If you ask Astros ace Justin Verlander, Major League Baseball has become a home-run happy farce. Verlander, who started the All-Star Game for the American League on Tuesday, issued acerbic comments on the direction of the game Monday, saying (via Jeff Passan of ESPN): “Major League Baseball’s turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you’ve got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the [expletive] company. If any other $40 billion company bought out a $400 million company and the product changed dramatically, it’s not a guess as to what happened.”
Sour grapes from someone who’s already close to allowing a career-high home run total for a season? It doesn’t seem that way. There is growing skepticism – not just from Verlander – about the integrity of the baseball MLB is using, and understandably so. Big leaguers are on pace to hit 6,600-plus home runs, which would crush the record of 6,105 set in 2017, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times notes. Like Verlander, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark is under the impression something is up. So are starters Max Scherzer, Charlie Morton, Jake Odorizzi, Marcus Stroman and CC Sabathia, as Kepner and Passan detail in their pieces.
“If there’s something that’s potentially altering that, just come out and say it,” Odorizzi said. “I think, as players, we’ve gotten to the point now where we’ve accepted it.”
However, according to commissioner Rob Manfred, there isn’t anything nefarious happening. Rather, the league “has done nothing, given no direction, for an alteration in the baseball.” Manfred added MLB doesn’t want more home runs – owners have “no desire” for an increase, he insisted Tuesday – so juicing the baseball wouldn’t make sense from MLB’s perspective.
At the same time, Manfred did admit Monday the ball has changed. He told ESPN’s Golic and Wingo (via Passan): “”Our scientists that have been now studying the baseball more regularly have told us that this year the baseball has a little less drag. It doesn’t need to change very much in order to produce meaningful change in terms of the way the game is played on the field. We are trying to understand exactly why that happened and build out a manufacturing process that gives us a little more control over what’s going on. But you have to remember that our baseball is a handmade product and there’s gonna be variation year to year.”
Whether Manfred’s telling the truth in regards to the baseball is up for debate. What’s clear is that the game won’t be injecting more offense by implementing a universal designated hitter in the imminent future. Manfred remarked Tuesday (via Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that a DH in the National League is not “inevitable,” indicating it won’t come up as a possibility until after the collective bargaining agreement runs out in 2021.
Free agency, like the DH, will be an important discussion point during talks on the next CBA. Clark conveyed a desire this week to restore “meaningful free agency.” Manfred seems happy with the current system, though, saying baseball has the “freest free agency in any sport” – one devoid of a salary cap, franchise tags and max contracts. He expressed satisfaction that MLB “has produced more $100 million guaranteed contracts than the rest of professional sports combined.” While Manfred did indicate a willingness to negotiate with the union as regards free agency, the league’s “economic system has to preserve the competitiveness of those small-market clubs. That is always our overriding goal.”
Concerning the markets MLB plans to occupy going forward, Manfred put the kibosh on any short-term expansion possibilities, stating, “There’s no way we’re biting into expansion until we get Tampa and Oakland (which also needs a new stadium) resolved one way or the other.”
Tampa Bay, however, is exploring becoming a two-city franchise – an idea the league has thrown its support behind. In Manfred’s estimation, the Rays’ proposed Tampa Bay-Montreal team-sharing setup would present “an opportunity to preserve baseball in Tampa Bay. And I’m not prepared to say one way or the other what’s going to happen if that effort turns out to be unsuccessful.”
if the small market team have to be preserved by giving them money, why aren’t they using it? bull!
MLB should not only impose a hard salary cap, but also a hard salary minimum. Too many teams are being non-competitive. Every season when spring training begins, you can immediately eliminate 10 teams and say another 10 are in contention. Then you have the rest of the league trying to figure out where they fall as the season goes on.
Anybody else think the Home Runs will start to slow down after the break. I believe they will slowly change the ball back the 2nd half of the season.
Even the commissioner admits the ball is juiced.
I hope so
Raise the mound back to 1968 levels!
Debate done!
Nope, offense sells more tix than pitching
Pitching sells on TV more than hitting. TV is where the money’s at.
‘a DH in the National League is not “inevitable,”’
Good, enough has happened in the last 5 decades to ruin the game.
Nooooo!
NL DH is definitley coming. Seems like they’ re doing everything possible to increase offence to appeal to a new, younger demographic. Theres nothing appealing about watching a pitcher strike out 8 times out of 10, or attempt to lay down an obvious sac bunt.
That’s your opinion. There’s nothing appealing to me about watching a declining overweight baseball player cling onto their career by not having to play the field. What’s next? Designated Runners for the slow players? Designated Defenders for the guys who can’t field well?
