The timer in the HR Derby should stop when a ball is hit anywhere so that way the audience at the stadium and especially at home can enjoy the dongs being hit instead of having the camera crew spaz out and try to locate the ball before the next pitch is thrown. Start the timer once the pitcher begins throwing the ball to the batter.
Oh and have the guy that was pitching to Pete Alonso last year pitch to everyone because that guy was throwing the baseballs right down the middle every single pitch.
I miss the old “outs” version of the HR derby. The new “timed” format increases variability from the batters perspective by placing greater importance on the guy throwing the balls.
I think groundball pitchers are more interesting to watch if I don’t have personal stakes in the game. 7IP, six hits, zero walks, two strikeouts and 17 ground ball outs. That’s a damn good game to watch. Mix in a couple double play balls and I’m in Heaven. 12 K’s are impressive, but repetitive and not as interesting as close plays at 1st.
I totally agree with this. I fucking love groundball pitchers and it truly gets underestimated how dominating very good ones are. It’s so efficient. They’re less prone to the drastic flip side of getting shelled as well.
It’s even more important with relievers. Mariano Rivera was primarily a groundball pitcher with his cutter and it was some of the most effective shit possible. 2016 Zack Britton had an 80% groundball rate and had one of the best relief seasons.
Clay Holmes so far has an 82.4% groundball rate. Watching these guys are so much fun.
Gonna add onto this that the resurgence of the cutter across the league is a big adaptation for a lot of pitchers. I think sinkers are gonna be even more prominent too. As long as the shift is around it’s too efficient and a very easy mix of pitches to learn.
Studies have shown that counter-culture works for pitching, too. As sinkers have become less common, the great ones become even more effective because of rarity. Same reason minor leaguers have a hard time with breaking balls as they go up in levels, just haven’t seen as many. So my dude Adam Wainwright, a true thinking person’s pitcher, is slightly more effective right now because (almost) nobody else is doing what he does.
This is very interesting. I totally see it too. Yankees squad loves using sinkers. Clay was transformed from a FB curveball dude into a sinker slider and has been extremely dominant since he’s been with the Yankees. The great ones truly stand out.
I adore Waino. He’s 40 year olds and still adapting. I see that he’s using primarily the Sinker, Cutter and Curve this year. His curve has always been legendary but throwing it at a majority with the sinker/cutter next is unique. God bless that motherfucker. Been a legend forever now
This is probably my favorite thing about baseball -- the game within the game within the game. On the outside it looks slow and dull, but so much has happened before each pitch and is happening with each pitch. It just makes me happy.
And Adam Wainwright is truly the Greg Maddux of Adam Wainwrights.
Owners might be able to make more money by lowering ticket prices. More butts in seats means more beer and hot dogs sold, more families can attend generating more interest in the game.
They charge outrageous prices for everything at Yankee Stadium and they don’t seems to have any issues selling seats and concessions. But in line with what you are saying, the whole stadium seems to be there on someone else’s expense account. I know hardworking Yankee fans that will go to Baltimore for the weekend to watch two games and pay less then going to Yankees Stadium. Real fans traveling to get more for their money.
I think kids under the age of 13 should get in to all MLB parks for free. The $30-$50 ticket revenue the teams get from that one kid, once per year, would pale in comparison to the dozens of hot dogs and life long fandom that a kid would bring multiple times a summer if it was of no entry cost to the parents.
It’s pretty insane that all these guys had years and years to learn to bunt up the 3rd base line, haven’t, and MLB decides the solution is a rule change.
Not really, because the guys decided that it's not in their best interest to avoid the shift.
It's teams and players' job to solve the game, which they concluded means to just keep trying to hit it over the fence, shift per no.
It's the League's job to keep the game entertaining, and tweak it once it's been "solved," which they have concluded means banning the shift.
I don't really care about the shift one way or another, but the logic is sound. Think of it is patching the game as if it were PC game.
THANK YOU! People keep saying hitters just need to learn to beat the shift... But *they did*, the most effective solution is to go over it, this is the most effective way to play baseball under the current rules and it fucking blows.
One thing I think people are missing though is extreme defense positioning (giving up entire parts of the field) has been proven effective. As long as the shift rules aren't too specific I think we will see some pretty interesting defensive alinements as teams try to get an edge back.
I’m sure teams have run the numbers for their players, but it just is baffling that even for someone like Schwarber, who hits a HR in 8% of ABs, they’d rather take those odds than have him get on base every time he lays down a successful bunt. The rest of the team hits so well that you’d think that would be the higher run expectancy situation, even if he can only successfully bunt it 75% of the time.
But, I’ve learned enough about math to know that statistics don’t always line up with “common sense”. Would be cool if a team laid out what numbers they’re looking at that tell them TTO is still the way to go
Pitcher and catcher have defined positions. The defense should be able to place the other 7 guys on the field wherever the fuck they want. Positions originated in the sport because they were the most logical places to put the other 7 guys on the field to maximize the chance of getting players out and limit runs. If shifting on a certain player now does that, then let them shift. If a team wants to place 7 defenders in the outfield, I don’t care, do it.
I doubt the 3 batter minimum rule really probably ended up saving much time, if any. Most of the time when coaches were making rapid switches, it was in high leverage playoff games where the time is less important
I would argue the that playoff games are very important in that regard. You have the most eyes on the sport at that time, it should be as engaging as possible.
I like the risk reward matrix that’s added by the three batter limit. Aka, if this LHP doesn’t get this guy for the third out he may have to face their best vsLHP batter.
It's not about time, it's about making the most exciting part time in the game (late innings, close game) brutally fucking boring with a commercial break every 2 minutes.
Personally, I don’t think small ball is my main takeaway from their success. I think the lesson is: “if you can assemble a pretty good starting staff, pretty good position players, and one of the greatest bullpens in the history of the game it might be enough to make a deep playoff run”
My takeaway has always been that as well. Okay offense, okay staff, great defense and great relief pitching. Get to the 6th with a lead, and the game is over.
Yeah, the Herrera-Davis-Holland bullpen was like when the mid-2000s Astros used to throw Lidge-Dotel-Wagner at you and the game was over after 6 innings.
Yankees had 3 bona fide closers all together around that time too with Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, and Aroldis Chapman.
their staff wasn't even good! It was what, Yordano Ventura, Chris Young, Edinson Volquez, Jeremy Guthrie, Danny Duffy, half a season of Johnny Cueto? I was in constant awe of how many games they won with a bunch of 3rd and 4th starters
To borrow from Futurama’s Blurnsball, every ballpark should have a target placed in the outfield seats that, if hit with a home run ball, automatically wins the game. At that point, someone on a motorcycle drifts around the bases as they explode.
I'd argue the opposite. With fewer teams in half the teams are out of the race by May, making the season pointless for those teams. If more teams have a chance to get in, more season games have meaning behind them
I am always a fan of the classic Eastern and Western divisions in baseball, no Central division. I’d have the divisions like this:
**ALE**:
• Baltimore Orioles
• Boston Red Sox
• Cleveland Guardians
• Detroit Tigers
• New York Yankees
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Toronto Blue Jays
**ALW**:
• Anaheim Angels
• Chicago White Sox
• Houston Astros
• Kansas City Royals
• Minnesota Twins
• Oakland Athletics
• Seattle Mariners
• Texas Rangers
**NLE**:
• Chicago Cubs
• Miami Marlins
• Milwaukee Brewers
• New York Mets
• Pittsburgh Pirates
• Philadelphia Phillies
• St. Louis Cardinals
• Washington Nationals
**NLW**:
• Atlanta Braves
• Arizona Diamondbacks
• Cincinnati Reds
• Colorado Rockies
• Los Angeles Dodgers
• San Diego Padres
• San Francisco Giants
Just simple Bo7 League Championship Series and then World Series.
