Major changes to MLB reportedly discussed by Manfred, MLBPA

[eligrba]

MLB should create opportunities allowing the team on defense to score.

[WeatherWonk]

3 hours ago, Sully151 said:

Move the fences back, the bases up, raise the mound, allow PEDs and switch to aluminum bats. 

VERY outside the box.

[AngelsLakersFan]

Here is my compromise position on the DH... eliminate the DH as a position and introduce a 'dual substitution' rule.

The idea is to create an 'offensive' or 'defensive' substitution in additional to traditional substitutions. An 'offensive substitution' would allow a team to return a player to the field after letting another player bat for them (who is then eliminated from the game). A defensive substitution would work the same way, just on defense. So a player can be subbed in on defense and forced to exit the game when the original players spot comes up on offense.

A practical way this would work would be when the pitchers spot in the lineup comes up. A manager could choose to use an offensive substitution to bat in place of the pitcher, depending on game circumstances. The batter would then be out of the game, and the pitcher allowed to return on defense. Later in the game when the pitchers spot came up the manager might choose to traditionally pinch hit (regular substitution) for the pitcher. The batter would then take over in the pitchers spot (like a DH), allowing the manager to use a defensive substitution with a relief pitcher to cover for the batter on defense.

Ultimately teams would be limited by the size of their benches and bullpens. It would allow the game to keep the tradition of pitchers batting in a uniform way in low leverage situations, while also maintaining a significant strategic component to roster construction and bench usage that would be lost with a universal DH.

[Blarg]

Make it simple eliminate the pitching position from the lineup and only have 8 players in the batting order. That will completely screw with the order of the universe.

[happybat4]

10 hours ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

 

It's the players. They didn't used to have the pitcher step off the mound, adjust his cap, rub the ball around, adjust his cleats, walk around the rubber, take 15 seconds to get set, then get the sign and hold the ball for another 10 seconds before throwing a pitcher.

 

All while the batter steps out of the box, adjusts his gloves after every single pitch, takes some practice swings, slowly steps back in the box, makes sure his feet are just right, hold up his bat, and then gets ready.

I loved watching Mark Buehrle pitch. He wasted no time.

[Hubs]

Blarg has a good point. Three batter minimum unless it’s a new inning. So if you swap in a reliever in the 7th with one out. And get two batters to end the inning, you can switch pitchers to start the 8th. 

The universal DH makes sense.

When they merged league offices and got rid of league umpires and evened it out at 16... it’s time.

Its time for expansion to 16 teams in each league. Either two divisions of 8 or 4 of 4. One of the new teams should be on the West Coast (Portland), and one of the current NL West Teams (Arizona or Colorado) would be moved to the AL. Angels/A’s/Mariners/Hipsters then Rangers/Astros/Royals/Rockies is the other new division. Rays move to NL and relocate to Nashville/Charlotte/Montreal. 

Infield shifts need to be regulated.

And I like 26 regular and 28 active for the month of September but they should be able to call up the remaining 12 on the 40, even if they’re not active 

 

[Make Angels Great Again]

20 minutes ago, happybat4 said:

I loved watching Mark Buehrle pitch. He wasted no time.

 

Mark Buehrle vs a lineup of Joey Vottos would result in a 45 minute game.

[Troll Daddy]

 

[Blarg]

Moving back the mound is going to cause dozens of arm injuries as pitchers try and adapt. 

[Docwaukee]

I'm all for analytics, but the bb is one of the biggest killers of today's game.  Anything that would promote more balls in play would be something I'd be on board with.  I don't want to completely give the advantage to the pitchers, because that would be just as boring.  Lower the mound.  Make the plate bigger.  move the bases closer together.  Move the fences back.  Whatever.  

But that's never going to happen.  They're never going to change such fundamental constructs of the game as to alienate or alter the skill set of large groups of players.  Or alter a method of how an entire team is built based on a certain strategy.  

DH in both leagues would be fine by me.  Although it could be argued that it forces the NL teams only to spend more.  

I don't think there needs to be a three batter min for relievers, but how about if you switch a pitcher, they get like 5 warm up pitches and they should be ready to go?  No more bs where there are all of these little strategic delays where the catcher goes behind the plate and then comes to the mound and then the manager makes a slow walk out there and then stands there talking to the pitcher for a bit and then brings in the next guy.  If the manager wants to change pitchers, they have 30s to decide after the previous batter is out.  Next pitcher comes in, and he should be ready to go.  

[GrittyVeterans]

The 3 batter minimum is a good idea. Going to a game on a week night and seeing 3 pitching changes in the 7th inning and then another 3 in the 8th is just absolute nonsense when you have work the next morning. That needs to be limited.

 

I also don't understand why the manager has to do that slow, gimpy walk out to the mound every time they remove a pitcher. Either make him sprint out there or get a Facking ear piece that he can call the pitcher to the dugout with.

