Do away with the DH. Allow the American league to know what real baseball looks, feels like.
Shifts are fine.
Shorten the season.
Dollar beer nights.
Shifts are fine.
Shorten the season.
Dollar beer nights.
Controversial baseball take
- Thread starter Brushy Bill
- Start date
Shifts are fine - funny thing is pitchers aren't even pitching to the shift. Professional hitters should be able to hit oppo or push a bunt, if not, sorry about your BA.
If you outlaw the shift, do you ban the corners playing in on bunt situations? Leave it and let the hitters beat it.
If you outlaw the shift, do you ban the corners playing in on bunt situations? Leave it and let the hitters beat it.
Leave baseball just the way it is. Those that don't like baseball, stop watching. Find something else to do. It is my favorite professional sport. I have been a baseball fan for 50 years and will continue to enjoy the games for, hopefully many more years.
That's the kind of attitude that will slowly make baseball the 4th, 5th..., etc. most popular sport.
Contraction. 1 team in each league is out. It would make a shorter season more understandable, so then cut the season down to 140-150 games.
I'm guessing you meant to ask why do some of us think the season is too long, since that's what I was suggesting.
It's really just a preference. But I think the quality of play would go up as players had more built-in off days and travel time. You wouldn't have so many night game/day game turn arounds. Less opportunity for injury.
But really, it's just a preference. I don't know what we learn about the teams in games 151-162 that we don't already know.
Bryce Harper setting the record yesterday for most plate appearances without an at bat. 7, 1 HBP, 3 BB and 3 intentional BB. Jake Arrieta was the opposing starter yesterday too.
This X1000.
Also, season has been at least 154 games for over 100 years. Yes, the season is long, but if you throw out the silly play in game (or count it as part of the regular season), you eliminate 22 of the 30 teams in the regular season, so at least all of the games matter. OTOH, NBA puts 16 teams in the playoffs, which go on for months, so why would I watch a regular season game? And NFL still has 12 teams in the playoffs, usually including a 8-8 or 9-7 type team, which although not unheard of, is pretty rare for a .500 team to get into the playoffs in baseball.
That being said, all the sports seasons are too long, pros for sure, but I would include college sports pretty much as well.
You're correct, I meant long. I'm a dumb. I think you could say that about games 101-120, 121-140, etc. it's a long haul and that is part of the game. I can agree somewhat with the injury thing, but there are 25 players on the team, so that take scare of some of that.
This is correct.
Screw it, lets go scorched earth here.
After two walks (intentional or not) in a game to the same player, if they are walked a 3rd time they are awarded two bases. If they are walked a 4th time they are awarded 3 bases. If by some miracle they are walked a 5th time they are awarded all four bases and the opposing manager has to wear a pink tutu every time the two teams play for the rest of the season.
How does that work for everyone.
After two walks (intentional or not) in a game to the same player, if they are walked a 3rd time they are awarded two bases. If they are walked a 4th time they are awarded 3 bases. If by some miracle they are walked a 5th time they are awarded all four bases and the opposing manager has to wear a pink tutu every time the two teams play for the rest of the season.
How does that work for everyone.
Because it's too damn cold at the beginning of the season and competing with the middle of the NFL season with the playoffs is a bad idea. NFL is king.
Maximize games in the summer, when the weather is nicer and school is out. If there are 81 home games, some people don't feel an urgent need to go to a game.
I have been tossing around some ideas...
1 - Go from 162 games to 144 or maybe even less than that
2 - Put DH in NL bc I think it penalizes the NL teams in the Interleague road games b/c they have to "find" someone to slot in DH in AL park plus AL pays a guy full time to have that slot
3 - 8 team playoff in each league with best of 5 in the first round (I am not a fan of one game wild card)
4 - 30 second pitch clock to maintain a pace for the game and hopefully speed up the game time
1 - Go from 162 games to 144 or maybe even less than that
2 - Put DH in NL bc I think it penalizes the NL teams in the Interleague road games b/c they have to "find" someone to slot in DH in AL park plus AL pays a guy full time to have that slot
3 - 8 team playoff in each league with best of 5 in the first round (I am not a fan of one game wild card)
4 - 30 second pitch clock to maintain a pace for the game and hopefully speed up the game time
Cold weather teams play the first 2 weeks on the road in the south. Atlanta, Houston, Texas, Tampa, Miami, Arizona, San Diego, LAA, LAD, SF. That's 10 teams where the weather is usually pretty decent in April. It doesn't take care of everyone but would help.
MLB games are among the cheapest to go to of all the sports. Probably because of how many damn games there are in the season. I can find Angels tickets for like $11 each. I've had great seats without having to spend more than $50 for two tickets.
NFL is too damn expensive. NHL is very expensive and I'll never go to another NBA game ever again. Paid for a good deal on courtside seats to see John Wall his rookie year only to see them getting rocked and laughing on the bench and not caring a bit about losing.
As far as MLB, I would like to see the operating cost for some of these games compared to what they actually make especially when a team is already out of it by July. Who's going to those games?
DH in both leagues. I'm a Reds fan and spent more time at Riverfront and GABP than I can count but I'm not dropping money of tickets and beer on the off chance that I might get to see a double-switch. They have DH in college and minors and AL so the NL is the outlier. I don't want an auto out at the bottom of the lineup.
