not. Time to promote the game of Baseball, not change it. We have the Stars, the venues, and the access, but it is all ignored by MLB.
The Geeks do not like the Stolen Base, which is speed. And Manfraud is looking to speed action up at the same time. Is anything more boring than station to station baseball.
Basically agree. If Manfred looked at the response to the You Tube and Facebook broadcasts last year and other streaming of MLB games live he would have seen that those platforms got great numbers. And those numbers were based primarily on a younger audience. Who would have thought? You target them were they hang out and you’ll get them!
It is not that young people are closed to baseball or that the game needs to speed up. Traditional TV broadcasts are on the way out. The success of the You Tube broadcasts should be a hint for him. This is the path forward (and I also agree with you about marketing the players better) , not tearing apart the fabric of the game with a bunch of idiotic rule changes or adding a pitch clock.
Most games are on sports networks with post game shows of varying lengths to get to the coveted o’clock time frame so I don’t think it matters much about what you wrote, concerning shows being cut short to accommodate a few extra minutes. Personally I’m fine with 3 hour plus games.
This is really surreal if one looks at what the owners are attempting or at least suggesting to in the past. Changing the game may just alienate way to many real fans that simply will find other enjoyment for their time and money.
I do hope that the players turn into the just say no group until the other side see’s that they are diluting the product to much with the changes.
If you lose the true fans, then you lose the base and then like a house of cards it collapses.
College baseball. Then MiLB baseball. Then the WNBA will start in early May. That should hold us until August when football starts. Plenty of great stuff to watch in upcoming weeks.
NPB is already playing exhibition games if you can find that.
No shift and larger bases?
I personally think the pitch clock is stupid. How about not allowing the batter to step out after every punch to check his gloves, etc. to save time?
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-lockout-mlbpa-makes-first-proposal-since-canceled-games-league-claims-offer-went-backwards/
I think if you enact a pitch clock it must be coupled with a no step-out rule.
If I remember right, the pitch clock is enforced on the batter too. So if he’s not in the box and ready by the time the clock ticks down the pitcher can just pitch… or something… it was explained to me in like 2018 and my brain is sad. A scout at a Memphis Redbirds game explained it, so assume he knows. But yeah, it’s not just a pitcher’s rule, it’s a blanket thing.
That makes too much sense, sure this is the same that Manfraud is proposing?
I don’t know what Manie is proposing for a pitch clock…. though I’m also not sure how it could be all that different. The pitch clock games I watched in the MiLB were great. Far less boring than MLB games cause they had to get on with it.
This maybe should have been dealt with in ST. Years ago I was not for the DH, now the DH is a welcomed addition. Maybe like you say the clock will be a welcomed addition.
Well I’m glad you finally came around to the DH after only 49 years.
It only took about a couple of years really because I loved Tommy Davis as a kid. I really enjoyed watching the older hitters come back to life so to speak in the DH role. Why it took this long for every level of professional baseball to have the DH is a mystery to me.
I mean, the pitcher’s gonna pitch when the clock runs out whether the batter is ready on not. That’s what it looked like when I was watching. Same as in college.
How does larger bases help create more action?
Makes slow runners .1 of a second faster
Maybe Less injuries keeping the starters in more games?
Larger bases is a safety issue.
I personally think there should be no rule changes other than to back out the COVID set of rules Mandred inserted; 3 batter minimum, silly extra-inning runner on 2nd base, and 7-inning double headers.
* Keep the DH in the AL only
* Shifts are allowed, up to the manager if he wants 7 guys to the left or right of 2nd base.. In the NBA, they can play with 5 guards or forwards or centers and nobody cries. Just need to adjust to beat it, take advantage. You sometimes bring in an OF to the infield when the game is on the line with a runner on 3rd. Would we ban that?
* no robot umps, better training or oversight is required without technology. Replays have hurt this game, takes too long, umps have gotten lazy
* there already is a time requirement to throw the ball, just enforce it
Enough Manfred, stop adding or tinkering with the game. It has gotten worse since your time at the helm. .
Bi annual eye tests for ump should help out, pre ST and at All Star break
Billionaires always have the advantage over millionaires and thousandaires. It’s just basic math.
How about Legionnaires ?
or Frigidaires?
or Derrieres?
aka where Manfred stores his head.
Jo Adell Errors?
Or Londonderry Airs?
Players have been all along led to slaughter while costing thousands of jobs and hundreds of ST games. The Players are fighting for those to come next, and just what did they gain?
So far nothing.
Why is it only on the players to protect the integrity of the game?
It is not only players, but it was the Union that made the threats and was followed by the owners lock out. Both sides are really helping to destroy Baseball and it is not to save a game but, just for more money.
Angels minor league camp started yesterday in Scottsdale instead of Tempe due to renovations. Sam Bachman on fast track to MLB. And guy we got from the Jason Castro trade to the Padres is ready to go.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ocregister.com/2022/03/06/former-angels-1st-round-pick-sam-bachman-could-be-on-the-fast-track-to-the-majors/amp/
“The Angels, like most teams, have closed minor league workouts to the public”
locked out of practices, so guess it’ll be some Minor League ST games…
Tony Clark is clueless. All this lockout crap helped nobody except the Owners. The Owners think the game needs changing, only changing that’s needed is a new Commissioner. More playoff teams just waters everything else down.
I’m more concerned with giving Manfraud the power to make changes to the game in 45 days. He has already proven to have a whole bag load of bad ideas.
You are right in this case that Manfraud is the one person that is going to be responsible for a host of Batshit ideas that are coming down the pike.
you also probably didn’t like Bud Selig before him either (Commish should be a rules and regs enforcer, not a policy developer).
I didn’t like Selig because he had a massive conflict but at least he kept the owners United together. This is definitely now Manfrauds biggest test
Is this shit next? https://youtu.be/T5RkB7_qNh8
Commissioner should either be paid by both sides or you have a joint independent committee like we often see in politics……..which nobody likes either if you also follow politics like me. Why should a commish who’s chosen and paid by the owners be expected to implement policy that favors the other side?
Yup. Outside arbiter all the way. If this lockout damages these guys enough maybe they will set it up.
the commissioner works for the owners, not the players.
Yeah, but watered down is good for US!!! 😇