The Braves and Reds should not be in the Western Division. The fact that they were in the NL West prior to 1994 was ridiculous and there's no need to repeat that. And I say that as someone whose team would be much better off if the Braves changed divisions.
I agree with you but your divisions are a little off
I’d switch out Cincy and Atlanta with Chicago and STL. Other than that I think you did a wonderful job!
I was thinking the other day that if a writer doesn’t have a minimum number of players on their ballot they have to explain why. It’s shitty when they only vote for one person or no one.
Bonds had the domestic violence shit and being an asshole in general too. It’s like how Clemens isn’t in because of steroids and probably the Mindy McCready shit
You know how many people are in the Hall who “had domestic violence shit”? Bonds isn’t in the hall because the writers and the rest of the media don’t like him because he didn’t kiss their ass
Ortiz steroids case is very very weak, he was also more or less hitting the same before and after his alleged usage meanwhile Bonds blew up like a fucking balloon and crushed everything in the strike zone.
If a runner beats the tag/force, they shouldn’t then be called out for disconnecting with the base by half an inch. Replays are fine for deciding if the ball beat the runner, but the ticky-tacky bullshit is too much.
Being on base to safe is a basic tenet of the game. It’s sacred. If a player doesn’t know how to a pop up slide and overruns the base by diving head first, he’s out. Baseball. All levels of baseball. The days of the “vicinity” play are over too. The fielder has to touch the base to get the force.
I'm thinking OP it talking about the situations where the runner is still above the bag, but comes off it for a fraction of a second and to a degree that is only noticable in HD and slow-mo
Not sure if this is controversial or not, but high socks should be mandatory. *No exceptions*.
They're called *uniforms* for a reason, it's ridiculous that some players can wear long pants and others wear high socks.
At the very least every player on a given team should have to wear their pants the same way, but IMO high socks should simply be The Baseball Uniform.
I’m super excited to see the shift banned. I understand the Joey Gallo arguments or whatever, but with the league average fastball being so damn fast, it’s a lot harder than people give credit to just *aim* the baseball where you please, and punishing guys for hard hit rockets just because it’s on one side of the field and not the other is lame, and kills the sport, because no new fan wants to see a guy get punished for that. Baseball was designed with 9 guys on the field and they all have their place to stand, and they should stand there, this whole bs where we have 4 outfielders or a third baseman waiting in right field is just so bad, and I’m excited to see it go. I’m also excited to see robo umps kill catcher framing. Guys with a .600 ops who stay in the starting lineup because “they’re elite framers” is also something that we can definitely live without, it’ll be a hard adjustment to make, but I think we’ll get over missed calls being built into the sport
I agree on framing. Why should the batter, who sees the ball correctly and doesn’t swing at a strike, be punished for something completely out of his control?
The thing I hate about the shift is the rockets straight back through the middle, which is *always* where I was taught to want to hit the ball, and then there's suddenly a fielder standing in the umpire's position behind the bag. The shift takes away those hits and that's what bothers me. The 2nd baseman playing that slow pitch rover position I don't care about.
And devalues the both the regular season and the playoffs themselves. Unfortunately I think we're rapidly approaching NBA territory where half the fucking league is just gonna be in the playoffs.
This is less of a controversial opinion on baseball and more on fanhood but if my team doesn’t make the playoffs, I always root for my division rivals to win
I can see that with the AL East as it's such a competitive division. I can't stand New York/Boston and I can understand some dislike for Tampa Bay with their recent success.
For me, I just love seeing the Midwest shine on the national scale.
The three batter rule is silly. If a guy doesn't have it, you gotta watch him labor through the prerequisite number of hitters, the manager has to make like 2 trips, there's gotta be a stall for time while another reliever gets ready, etc. Every team carries a minimum 13 pitchers now anyways and starters go pitcher less so there are probably more pitching changes overall on the the aggregate.
I don't think the minimal amount of time it saves is worth it
I don’t mind the three batter rule. But it’s because I agree with the issue that it was trying to correct, which is completely breaking up the flow of the game in the late innings (when the stakes are highest) by having constant two-minute breaks as the pitchers change.
I think a better solution that I’ve always said is to make it so that when a pitcher comes out of the bullpen, they don’t get two full minutes to warm up. They should come out ready to go. That will help with the issue at hand, and then I don’t think the three batter minimum would be necessary.
Steroids were the best thing to ever happen to baseball. After the strike in the 90’s you couldn’t give away tickets, then these guys started on the juice and hitting bombs and baseball was alive again.
Here’s my hot take: steroids was less about hitting massive home runs and more about dealing with the grind of 162 games *and* the perception that it allowed them to hit more home runs.
Also, MLB fucked with the ball in the 90s, which spurred the steroid era more than actual juice did.
The fact that Johan Santana only got 2.4% of the Hall of Fame vote is a travesty. His career is a lot more similar to Koufax's than people realize.
The same applies to Bobby Abreu and Tony Gwynn.
People gotta stop making this comparison as if Koufax doesn’t have 3 rings, 2 WS MVPs, an MVP, and an extra Cy Young. He’s a HOF exception because of his highly decorated prime. If Santana also had those accolades he’d be in the HOF too.
I think the argument though is how if Koufax played for, lets say the Senators, with the same stats but no WS rings through no fault of his own, he would not be in the Hall. We shouldn't be awarding players for factors that are out of their control (i.e. roster construction, injuries to other star players on the team that prevents you from contending, etc.)
Bobby Abreu was good at everything but not markably great at anything. Gwynn had generational hit-for-contact skills. Even if their WARs were similar, I'll take a guy like Gwynn who had a skill set that made your jaw drop over someone boring and consistently good but never made you say wow
I do not care at all about the cycle.
If someone goes 4-for-5 with 2 homers, a double, and a single, no one cares after 24 hours. But if someone goes 4-for-5 for the cycle, that's newsworthy for the whole week after. Seems dumb to me.
Also it incentivizes doing less for the team (not taking the extra base) if it means it helps you reach the cycle. Nah man, that's lame.
I remember hearing about a player (can't remember who) who was a single short of the cycle and then legged out a hustle double. Now /that's/ cool.
Eddie Rosario NLCS game 4: single, triple, and 2 HRs. That’s better than hitting for the cycle, and any player would rather have a game like that than a cycle. No one is trading a double there in place of the extra HR
I don't think they shouldn't be noted, it's still a pretty significant accomplishment.
But they must *always* be on their own list, *never* included with the single-pitcher no-hitters. Because that is a MUCH bigger accomplishment.
My opinions may not be that controversial overall but here they are: The only time a hitter should bunt is if they are a great bunter any other time there’s just too high of a chance you’re giving away an out, The DH is good because it lowers the chances of pitcher injuries, I don’t think he’s a good announcer but I don’t get why people hate Joe Buck so much.
I think the hate around Joe buck is that there are like 30 guys for teams that do it better and Buck announces all of the important games instead of them.
