What one thing would you change about MLB?

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raddy
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Post by raddy »

Nbr `1 by far --the DH

No one has mentioned arbitration so I decided to post here--bad rule.IMO

Seeding the playoff teams regardless of who the wild card is.

Raising the mound some would be a good move.

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Post by greenback44 »

raddy wrote:Nbr `1 by far --the DH

No one has mentioned arbitration so I decided to post here--bad rule.IMO
What's the problem with arbitration? Players get substantially less than the market would give them as free agents and substantially more than minimum. The owners demonstrated they must have some sword of Damocles hanging over their head to pay players appropriately. So what are the alternatives? A strict seniority system is obviously flawed. A strict stats-based system creates strange incentives and is almost certain to over-rate and under-rate some players.

Aside from a salary cap, I'd like to see expansion to 32 teams with two of those new franchises plopped into New York.

raddy
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Post by raddy »

Most judges don't know any more about baseball than my wife (or me) and I do believe they started the trend of outragious salaries the players now enjoy and the fans are the ones that are suffering.

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ghostrunner
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Post by ghostrunner »

My Dad - and I can't tell how serious he is - thinks foul balls should be limited. I think he says after the 4th one, you should be out.

However, in addition to this, he says they should also get rid of home runs.

Then, take these two together, and add them to the fact that he hates pitcher's duels and likes higher scores. Doesn't really add up.

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Post by greenback44 »

raddy wrote:Most judges don't know any more about baseball than my wife (or me) and I do believe they started the trend of outragious salaries the players now enjoy and the fans are the ones that are suffering.
Arbitration salaries are a function of precedent, so they're lagging more than starting any trends.

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Post by raddy »

I remember when Marvin Miller asked for arbritration in the union contract knowing full well the owners wouldn't go for it and guess what--they did--

Miller told the union reps at that time they would have the owners by the short hairs from now on --

The next season a judge awarded Bruce Sutter more money than the rest of the Cubs payroll---and the fun began.

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Post by greenback44 »

raddy wrote:I remember when Marvin Miller asked for arbritration in the union contract knowing full well the owners wouldn't go for it and guess what--they did--

Miller told the union reps at that time they would have the owners by the short hairs from now on --

The next season a judge awarded Bruce Sutter more money than the rest of the Cubs payroll---and the fun began.
The fun had already begun before that. Catfish Hunter's deal in 1975 was an eye-opener for baseball players, exposing the little secret of just how much players were worth on an open market. I think Miller's point was that you can't put the genie back in the bottle.

The reason players makes so much money is that fans are happy to pay $35 for a seat upstairs and $6 for a beer. Arbitration is an effect of those prices, not the cause.

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clement
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Post by clement »

Read them all. Nothing new to add, just to throw support behind ...

#1. Get rid of DH. This one just seems like such an obvious one that I can't believe it hasn't been done already.

#2. Find a way to fix the scheduling problems. I don't think contraction is necessary, but either contract 2 teams, or add 2 teams. I might get rid of inter-league play as well. I always liked the way baseball used to have a completely even schedule between teams. I'm not saying it has to be perfect like that, but it would be good to have it more symmetrical to determine who the divisional champs really are.

#3. I actually like the 4 teams per league playoff system. I think the fact that wild cards have done so well is a reason to keep the system. I definitely would not increase it to more than it is now, though.

#4. I'm against instant replay in general, but it might make sense on a foul ball/fair ball call (it could be done quickly and objectively). But not on calls of runners being safe or out. I think that would slow things down too much.

I really don't think talent is that dilluted, if at all.

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Post by raddy »

Paying top players top money like Catfish Huner is not what hurt baseball IMO

It is paying average players what they do now is what hurts baseball

Thats what abritration and the judges that know nothing about baseball have done.

It was reported that one judge asked "what are RBI's "?

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Radbird
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Post by Radbird »

And I thought this would be a one-page thread after we all agreed on "no DH". :wink:

After reading the full thread, it's still at the top of my list. But here are my thoughts on a few other suggestions:

- Instant replay. It would be hard to implement for regular season games, given the sheer number of games and varying technology. Are all games even televised? Are the same number of cameras used? Maybe for postseason, you could do it (although I don't see the need when you have 6 umps). But not practical for the regular season IMO.

- Number of teams. I would like to see something done so that we have the same number of teams in each division. They could do that by having 2 15-team leagues (although we'd have season-long interleague games) or by contracting or expanding. I'd rather see expansion, but anything is better than the current set up with 6-team and 4-team divisions.

- Playoffs. I'd like to see a 154-game regular season with three 7-game playoff rounds and a WS that ends a week earlier than it currently does. If you don't like a shortened season, then let's have 7 or 8 "doubleheader days" so we can end the season earlier.

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