Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

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Momo
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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by Momo »

Here are some ideas off the top of my head to change/modernize the game on and off the field:
  • Enforce a clock for both pitchers and batters: If the pitcher doesn’t deliver by the clock, make it a ball, if the batter doesn’t, it’s a strike. I wouldn’t necessarily even be opposed to going further and declaring that further clock violations in a game result in increasing penalties for a team (i.e. a free base or automatic SO) so as to really emphasize that the clock must be respected.
  • Force pitchers to pitch to two hitters at least: This was suggested earlier and I generally like the idea. The concept of a LOOGY is pretty stupid honestly.
  • Revise expanded rosters: All 40 players can be used in September, but only 25 can be active for a game.
  • Revise arbitration and MiLB contracts: Fix it so young players can get paid earlier, less shenanigans are done to keep them in the minors and they get called up sooner in general.
  • Set a salary floor: No more teams crying poverty. Alternatively you might consider an expenditure minimum so teams could invest elsewhere like into their MiLB facilities or ballpark.
  • Shorten the season: From anywhere between 8-18 games should be sliced off. This has four benefits. First, players can be more well rested. Second, it allows for some more unique (e.g. international) games. Third, playoffs can be moved back up out of November. Fourth, interleague games can be reduced, making them more special again.
  • Related to the above, consider axing Monday games: In the NPB, they’ve axed Monday games because they realized they’re horribly attended and better used to rest. You could even do something like one “Monday Night Baseball” game for everyone to focus on and market more.
  • League wide, weekly or biweekly family days. Something like Family Tuesday’s with $10 tickets to encourage attendance and make it easier to bring families. Baseball isn’t baseball if a family of four can’t afford to go to a game.
  • Open seating up after the 7th: It’s silly to force people to sit in the nosebleeds at the end of the game if there are empty seats (which is often the case for teams with small fanbases or poor records).
  • Stop with late start playoffs: Too many people (particularly families and kids) can’t watch playoff games to conclusion because they start so late.
  • Get rid of blackouts: Okay, maybe not completely eliminate them, but the rules around broadcasting need to be changed. They’re asinine and confusing to the average fan.
  • Regularly mic up players: MLB is easily one of the worst sports leagues in the USA at marketing it’s starts. Giving mics to players could give fans more ways to see/hear the stars.
  • Have yearly matchups with non-American leagues: The Japan All-Star Series should be yearly. There should be other occasional matchups like say, having the CBL or KBO All-Stars play an MLB club. MLS does something similar where the MLS All-Stars plays an international club like Juventus. Like I said, the MLB does a terrible job promoting its stars to the USA. It also does a pretty terrible job promoting the game internationally. And considering the game is fairly popular worldwide, they should be doing more.

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Schlich
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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by Schlich »

Theres nothing wrong with the pace of play IMO.

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cardsfansince82
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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by cardsfansince82 »

I'm fine with pitch clocks, limiting mound visits and even limiting pitching changes. I wouldn't do anything else to change the first nine innings. Yeah, it sucks seeing the bottom of the order due up against a badass closer, but that's the way it goes. Making it so the stars are always involved would only accentuate the gap between the haves and have nots. Do you really want to see a Yankees $120 million 3-4-5 steal games night after night?

I would be fine with a whole lot of scenarios for extra innings as long as they suspend stat keeping after the 9th.

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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by AWvsCBsteeeerike3 »

Similarly, maybe they could only play games once a week so we don't need to see the back end of the rotation starters. I mean in what other sport do multiple players, sometimes the best on the team, come to a game knowing there is a zero point zero percent chance they play in the game which is the case thousands of times a year when a number 3-5 starter is on the bump? Ludicrous!

dmarx114
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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by dmarx114 »

4 warm up pitches between innings.

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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by tlombard »

dmarx114 wrote:4 warm up pitches between innings.
The warm up pitches between innings is probably OK since that is all taken up by commercial break anyway. They'd just be later onto the field or standing around while waiting to come back from the break.

I would possibly be in favor of eliminating almost all warm up tosses for a reliever coming in during the middle of an inning though. Make sure they're ready to go when they're called on and then maybe give them two or three pitches so the pitcher and catcher can get on the same page and then it's go time. I don't think you can completely eliminate the warm up pitches for a reliever because they do need to get a feel for the mound and where the previous pitchers have dug out their little landing areas.

And bring back the bullpen carts so they get to the mound faster but don't make them just normal carts, have some real fun with them.

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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by TimeForGuinness »

- Most of our time is governed by clocks, I don't want them in baseball...frankie says relax.
- Get rid of commercials and charge a premium for ads around the ballpark (infield & bases are off-limits)
- One pitcher per inning, but pitchers can come back in later innings even if they're taken out.
- If you can't field a competitive team in 3 seasons, the owner is forced to sell their team...or establish promotion / relegation system with AAA.
- Top 8 teams from each league go into the playoffs..first two rounds are 3-games, the pennant is 5 games, and WS is 7 games.

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vinsanity
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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by vinsanity »

MrCrowesGarden wrote:
Michael wrote:
mikechamp wrote:If MLB strays too far from its roots
I think a problem with baseball is an unwillingness to stray from its roots out of a misguided sense of tradition. Other leagues make pragmatic changes their rules every year to make improvements to their games, but baseball continues to keep rules and traditions that are obviously terrible.

Personally, I'm not a fan of this particular proposal, but I don't think it's as bad as other posters in this thread. I'd like to see more "out there" proposals from baseball.
I don't have an issue with the DH in both leagues or realigning to a North-South-East-West no leagues proposal. This is too far for me.
I'll +1 Michael and ask, is this current proposal that much more radical than the DH was when it was first introduced? It's a 1 inning DH.

Throwing radical ideas out like this are good ways to at least find small things they could do to improve the game.

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MrCrowesGarden
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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by MrCrowesGarden »

vinsanity wrote:
MrCrowesGarden wrote:
Michael wrote:
mikechamp wrote:If MLB strays too far from its roots
I think a problem with baseball is an unwillingness to stray from its roots out of a misguided sense of tradition. Other leagues make pragmatic changes their rules every year to make improvements to their games, but baseball continues to keep rules and traditions that are obviously terrible.

Personally, I'm not a fan of this particular proposal, but I don't think it's as bad as other posters in this thread. I'd like to see more "out there" proposals from baseball.
I don't have an issue with the DH in both leagues or realigning to a North-South-East-West no leagues proposal. This is too far for me.
I'll +1 Michael and ask, is this current proposal that much more radical than the DH was when it was first introduced? It's a 1 inning DH.

Throwing radical ideas out like this are good ways to at least find small things they could do to improve the game.
My thinking is yes, this is quite a bit more radical. We don't know how many DHs it is, only that you get to do as long as you are trailing.

I understood both this idea and the DH were born out of the same goal, to add excitement for the game. I don't know how to explain it, but this feels a lot more gimmicky to me.

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Re: Maybe The Worst Baseball Idea Yet

Post by Fat Strat »

TimeForGuinness wrote:Get rid of commercials and charge a premium for ads around the ballpark (infield & bases are off-limits)
Curious to see what people would think about continuing the game during commercial breaks. Show the commercial, but leave the game on in a corner. You won't miss anything -- just the unnecessary commentary/announcing.

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