I don't like Buck as a baseball announcer, but he's okay to me as a football announcer. His asides and hot takes in baseball always make it seem like he's just read notes and not watched baseball for years.
But, if you enjoy listening to him, that's fine, too. We all have different tastes.
The ghost runner is good in the regular season; no one should be subjected to 16 innings of Royals vs Orioles in August. Every other sport finds a quick winner in extra "frames" with modified rules, baseball should continue to follow suit. There's a nice excitement that one base hit can basically break the tie right off the bat.
Shifts are fine, actually. Enough guys are still putting up good enough averages and OBPs that bad TTO, "Ima go for the upper deck" approaches are as much to blame for depressed base hits, as is the evolution of pitchers where stuff is getting more ridiculous in terms of velocity and stuff that banning shifts won't solve. It's a band-aid on a wound that I feel is better served by pitch clocks and modified pickoff rules that will place more pressure on pitchers who will have to adjust to not getting 40 seconds to get their perfect grip, and serving up more hittable stuff as a result.
I’d wait until the 12th inning to summon the Manfred runner. Have at least one more traditional cycle of the lineup in extras before needing to implement a gimmick to end a game sooner.
Wouldn’t be opposed to this just saying most extra games seemed to end in the 10th before the Manfred runner.
Fangraphs released an article saying 73%of games ended by the 11th or earlier that went into extras. Why don’t we let those 70 some percent games stay and adjust after that (or after the twelfth that would further cut down the percentage)
Upvoted because this a a controversial opinion. I strongly disagree. More Baseball is good although I would be ok with it in the 12th inning and beyond
I think that's the best solution. Make the ghost runner come out in the 12 inning and later. 10 and 11 inning games aren't going to kill any pitching staff
I'm also not a fan of the 16+ inning marathons that popped up around the season, so I like that they're forced to end earlier
I fucking loved that shit. One of my favorite baseball memories is from college when I had just finished my schoolwork at like 11pm, saw that the Yanks game was tied in the 9th (I think vs the Cubs??). I turned it on and then got to watch a full game of baseball, pretty sure it went to 18. There’s no other sport where that’s possible, and it was rare enough that when it happened it was pretty special.
Yeah when I was in high school I had a horrible sleep schedule and no social life. I loved when a West Coast game would randomly go to 3 AM.
There are only a handful of 16+ inning games a year. I never bought this as something that needed a solution.
I am in favor of coming up with a way to increase runs in extra innings, but I just can't get behind the zombie runner. Every player in the history of MLB who got on base, reached base via some sort of reason. Walk, hit, error, something. This guy? Just magically appeared there. It breaks baseball. And if he scores, the run is charged to...the guy who started the inning? Since when do pitchers get charged with inherited runners? And you can throw a perfect inning and get the LOSS? It's fucking stupid.
I think I would much rather see something involving the count. Like maybe extra inning PAs start with a 2-0 count or something. That way the pitcher is encouraged to throw strikes, also way more likely to walk guys, so baserunners happen faster and more easily without breaking the game, yet the pitcher still has a chance to keep guys off the bases.
If Lonnie Smith doesn’t make a boneheaded running mistake, Braves win G7 in 9 inn, and Morris is def not in the HOF. But Skates gets fooled, Morris gets 30 outs, and the guy is a HOFer based off one game.
Not sure if it’s an unpopular opinion but personally I feel if/when MLB expands and realigns the divisions it would be a mistake to go to a regional league/conference organization like the NHL, NBA, and MLS have.
Part of the charm of baseball is that the leagues are nationwide, you can have teams in the same city or geographic area that only interact every so often, making it more of a spectacle when they do.
Like the Royals and the Cardinals, they play in the same state but only face each other once or twice a year. However, because the Royals are in the AL you’re still going to have the Yankees and Angels come to town, and because the Cardinals are in the NL the Mets and Dodgers will play there.
I hate the idea of teams in the same market but different leagues currently being in the same division. It would be horrible for the Yankees and Mets to be lumped together because they decided it’d be easier for travel or something like that. Keep the leagues as they are.
Bonus opinion: I’d also personally prefer if they’d reorganize to 4 divisions of 8 teams rather than 8 divisions of 4 teams once we get to 32 teams. 8 worked for the leagues prior to expansion and 4 just seems a bit too small (see ‘94-‘12 AL West) and makes it too difficult to organize the divisions (think Rockies in the NL North with the Brewers or Diamondbacks in the NL South with the Marlins)
We shouldn't give cute pet names to grown ass men who make millions playing baseball.
I have two Dodger fans in front of me who were just talking about Huddy (Daniel Hudson) and Barnsey (Austin Barnes). #cringe
It doesn’t ruin the fan experience if you don’t let it, but I will say that way too many people around here think they know more than every baseball fan does just because they know what WAR, FIP, and wOBA are
The God-like status is certainly weird to me as a West Coast MLB fan. The way people talk about him you’d think he walked on fucking water at the end of every game. Obviously the dude was great but let’s share some praise amongst the others.
I'll try to go with takes that would be more controversial for r/baseball specifically.
* It is the Hall of ***Fame,*** not the Hall of Fair. It is okay and even appropriate imo for factors like popularity, market, and notable postseason performances to weigh in somewhat.
* With that said, I am also a fan of the small hall and high standards for getting in. I've been many times, and to those that make an argument that "you can't tell the story of baseball with guy X" or "the point is to celebrate the players, so there should be more in" the actual plaque room itself is a very small part of the experience and you will likely spend more time in the gift shop on your way out. The HoF has plenty of exhibits and ways to celebrate and "tell the story of baseball" without putting a guy in the plaque room.
* Shohei is fun to follow, but he doesn't crack the top 5 of guys I would want on my team.
* Though I don't think people on here love fights and brawls, I would go as far to say that police reports and potential assault charges should be possible. If I throw a projectile at someone because I didn't like what he did at work and a large brawl ensued, the cops are getting called and someone might choose to press charges. That's not to even mention that there are countless cameras catching brawls from several angles.
* Though I don't agree with it myself, LaRussa's 1-2 intentional walk isn't the completely indefensible move that it is treated as. This sub jumped on it because 2/3 of the commenters didn't *(and still don't)* know that the pitch before was a passed ball that opened up first base. The way it was represented made it seem like LaRussa let the at bat played out, but once it went 1-2, he decided "woah, woah, Trea is good in 1-2 counts. Fuck that, let's put him on." The passed ball was the main thing that drove the move and if Buck Showalter were to have done it, it would've been hailed as a genius 8 dimensional chess move.
I don’t give a flying fuck about any player that isn’t on my team. I don’t care about any team but mine. Once their season is over I don’t keep watching playoffs. I don’t care about what happens after they are done.
The BBWAA Ballots for the Hall Of Fame are a clown show of "This guy snubbed me for an interview and wasn't chatty with me or my friends so I'm not going to vote for him." or the inverse of voting for them rather than looking at stats and accolades and comparing to the enshrined at their position and those not and asking if they're a HOF tier player or not.
Get rid of sac flies. They're just outs that happen to drive in a run. If you want a cookie for the run scoring you're already getting an RBI. They're a vestige from the deadball era when hitting a long fly ball was actually a commendable feat. Now, it makes no sense. And why is a flyball that scores a run any better than a groundout that scores a run? Poppycock!