More interleague-inter-division games. I know you have to beat the teams in your division but it would get boring seeing the damn Pirates and Brewers play the Reds all the time. I'd love to see more games against AL teams or another NL division. It spices things up a bit.
Timers for pitchers and limit the number of times a batter can leave the box.
This is a radical one but at this point, baseball has lost me and might never get me back so what the hell. If you play 12 innings and there isn't a winner, the game ends in a tie. If you can't play an extra third of a game and still come to a conclusion, just stop playing. Baseball's biggest problem is that it's an old-fashioned long sport that doesn't appeal to modern audiences. The average baseball fan is in their late 40s and early 50s and if MLB doesn't do something, they're audience is going to die. Literally
More interleague-inter-division games. I know you have to beat the teams in your division but it would get boring seeing the damn Pirates and Brewers play the Reds all the time. I'd love to see more games against AL teams or another NL division. It spices things up a bit.
Timers for pitchers and limit the number of times a batter can leave the box.
This is a radical one but at this point, baseball has lost me and might never get me back so what the hell. If you play 12 innings and there isn't a winner, the game ends in a tie. If you can't play an extra third of a game and still come to a conclusion, just stop playing. Baseball's biggest problem is that it's an old-fashioned long sport that doesn't appeal to modern audiences. The average baseball fan is in their late 40s and early 50s and if MLB doesn't do something, they're audience is going to die. Literally
Totally agree about mixing up the schedule some. As a Reds fan myself, it gets tiresome how many games against teams like Pittsburgh/Milwaukee who bore and regular *** whoopins to the Cubs/Cardinals.
Not sure why anyone would pay to watch a pitcher bat. Studies show that concession sales spike when the 7,8,9 batters come up in NL if I recall
Good call on daytime WS games. Remember very well back when one of my Teachers would turn on the game late in the school day and then rush home to watch the rest of it.
Also, bring back the Twi-Night DH, usually held on Friday nights. Always one of my favorite trips to Riverfront whenever the Pirates came into town and a DH was on the docket for that weekend.
Also, bring back the Twi-Night DH, usually held on Friday nights. Always one of my favorite trips to Riverfront whenever the Pirates came into town and a DH was on the docket for that weekend.
More bat flips and homerun celebrations. Baseball is too damn boring. If a pitcher retaliates by throwing a fast ball at a batter's head, the batter should be allowed to kick the pitcher in the nads.
If you want to see a song and dance act why don't you go to the theater and quit watching sports?
Baseball is too old a stodgy in the US. Seriously, watch these Korean guys and tell me that tucking your head and jogging the bases is entertaining.
In basketball guys celebrate dunks, in soccer and hockey they celebrate goals and in football they celebrate touchdowns. But not in baseball! Oh, no! No fun allowed because you might be showing up a pitcher and that apparently gives him the right to legitimately threaten your life later.
In basketball guys celebrate dunks, in soccer and hockey they celebrate goals and in football they celebrate touchdowns. But not in baseball! Oh, no! No fun allowed because you might be showing up a pitcher and that apparently gives him the right to legitimately threaten your life later.
So the US Open Cup soccer tournament has started. If you don't know what that is, it's a tournament involving every level of soccer in the US from amateur teams up to MLS. I was thinking something like this would be great for baseball. Imagine if you had a tournament where A-MLB competed. You could have the Legends take on the Bats or a MLB team travel to a AAA team to play a game. It would break up the monotony of the MLB season IMO.
[roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll][roll]
Nay - very dumb suggestions. You get 9 players. Pretty obvious that two of them are going to be where they need to be - pitcher and catcher. Otherwise, stack the other 7 directly behind the mound if you're dumb enough to do so. Play the game.
If you see a shift in front of you then learn how to step off the plate, open your stance, hit opposite field liners and grounders for a while, bunt to third if you're batting left.
Wrong. Baseball's is not played against a clock. It has innings and outs, not minutes. The defense controls the ball. The game will be slow. Lot's to think about.
If they want the game to speed up, raise the mound back to where it's supposed to be.
1) Shorten the game? Easy, peasy. Play 7 innings and only 2 outs per inning. Only one minute between innings. Players will leave their gloves on the field like the old days. Would shorten the number of commercials per game by 600 or so. Problem solved.
2) More accuracy on balls and strikes? Simple two-step "sand lot" solution: (1) Honor system...let the batter call the balls and strikes himself. (2) If batter is a jackass about calling his own…then he gets his *** beat by players on both teams. Problem solved.
3) Increase offense? i like the 3 infielders/2 outfielders rule. Let those understaffed beyothches shift wherever the eff they want to. And DH in both leagues…with ghost runners…and throw in a mote with alligators at the foot of the pitchers mound to shorten their stride.
All just as viable options as anything else in this thread.
2) More accuracy on balls and strikes? Simple two-step "sand lot" solution: (1) Honor system...let the batter call the balls and strikes himself. (2) If batter is a jackass about calling his own…then he gets his *** beat by players on both teams. Problem solved.
3) Increase offense? i like the 3 infielders/2 outfielders rule. Let those understaffed beyothches shift wherever the eff they want to. And DH in both leagues…with ghost runners…and throw in a mote with alligators at the foot of the pitchers mound to shorten their stride.
All just as viable options as anything else in this thread.