[Jay]

I like the idea of limiting the number of pitching changes per game.

Not a fan of "clocks" of any kind in the game.

 

[Lou]

I think everything should stay the same 

[zenmaster]

12 hours ago, GrittyVeterans said:

The 3 batter minimum is a good idea. Going to a game on a week night and seeing 3 pitching changes in the 7th inning and then another 3 in the 8th is just absolute nonsense when you have work the next morning. That needs to be limited.

 

I also don't understand why the manager has to do that slow, gimpy walk out to the mound every time they remove a pitcher. Either make him sprint out there or get a Facking ear piece that he can call the pitcher to the dugout with.

Agree with the  manager walk out. It's the year 2019 and we can't get a message out to a pitcher that he's being yanked other than a face to face conversation? It's probably one of these nostalgic things people are used to see so they won't mess with it. 

[ScottT]

I don't think a three batter minimum would iead to an ncrease ratings, attendance, or revenue.  

Some of these proposals are random, weird, and trivial.

What happens if a pitcher feels a little something  and is taken out of the game?  Does he have to go on the DL?  What would the point of this rule be, to increase offense?  Speed up the game?  There are better ways.  

[AngelsLakersFan]

15 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I'm all for analytics, but the bb is one of the biggest killers of today's game.  Anything that would promote more balls in play would be something I'd be on board with.  I don't want to completely give the advantage to the pitchers, because that would be just as boring.  Lower the mound.  Make the plate bigger.  move the bases closer together.  Move the fences back.  Whatever.  

But that's never going to happen.  They're never going to change such fundamental constructs of the game as to alienate or alter the skill set of large groups of players.  Or alter a method of how an entire team is built based on a certain strategy.  

DH in both leagues would be fine by me.  Although it could be argued that it forces the NL teams only to spend more.  

I don't think there needs to be a three batter min for relievers, but how about if you switch a pitcher, they get like 5 warm up pitches and they should be ready to go?  No more bs where there are all of these little strategic delays where the catcher goes behind the plate and then comes to the mound and then the manager makes a slow walk out there and then stands there talking to the pitcher for a bit and then brings in the next guy.  If the manager wants to change pitchers, they have 30s to decide after the previous batter is out.  Next pitcher comes in, and he should be ready to go.  

How do you increase contact without alienating the skill set of large groups of players or team strategies? All changes will have that effect. 

Moving the mound back, or down will decrease strikeouts but it will also increase walks and homeruns. I don't think there is anything wrong with the balance of the batter / pitcher matchup, only that both sides have been moving to increasingly more optimal strategies. If they want to make changes to the pitching side then they need to limit team's abilities to use relief pitchers and reward endurance. On the batting side they need to reduce the payoff of trying to crush a mistake out of the park while increasing the value of a typical ball put in play. To do that the only thing you really can do is make adjustments to the playing field.

[AngelsLakersFan]

15 hours ago, Dochalo said:

DH in both leagues would be fine by me.  Although it could be argued that it forces the NL teams only to spend more.  

Also, I haven't looked at the data, but I would think the DH has an impact on lengthening games. It creates more offense and allows AL teams to carry more guys in the bullpen.

Edit: AL games average 2:15 longer

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/is-the-dh-rule-bane-of-baseball-purists-slowing-the-game-down/

[ten ocho recon scout]

On 2/6/2019 at 7:19 AM, nate said:

  The pitcher hitting is the most boring and annoying rule in sports.

 

[ten ocho recon scout]

On 2/6/2019 at 7:52 AM, Stradling said:

 In the 80’s a game was two and a half hours long.  Now it is over three hours long.  

Started with this A hole in the 90s.

And one of bin ladens relatives lived on his street growing up. (At least that was the rumor after 9/11. Thinking back, I think that family was actually Indian. But whatever).

[Jay]

2 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Started with this A hole in the 90s.

Makes sense that a Chowd would be the root of all evil.

 

[WeatherWonk]

11 hours ago, Lou said:

I think everything should stay the same 

And it will, including the declining number of butts in the seats and eyes on the tube watching baseball, if everything remains the same.

 

[WeatherWonk]

14 hours ago, Jay said:

I like the idea of limiting the number of pitching changes per game.

Not a fan of "clocks" of any kind in the game.

 

yeah, really. Once a clock is instituted in any form in baseball, it loses its essence, and what separates it from all the other major sports.

[Lou]

butts in the seats and tv ratings.

two things I don't give a rat's ass about. 

[Biergott]

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25947020/major-league-baseball-rename-disabled-list-injured-list

 

[zenmaster]

6 minutes ago, Biergott said:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25947020/major-league-baseball-rename-disabled-list-injured-list

 

Whew! Glad we got that one taken care of.