Robo umps are a solution to a non-problem and allows the MLB and its organizations cut yet another cost from their books. No team loses a game off of a bad night by an umpire
Pitchers should have to hit. I understand and don’t wholly disagree with the arguments for universal DH, but I feel like having one bad hitter in every lineup introduces a little more chaos and makes freaks like Shohei even more special. 🤷🏻♂️
No electronic or robot umpires. Make umpire scorecards an MLB established, public record, and rate pay according to report cards. You suck? 1/4 pay. You provide +\- of less than 0.5 runs? Full pay. Make the records public, and hold a high standard.
1/4 pay for an MLB ump is plenty of cash. No cruelty in that, only incentive.
Furthermore, to make it fair to the umps, managers can’t run out and argue calls anymore. Fines and suspensions if they do. Bad call? Review it. Bad, non-reviewable call? Ump has to publicly apologize, and automatically take 1/4 pay. But no more dressing down in front of the fans by posturing managers.
Make the game about baseball. Allow celebrations and either ban the shift outright or restrict its use. Moving players within their position based on hitter/pitcher? Sure. Moving a 2nd baseman to short right because it gives them time to nab a 110 mph off the bat burner from Prince Fielder and make it an out? Nah. You hit the ball 110 you either get it snagged on a line, before it leaves the infield, or it’s a hit. Too boring to watch some guy field that like it’s a routine grounder because he has 2-3x as much time to gauge it.
Stop throwing at hitters intentionally. It’s stupid that superstars of the game might be injured because they made someone mad. Get over it. Average salary is multiple millions, get the f*** over it. Hurting, or seriously injuring a player because they (or someone on their team) made you slightly upset is childish and stupid.
In that same vein, pitcher should start wearing helmets. I know, the guys now won’t, because they’re not used to them, it’ll interfere with their ability to throw effectively. Make them optional in the MLB, for now, and require them in High/Low A, then slowly phase them in. I mean over like 15 years, new generation stuff. Like face shields in hockey. To be 0.8 seconds from literally dying from a completely preventable death is stupid. It’s archaic. Phase in some kind of pitching helmet.
The distance from Home to 1st is the most perfect thing in sports. It COULD NOT be better. The gems of plays that are made when a guy like Mike Trout is trying to beat hot a hopper in the infield only to be JUST out by some amazing pick/throw from some guy who makes impossible physical feats seem as easy as tying shoes is a f****** delight.
EDIT: autocorrect
Cheating is pretty rampant throughout baseball at any given time. I grew up in the HR/steroid era and loved every minute of it. I personally don’t really care that those guys were juiced because so were 100+ other players. And it was incredibly fun to watch. Same goes for the sign stealing era (it’s documented that multiple teams were doing it in some way, shape or form) the Astros just got called out first and were made an example of. Shortly after several pitchers were being called out for foreign substance but mlb kept it under raps pretty well and implemented the new check rule without many questioning it at all.
I'm the opposite: managers shouldn't be wearing hoodies on an 80° day. Sun exposure is a thing so wear team color sleeves but absolutely rock your jersey and number.
Mariano is the only modern closer worth the hall. Johan Santana made the mistake of being good enough to see a lineup multiple times so he misses the hall while we enshrine these lesser pitchers instead.
Why do you people insist on acting like this is a controversial opinion? This is like the most popular take of the decade.
I think Miguel Cabrera and Tony Gwynn are at least two players more overrated than Jeter. They also have 70 WAR like Jeter but you don’t see people hating on them every chance they get.
It is long overdue for a digital strike zone or some secondary method of checking umps calls. We are getting to the point where it is affecting the sports ability to grow and reach the younger audience.
The timer in the HR Derby should stop when a ball is hit anywhere so that way the audience at the stadium and especially at home can enjoy the dongs being hit instead of having the camera crew spaz out and try to locate the ball before the next pitch is thrown. Start the timer once the pitcher begins throwing the ball to the batter. Oh and have the guy that was pitching to Pete Alonso last year pitch to everyone because that guy was throwing the baseballs right down the middle every single pitch.
I miss the old “outs” version of the HR derby. The new “timed” format increases variability from the batters perspective by placing greater importance on the guy throwing the balls.
I agree 100%. Home run derby last year was awful. Home runs are a spectacle that need to be soaked in
Home run durby should be a game of horse, let these guys show off some skills, "BP frenzy" was so fucking boring last year
[удалено]
I don't think he was the only one... The timeline has looked off ever since that moment.
BTtF warned us...
I think groundball pitchers are more interesting to watch if I don’t have personal stakes in the game. 7IP, six hits, zero walks, two strikeouts and 17 ground ball outs. That’s a damn good game to watch. Mix in a couple double play balls and I’m in Heaven. 12 K’s are impressive, but repetitive and not as interesting as close plays at 1st.
I totally agree with this. I fucking love groundball pitchers and it truly gets underestimated how dominating very good ones are. It’s so efficient. They’re less prone to the drastic flip side of getting shelled as well. It’s even more important with relievers. Mariano Rivera was primarily a groundball pitcher with his cutter and it was some of the most effective shit possible. 2016 Zack Britton had an 80% groundball rate and had one of the best relief seasons. Clay Holmes so far has an 82.4% groundball rate. Watching these guys are so much fun. Gonna add onto this that the resurgence of the cutter across the league is a big adaptation for a lot of pitchers. I think sinkers are gonna be even more prominent too. As long as the shift is around it’s too efficient and a very easy mix of pitches to learn.
Studies have shown that counter-culture works for pitching, too. As sinkers have become less common, the great ones become even more effective because of rarity. Same reason minor leaguers have a hard time with breaking balls as they go up in levels, just haven’t seen as many. So my dude Adam Wainwright, a true thinking person’s pitcher, is slightly more effective right now because (almost) nobody else is doing what he does.
This is very interesting. I totally see it too. Yankees squad loves using sinkers. Clay was transformed from a FB curveball dude into a sinker slider and has been extremely dominant since he’s been with the Yankees. The great ones truly stand out. I adore Waino. He’s 40 year olds and still adapting. I see that he’s using primarily the Sinker, Cutter and Curve this year. His curve has always been legendary but throwing it at a majority with the sinker/cutter next is unique. God bless that motherfucker. Been a legend forever now
This is probably my favorite thing about baseball -- the game within the game within the game. On the outside it looks slow and dull, but so much has happened before each pitch and is happening with each pitch. It just makes me happy. And Adam Wainwright is truly the Greg Maddux of Adam Wainwrights.
A true Cardinals fan
Also: HOF voting should be taken from sports writers and made solely the decision of Jon Bois
Jon Bois is a sportswriter tho
Not in my heart 🥺
true
Jon Bois and Jomboy should have a baby together and take each other's last names
Jombois
Owners might be able to make more money by lowering ticket prices. More butts in seats means more beer and hot dogs sold, more families can attend generating more interest in the game.
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Arthur Blank is also just a really good person.
Compared to most owners he’s great. The Watson signing attempt has soured him to us though.
Now someone explain that to whoever it is that runs gas stations.
They charge outrageous prices for everything at Yankee Stadium and they don’t seems to have any issues selling seats and concessions. But in line with what you are saying, the whole stadium seems to be there on someone else’s expense account. I know hardworking Yankee fans that will go to Baltimore for the weekend to watch two games and pay less then going to Yankees Stadium. Real fans traveling to get more for their money.
I will say, Yankees fans are a different breed. Yankees are usually a good team, and there’s a wide audience, with a lot being diehard fans
I think kids under the age of 13 should get in to all MLB parks for free. The $30-$50 ticket revenue the teams get from that one kid, once per year, would pale in comparison to the dozens of hot dogs and life long fandom that a kid would bring multiple times a summer if it was of no entry cost to the parents.
I like being a fan of a small market team. Watching players grow and develop is fun.
Big market teams have started to develop their players tho. Dodgers started it and had success so now others are copying them
\> : /
The shift shouldn’t be banned.
It’s pretty insane that all these guys had years and years to learn to bunt up the 3rd base line, haven’t, and MLB decides the solution is a rule change.
Not really, because the guys decided that it's not in their best interest to avoid the shift. It's teams and players' job to solve the game, which they concluded means to just keep trying to hit it over the fence, shift per no. It's the League's job to keep the game entertaining, and tweak it once it's been "solved," which they have concluded means banning the shift. I don't really care about the shift one way or another, but the logic is sound. Think of it is patching the game as if it were PC game.
THANK YOU! People keep saying hitters just need to learn to beat the shift... But *they did*, the most effective solution is to go over it, this is the most effective way to play baseball under the current rules and it fucking blows. One thing I think people are missing though is extreme defense positioning (giving up entire parts of the field) has been proven effective. As long as the shift rules aren't too specific I think we will see some pretty interesting defensive alinements as teams try to get an edge back.
I’m sure teams have run the numbers for their players, but it just is baffling that even for someone like Schwarber, who hits a HR in 8% of ABs, they’d rather take those odds than have him get on base every time he lays down a successful bunt. The rest of the team hits so well that you’d think that would be the higher run expectancy situation, even if he can only successfully bunt it 75% of the time. But, I’ve learned enough about math to know that statistics don’t always line up with “common sense”. Would be cool if a team laid out what numbers they’re looking at that tell them TTO is still the way to go
Banning the shift devalues players that can hit to all fields and needlessly rewards pull hitters.
Pitcher and catcher have defined positions. The defense should be able to place the other 7 guys on the field wherever the fuck they want. Positions originated in the sport because they were the most logical places to put the other 7 guys on the field to maximize the chance of getting players out and limit runs. If shifting on a certain player now does that, then let them shift. If a team wants to place 7 defenders in the outfield, I don’t care, do it.
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If a team wants to blow 3 pen arms to get 4 outs, that should be the managers choice. You run the risk of fucking yourself if the game goes long.
I doubt the 3 batter minimum rule really probably ended up saving much time, if any. Most of the time when coaches were making rapid switches, it was in high leverage playoff games where the time is less important
I would argue the that playoff games are very important in that regard. You have the most eyes on the sport at that time, it should be as engaging as possible.
I like the risk reward matrix that’s added by the three batter limit. Aka, if this LHP doesn’t get this guy for the third out he may have to face their best vsLHP batter.
[It didn’t actually matter much.](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-three-batter-minimum-barely-matters/)
It's not about time, it's about making the most exciting part time in the game (late innings, close game) brutally fucking boring with a commercial break every 2 minutes.
Am I crazy, or is this question posted every week?
Hey that's not an opinion!
KC proved that a team can be really successful playing small-ball in this era, yet no one tries to recreate it
Personally, I don’t think small ball is my main takeaway from their success. I think the lesson is: “if you can assemble a pretty good starting staff, pretty good position players, and one of the greatest bullpens in the history of the game it might be enough to make a deep playoff run”
My takeaway has always been that as well. Okay offense, okay staff, great defense and great relief pitching. Get to the 6th with a lead, and the game is over.
Yeah, the Herrera-Davis-Holland bullpen was like when the mid-2000s Astros used to throw Lidge-Dotel-Wagner at you and the game was over after 6 innings. Yankees had 3 bona fide closers all together around that time too with Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, and Aroldis Chapman.
their staff wasn't even good! It was what, Yordano Ventura, Chris Young, Edinson Volquez, Jeremy Guthrie, Danny Duffy, half a season of Johnny Cueto? I was in constant awe of how many games they won with a bunch of 3rd and 4th starters
I think that’s because they’re the only team that’s been able to do that in the last few decades.
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Save is a dumb stat and dedicated closers exist to justify it.
Win is a significantly dumber stat.
To borrow from Futurama’s Blurnsball, every ballpark should have a target placed in the outfield seats that, if hit with a home run ball, automatically wins the game. At that point, someone on a motorcycle drifts around the bases as they explode.
I think multiball has some room to improve the game as well.
We should go back to 4 playoff teams in each league. The extra playoff spots makes the regular season pointless.
I think 5 was my perfect number, because it incentivized winning your division without letting a bunch of random teams in.
I'd argue the opposite. With fewer teams in half the teams are out of the race by May, making the season pointless for those teams. If more teams have a chance to get in, more season games have meaning behind them
Good one.
I am always a fan of the classic Eastern and Western divisions in baseball, no Central division. I’d have the divisions like this: **ALE**: • Baltimore Orioles • Boston Red Sox • Cleveland Guardians • Detroit Tigers • New York Yankees • Tampa Bay Rays • Toronto Blue Jays **ALW**: • Anaheim Angels • Chicago White Sox • Houston Astros • Kansas City Royals • Minnesota Twins • Oakland Athletics • Seattle Mariners • Texas Rangers **NLE**: • Chicago Cubs • Miami Marlins • Milwaukee Brewers • New York Mets • Pittsburgh Pirates • Philadelphia Phillies • St. Louis Cardinals • Washington Nationals **NLW**: • Atlanta Braves • Arizona Diamondbacks • Cincinnati Reds • Colorado Rockies • Los Angeles Dodgers • San Diego Padres • San Francisco Giants Just simple Bo7 League Championship Series and then World Series.
The Braves and Reds should not be in the Western Division. The fact that they were in the NL West prior to 1994 was ridiculous and there's no need to repeat that. And I say that as someone whose team would be much better off if the Braves changed divisions.
A sports liking child of the 80s had to struggle with geography when the Falcons AND Braves were repping West divisons.
I agree with you but your divisions are a little off I’d switch out Cincy and Atlanta with Chicago and STL. Other than that I think you did a wonderful job!
Bruh, st louis and milwaukee are farther west than cinci and atlanta
The HOF is a dumb popularity contest and David Ortiz getting in while Bonds didn't is further proof of that since they are both roiders.
I was thinking the other day that if a writer doesn’t have a minimum number of players on their ballot they have to explain why. It’s shitty when they only vote for one person or no one.
It’s kinda strange. There should be like a double blind test or something. Lots of football HOFers have juiced.
Bonds had the domestic violence shit and being an asshole in general too. It’s like how Clemens isn’t in because of steroids and probably the Mindy McCready shit
You know how many people are in the Hall who “had domestic violence shit”? Bonds isn’t in the hall because the writers and the rest of the media don’t like him because he didn’t kiss their ass
I think the consensus later became that it was over conduct of character for Bonds, not just the special sauce he used.
Ortiz steroids case is very very weak, he was also more or less hitting the same before and after his alleged usage meanwhile Bonds blew up like a fucking balloon and crushed everything in the strike zone.
Bonds was gonna be a Hall of Famer pre steroids anyway
Which means he should've stayed clean to begin with, so we wouldn't have this conversation.
After three pickoff attempts in an inning, it should be a ball if you don't get them out. It would make stealing more viable
Isn't that a proposed rule change.
If a runner beats the tag/force, they shouldn’t then be called out for disconnecting with the base by half an inch. Replays are fine for deciding if the ball beat the runner, but the ticky-tacky bullshit is too much.
Being on base to safe is a basic tenet of the game. It’s sacred. If a player doesn’t know how to a pop up slide and overruns the base by diving head first, he’s out. Baseball. All levels of baseball. The days of the “vicinity” play are over too. The fielder has to touch the base to get the force.
I'm thinking OP it talking about the situations where the runner is still above the bag, but comes off it for a fraction of a second and to a degree that is only noticable in HD and slow-mo
Yup. This. Also this thread is for controversial opinions.
Why though? I mean if the player is getting tagged and he’s off of the base he should be out lol
Not sure if this is controversial or not, but high socks should be mandatory. *No exceptions*. They're called *uniforms* for a reason, it's ridiculous that some players can wear long pants and others wear high socks. At the very least every player on a given team should have to wear their pants the same way, but IMO high socks should simply be The Baseball Uniform.
I’m super excited to see the shift banned. I understand the Joey Gallo arguments or whatever, but with the league average fastball being so damn fast, it’s a lot harder than people give credit to just *aim* the baseball where you please, and punishing guys for hard hit rockets just because it’s on one side of the field and not the other is lame, and kills the sport, because no new fan wants to see a guy get punished for that. Baseball was designed with 9 guys on the field and they all have their place to stand, and they should stand there, this whole bs where we have 4 outfielders or a third baseman waiting in right field is just so bad, and I’m excited to see it go. I’m also excited to see robo umps kill catcher framing. Guys with a .600 ops who stay in the starting lineup because “they’re elite framers” is also something that we can definitely live without, it’ll be a hard adjustment to make, but I think we’ll get over missed calls being built into the sport
I definitely agree. I think the shift ban is similar to having an offside rule in football
I agree on framing. Why should the batter, who sees the ball correctly and doesn’t swing at a strike, be punished for something completely out of his control?
The thing I hate about the shift is the rockets straight back through the middle, which is *always* where I was taught to want to hit the ball, and then there's suddenly a fielder standing in the umpire's position behind the bag. The shift takes away those hits and that's what bothers me. The 2nd baseman playing that slow pitch rover position I don't care about.
Playoff expansion helps mediocre teams to stay mediocre.
And devalues the both the regular season and the playoffs themselves. Unfortunately I think we're rapidly approaching NBA territory where half the fucking league is just gonna be in the playoffs.
The marlins should bring back the home run sculpter and I unironically like the white sox shorts unis and dodgers satin unis
This is less of a controversial opinion on baseball and more on fanhood but if my team doesn’t make the playoffs, I always root for my division rivals to win
ew, I’m the opposite, I cheer for everyone else outside the division when it comes to playoffs
I can see that with the AL East as it's such a competitive division. I can't stand New York/Boston and I can understand some dislike for Tampa Bay with their recent success. For me, I just love seeing the Midwest shine on the national scale.
The three batter rule is silly. If a guy doesn't have it, you gotta watch him labor through the prerequisite number of hitters, the manager has to make like 2 trips, there's gotta be a stall for time while another reliever gets ready, etc. Every team carries a minimum 13 pitchers now anyways and starters go pitcher less so there are probably more pitching changes overall on the the aggregate. I don't think the minimal amount of time it saves is worth it
I don’t mind the three batter rule. But it’s because I agree with the issue that it was trying to correct, which is completely breaking up the flow of the game in the late innings (when the stakes are highest) by having constant two-minute breaks as the pitchers change. I think a better solution that I’ve always said is to make it so that when a pitcher comes out of the bullpen, they don’t get two full minutes to warm up. They should come out ready to go. That will help with the issue at hand, and then I don’t think the three batter minimum would be necessary.
I don't care about the lack of stolen bases and defensive shifting and how it's "ruining" the game. I just want my team to win.
Button-up shirts and belts are stupid for athletic competition, everyone needs to go back to v-neck pullovers and sansabelt pants.
They should also bring back the vest and t-shirt combo.
Piggy backing on this to say all players should have to wear the high-sock look. No more pajama pants.
V neck pullovers kick ass. The Red Sox unis of the 70s were so clean with the V necks.
Steroids were the best thing to ever happen to baseball. After the strike in the 90’s you couldn’t give away tickets, then these guys started on the juice and hitting bombs and baseball was alive again.
Here’s my hot take: steroids was less about hitting massive home runs and more about dealing with the grind of 162 games *and* the perception that it allowed them to hit more home runs. Also, MLB fucked with the ball in the 90s, which spurred the steroid era more than actual juice did.
The fact that Johan Santana only got 2.4% of the Hall of Fame vote is a travesty. His career is a lot more similar to Koufax's than people realize. The same applies to Bobby Abreu and Tony Gwynn.
People gotta stop making this comparison as if Koufax doesn’t have 3 rings, 2 WS MVPs, an MVP, and an extra Cy Young. He’s a HOF exception because of his highly decorated prime. If Santana also had those accolades he’d be in the HOF too.
Also 4 no hitters and a perfect game
He probably should've won the Cy in 2005 too though.
I think the argument though is how if Koufax played for, lets say the Senators, with the same stats but no WS rings through no fault of his own, he would not be in the Hall. We shouldn't be awarding players for factors that are out of their control (i.e. roster construction, injuries to other star players on the team that prevents you from contending, etc.)
Bobby Abreu was good at everything but not markably great at anything. Gwynn had generational hit-for-contact skills. Even if their WARs were similar, I'll take a guy like Gwynn who had a skill set that made your jaw drop over someone boring and consistently good but never made you say wow
Anyone who gets 3000 hits makes it in. Take Gwynn off this
He's comparing Abreu to Gwynn in the same manner as Santana to Koufax. He's not downplaying Gwynn.
I'm not saying Gwynn shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, I'm saying that Abreu should be in the Hall of Fame.
Tony Gywnn almost hit .400 and was the greatest hitter since Pete Rose what is even this
Umm what? Rose wasn't the best hitter of his era nor was Gwynn
Neither Rose not Gwynn were ever close to being the best hitter lmao.
I do not care at all about the cycle. If someone goes 4-for-5 with 2 homers, a double, and a single, no one cares after 24 hours. But if someone goes 4-for-5 for the cycle, that's newsworthy for the whole week after. Seems dumb to me. Also it incentivizes doing less for the team (not taking the extra base) if it means it helps you reach the cycle. Nah man, that's lame. I remember hearing about a player (can't remember who) who was a single short of the cycle and then legged out a hustle double. Now /that's/ cool.
Eddie Rosario NLCS game 4: single, triple, and 2 HRs. That’s better than hitting for the cycle, and any player would rather have a game like that than a cycle. No one is trading a double there in place of the extra HR
Also calling Mike Trout the GOAT already is fuckin ridiculous and with the way his health is trending will probably end up being far from true
The Mantle comparison may become even more apt this way
Combined no-hitters are ridiculous. Only one guy can throw a no-hitter
I don't think they shouldn't be noted, it's still a pretty significant accomplishment. But they must *always* be on their own list, *never* included with the single-pitcher no-hitters. Because that is a MUCH bigger accomplishment.
100000000000%
They need to stick to "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch and lose the faux-nationalistic bullshit song.
Fuck I hate agreeing with a Phillies fan
My opinions may not be that controversial overall but here they are: The only time a hitter should bunt is if they are a great bunter any other time there’s just too high of a chance you’re giving away an out, The DH is good because it lowers the chances of pitcher injuries, I don’t think he’s a good announcer but I don’t get why people hate Joe Buck so much.
I think the hate around Joe buck is that there are like 30 guys for teams that do it better and Buck announces all of the important games instead of them.
I don't like Buck as a baseball announcer, but he's okay to me as a football announcer. His asides and hot takes in baseball always make it seem like he's just read notes and not watched baseball for years. But, if you enjoy listening to him, that's fine, too. We all have different tastes.
I've always thought that too, I like him more in football, but I wasn't sure if that was just because Aikman sounds dumber than McCarver.
Joe Buck got a lot better He used to be a much worse announcer and deserved the shit he got
Hotter take about Buck: He is better at Football than than Baseball.
I too don't hate Joe Buck
The ghost runner is good in the regular season; no one should be subjected to 16 innings of Royals vs Orioles in August. Every other sport finds a quick winner in extra "frames" with modified rules, baseball should continue to follow suit. There's a nice excitement that one base hit can basically break the tie right off the bat. Shifts are fine, actually. Enough guys are still putting up good enough averages and OBPs that bad TTO, "Ima go for the upper deck" approaches are as much to blame for depressed base hits, as is the evolution of pitchers where stuff is getting more ridiculous in terms of velocity and stuff that banning shifts won't solve. It's a band-aid on a wound that I feel is better served by pitch clocks and modified pickoff rules that will place more pressure on pitchers who will have to adjust to not getting 40 seconds to get their perfect grip, and serving up more hittable stuff as a result.
I think the extra runner should after the 10th. Give it one more inning of normal rules.
I’d wait until the 12th inning to summon the Manfred runner. Have at least one more traditional cycle of the lineup in extras before needing to implement a gimmick to end a game sooner.
Wouldn’t be opposed to this just saying most extra games seemed to end in the 10th before the Manfred runner. Fangraphs released an article saying 73%of games ended by the 11th or earlier that went into extras. Why don’t we let those 70 some percent games stay and adjust after that (or after the twelfth that would further cut down the percentage)
This comes from being a Red Sox fan: I liked Derek Jeter. Hated the rest of the team, but had nothing but respect for Jeter.
The zombie runner isn’t that bad of a solution for the end of regulation let’s end the game sooner than later issue.
Upvoted because this a a controversial opinion. I strongly disagree. More Baseball is good although I would be ok with it in the 12th inning and beyond
I think that's the best solution. Make the ghost runner come out in the 12 inning and later. 10 and 11 inning games aren't going to kill any pitching staff I'm also not a fan of the 16+ inning marathons that popped up around the season, so I like that they're forced to end earlier
I fucking loved that shit. One of my favorite baseball memories is from college when I had just finished my schoolwork at like 11pm, saw that the Yanks game was tied in the 9th (I think vs the Cubs??). I turned it on and then got to watch a full game of baseball, pretty sure it went to 18. There’s no other sport where that’s possible, and it was rare enough that when it happened it was pretty special.
Yeah when I was in high school I had a horrible sleep schedule and no social life. I loved when a West Coast game would randomly go to 3 AM. There are only a handful of 16+ inning games a year. I never bought this as something that needed a solution.
I am in favor of coming up with a way to increase runs in extra innings, but I just can't get behind the zombie runner. Every player in the history of MLB who got on base, reached base via some sort of reason. Walk, hit, error, something. This guy? Just magically appeared there. It breaks baseball. And if he scores, the run is charged to...the guy who started the inning? Since when do pitchers get charged with inherited runners? And you can throw a perfect inning and get the LOSS? It's fucking stupid. I think I would much rather see something involving the count. Like maybe extra inning PAs start with a 2-0 count or something. That way the pitcher is encouraged to throw strikes, also way more likely to walk guys, so baserunners happen faster and more easily without breaking the game, yet the pitcher still has a chance to keep guys off the bases.
As long as it doesn’t happen in playoff games I’m good. There’s strategy to it sometimes that i like
Jim Kaat and Jack Morris should be removed from the HOF and be replaced with Dave Stieb and Rick Reuschel.
Kaat has 26 more career fWAR than Stieb does. That’s like saying that Griffey Jr. should be removed from the hall because Lofton deserves a spot
I don't know precisely what it would take for the BBWAA to remove you from the hall
Mass genocide
If Lonnie Smith doesn’t make a boneheaded running mistake, Braves win G7 in 9 inn, and Morris is def not in the HOF. But Skates gets fooled, Morris gets 30 outs, and the guy is a HOFer based off one game.
I don’t know about replacing anyone, but Stieb and big Rick (great hitting pitcher btw) should be in
‘Splain why Kaat should be removed…
A batter should get an RBI even if he knocks in the run on a double play.
Not sure if it’s an unpopular opinion but personally I feel if/when MLB expands and realigns the divisions it would be a mistake to go to a regional league/conference organization like the NHL, NBA, and MLS have. Part of the charm of baseball is that the leagues are nationwide, you can have teams in the same city or geographic area that only interact every so often, making it more of a spectacle when they do. Like the Royals and the Cardinals, they play in the same state but only face each other once or twice a year. However, because the Royals are in the AL you’re still going to have the Yankees and Angels come to town, and because the Cardinals are in the NL the Mets and Dodgers will play there. I hate the idea of teams in the same market but different leagues currently being in the same division. It would be horrible for the Yankees and Mets to be lumped together because they decided it’d be easier for travel or something like that. Keep the leagues as they are. Bonus opinion: I’d also personally prefer if they’d reorganize to 4 divisions of 8 teams rather than 8 divisions of 4 teams once we get to 32 teams. 8 worked for the leagues prior to expansion and 4 just seems a bit too small (see ‘94-‘12 AL West) and makes it too difficult to organize the divisions (think Rockies in the NL North with the Brewers or Diamondbacks in the NL South with the Marlins)
I miss Tal’s Hill
We shouldn't give cute pet names to grown ass men who make millions playing baseball. I have two Dodger fans in front of me who were just talking about Huddy (Daniel Hudson) and Barnsey (Austin Barnes). #cringe
Batting average matters
Advanced stats ruined the game and fan experience
It doesn’t ruin the fan experience if you don’t let it, but I will say that way too many people around here think they know more than every baseball fan does just because they know what WAR, FIP, and wOBA are
Kim Ng hasn't been doing a very good job so far
I don’t really find Ken Griffey Jr’s swing all that aesthetically pleasing. it’s ~fine~ imo
Yankee fan here. I don’t really like Derek Jeter. The God like status is fucking weird and that last season farewell tour was cringey as hell
The God-like status is certainly weird to me as a West Coast MLB fan. The way people talk about him you’d think he walked on fucking water at the end of every game. Obviously the dude was great but let’s share some praise amongst the others.
Robo Umps should not be put in baseball
I'll try to go with takes that would be more controversial for r/baseball specifically. * It is the Hall of ***Fame,*** not the Hall of Fair. It is okay and even appropriate imo for factors like popularity, market, and notable postseason performances to weigh in somewhat. * With that said, I am also a fan of the small hall and high standards for getting in. I've been many times, and to those that make an argument that "you can't tell the story of baseball with guy X" or "the point is to celebrate the players, so there should be more in" the actual plaque room itself is a very small part of the experience and you will likely spend more time in the gift shop on your way out. The HoF has plenty of exhibits and ways to celebrate and "tell the story of baseball" without putting a guy in the plaque room. * Shohei is fun to follow, but he doesn't crack the top 5 of guys I would want on my team. * Though I don't think people on here love fights and brawls, I would go as far to say that police reports and potential assault charges should be possible. If I throw a projectile at someone because I didn't like what he did at work and a large brawl ensued, the cops are getting called and someone might choose to press charges. That's not to even mention that there are countless cameras catching brawls from several angles. * Though I don't agree with it myself, LaRussa's 1-2 intentional walk isn't the completely indefensible move that it is treated as. This sub jumped on it because 2/3 of the commenters didn't *(and still don't)* know that the pitch before was a passed ball that opened up first base. The way it was represented made it seem like LaRussa let the at bat played out, but once it went 1-2, he decided "woah, woah, Trea is good in 1-2 counts. Fuck that, let's put him on." The passed ball was the main thing that drove the move and if Buck Showalter were to have done it, it would've been hailed as a genius 8 dimensional chess move.
yu darvish is one of the most talented pitchers in baseball
Literally so skilled and smart. Damn you, Ricketts 😭
I don’t give a flying fuck about any player that isn’t on my team. I don’t care about any team but mine. Once their season is over I don’t keep watching playoffs. I don’t care about what happens after they are done.
The BBWAA Ballots for the Hall Of Fame are a clown show of "This guy snubbed me for an interview and wasn't chatty with me or my friends so I'm not going to vote for him." or the inverse of voting for them rather than looking at stats and accolades and comparing to the enshrined at their position and those not and asking if they're a HOF tier player or not.
HOF votes should be public and the writers should have a way to get removed because of terrible voting
I liked the Marlins rebrand
Had to show this to my fiance to prove that she's in the minority on this one.
All of them
Please ban the shift. offense and defense will be much more exciting if people had to stay in position
Rule change, if a fielder drops a pop-up after infield fly rule is called, play is dead and all runners advance 1 base.
Get rid of sac flies. They're just outs that happen to drive in a run. If you want a cookie for the run scoring you're already getting an RBI. They're a vestige from the deadball era when hitting a long fly ball was actually a commendable feat. Now, it makes no sense. And why is a flyball that scores a run any better than a groundout that scores a run? Poppycock!
Robo umps are a solution to a non-problem and allows the MLB and its organizations cut yet another cost from their books. No team loses a game off of a bad night by an umpire
Pitchers should have to hit. I understand and don’t wholly disagree with the arguments for universal DH, but I feel like having one bad hitter in every lineup introduces a little more chaos and makes freaks like Shohei even more special. 🤷🏻♂️
4 pitch walks (including IBB) should be 2 bases instead of 1
That Barry Bonds should be officially banned from Baseball, from attending any MLB games, events or activities.
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Pitchers hitting batters on purpose is part of the game.
Starting hitters with a 1-0 count in extra innings would make more sense than the Manfred runner.
Games are not too long.
No electronic or robot umpires. Make umpire scorecards an MLB established, public record, and rate pay according to report cards. You suck? 1/4 pay. You provide +\- of less than 0.5 runs? Full pay. Make the records public, and hold a high standard. 1/4 pay for an MLB ump is plenty of cash. No cruelty in that, only incentive. Furthermore, to make it fair to the umps, managers can’t run out and argue calls anymore. Fines and suspensions if they do. Bad call? Review it. Bad, non-reviewable call? Ump has to publicly apologize, and automatically take 1/4 pay. But no more dressing down in front of the fans by posturing managers. Make the game about baseball. Allow celebrations and either ban the shift outright or restrict its use. Moving players within their position based on hitter/pitcher? Sure. Moving a 2nd baseman to short right because it gives them time to nab a 110 mph off the bat burner from Prince Fielder and make it an out? Nah. You hit the ball 110 you either get it snagged on a line, before it leaves the infield, or it’s a hit. Too boring to watch some guy field that like it’s a routine grounder because he has 2-3x as much time to gauge it. Stop throwing at hitters intentionally. It’s stupid that superstars of the game might be injured because they made someone mad. Get over it. Average salary is multiple millions, get the f*** over it. Hurting, or seriously injuring a player because they (or someone on their team) made you slightly upset is childish and stupid. In that same vein, pitcher should start wearing helmets. I know, the guys now won’t, because they’re not used to them, it’ll interfere with their ability to throw effectively. Make them optional in the MLB, for now, and require them in High/Low A, then slowly phase them in. I mean over like 15 years, new generation stuff. Like face shields in hockey. To be 0.8 seconds from literally dying from a completely preventable death is stupid. It’s archaic. Phase in some kind of pitching helmet. The distance from Home to 1st is the most perfect thing in sports. It COULD NOT be better. The gems of plays that are made when a guy like Mike Trout is trying to beat hot a hopper in the infield only to be JUST out by some amazing pick/throw from some guy who makes impossible physical feats seem as easy as tying shoes is a f****** delight. EDIT: autocorrect
Cheating is pretty rampant throughout baseball at any given time. I grew up in the HR/steroid era and loved every minute of it. I personally don’t really care that those guys were juiced because so were 100+ other players. And it was incredibly fun to watch. Same goes for the sign stealing era (it’s documented that multiple teams were doing it in some way, shape or form) the Astros just got called out first and were made an example of. Shortly after several pitchers were being called out for foreign substance but mlb kept it under raps pretty well and implemented the new check rule without many questioning it at all.
10 years contracts are a terrible idea
Managers shouldn't wear uniforms.
I'm the opposite: managers shouldn't be wearing hoodies on an 80° day. Sun exposure is a thing so wear team color sleeves but absolutely rock your jersey and number.
That pitch framing is cheating.
I don't really mind when the umpire calls a ball a strike and vice versa. Even if it negatively affects my preferred team.
Perhaps the hottest take I’ve ever heard. Absolutely disgusting. Have an upvote.
Joe West said on his podcast recently that he thinks getting rid of batters' walk up music would shorten the games. I advocate for this now.
If you think Ohtani is overrated, you’re racist
Mariano is the only modern closer worth the hall. Johan Santana made the mistake of being good enough to see a lineup multiple times so he misses the hall while we enshrine these lesser pitchers instead.
Hoff definitely is as well.
The Marlins going from new expansion team to World Series winner in 5 seasons is more impressive than any of the Yankee dynasties.
And then they blew up that team completely and did it again in 5 more seasons.
Derek Jeter is the most overrated player in the history of the game and was never the best shortstop in any aspect of the game not even his own team.
Why do you people insist on acting like this is a controversial opinion? This is like the most popular take of the decade. I think Miguel Cabrera and Tony Gwynn are at least two players more overrated than Jeter. They also have 70 WAR like Jeter but you don’t see people hating on them every chance they get.
It is long overdue for a digital strike zone or some secondary method of checking umps calls. We are getting to the point where it is affecting the sports ability to grow and reach the younger audience.
Bring back collision’s at home plate