I think we should have 9 designated runners, 9 designated hitters, 9 designated pitchers, and 9 designated fielders. Expand the rosters to 50.
This is what happens. People say, “nobody wants to watch a pitcher hit, he’s the worst on the team.” Fair enough. But after that, then what? I don’t want to watch Harrison Bader continue to hit this year, can I lobby for a DH for him too? After that can I get Fowler a DH? Where does it end? Replace the worst player and there is a new worst player.
The point of the game is to play the game. Not play part of the game and claim you are good at the game. These are supposed to be the best athletes in the world but we are subsidizing bad play with this nonsensical notion that you only need to be good at one thing. My favorite quote of all time:
“The DH rule in baseball is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain’s free throws.”.
It’s so much fun watching the pitchers position hit below .100 every year. The players will include the NL DH in the next CBA.
So don’t watch NL games. If pitchers hitting offends you that much, there are plenty of AL games shown every day. There are 15 different teams using the DH that you can become a fan of. Why do you insist on ruining the game for the fans of the other 15 teams?
Ummmmm….hetzel01…rules such as the DH are not part of the CBA just as the JDA is completely separate from the CBA
And Soroka almost had his year end getting hit by a pitch. If you think pitchers hitting is fun, you must also enjoy female boxing.
It’s a novelty.
macstruts
“Soroka almost had his year end getting hit by a pitch.” Position players experience the same thing all of the time. Why is it any different just because it’s a pitcher. IMO if you want to play MLB you should run, field, hit and throw…it’s that simple. Play the game…the whole game.
Your female boxing “equivalency” is just asinine.
You Shohei Ohtani is a fat , slow player? It would be a shame if the fans were deprived of seeing an amazing hitter who also tops 100 mph from the mound.
The DH allows the clubs to rest a regular now and then and it allows the clubs to use a player who is on a long term deal or an aging veteran to be able to continue his career. Most AL teams don’t use the same DH every game. After 46 seasons it has been very successful. I have no desire to see double switches or pitchers who hit under .100.
People with your mind set are the reason baseball is the 3rd favorite sport in America. After being king for a century MLB needs to realize everything changes and baseball should not be the exception. Dh should be the first of many things to change just imagine the NFL saying one conference has to use a kicker and the other league has to have their QB also do the kicking it sounds so stupid. Baseball needs to be more exiting less boring they need to have a 100 game season and subtract like 4 or 6 teams or move those teams to places where professional teams have never been so they can actually appreciate their team. Get rid of this owners who are only their for the money install a salary cap or stop punishing teams that actually want to win and please make teams spend competitive balance is a joke if this owners in “small markets” need a handout then sell the team with all this huge TV deals their is no reason for them to complain. If their is such thing as a small market then why even give this cities a franchise in the first place. Explore new cities whit good fans and California doesn’t need all this teams go to Oregon Idaho Alabama Nebraska new Mexico. And my biggest complain is make teams install a retractable roof MLB doesn’t understand some of us can only afford to go to one game you change your life to attend this one game and it gets rained out ppl are more busy than ever so many choices for entertainment that missing that one game could make ppl think twice about changing their lives around for something that may get cancelled.
And look what football has become after the rule changes around hitting the quarterback. The sport is a fraction of what it used to be because they tried to change it, poor example
The A’s tried that! Herb Washington as a “designated runner”. Mike Andrews on turf/Dick Green on grass.
The A’s won three straight titles in those years.
Pitchers don’t get enough ABs in the minors and asking them to hit major league pitching is not really fair and I don’t like watching it. I feel they should have to use a designated pitcher vs the pitcher. Swap the pitcher with a position player for that AB and then swap the pitcher back for the next hitter. That would give pitchers a much better chance of putting a ball in play.
Having a pitcher hit, isn’t helping baseball. Its adding to the destruction of baseball.
Boring baseball has to go away.
Make radio broadcasts free, increase the amount of games on tv, decrease blackouts, make bad seats less expensive, make better deals on partial season ticket packages. Mlb if you want to talk, let me know.
Do you want a 4th OF too Michael? Seriously, play both sides of the ball. Offense, Defense. Do you need someone to explain the concept?
A Rover would eliminate the need most shifts.
Did i say that, toolbag? I love watching great defense. I also love watching great offense and homeruns. I dont need some pompous pencil pusher whos never swung a bat explaining anything to me.
In my opinion, watching a pitcher get a hit is one of the most exciting plays in baseball.
Exactly.
Pitchers getting RBI’s are the most fun plays.
I second it and DH and Pitcher in same Lineup. Also Spring Sites in California and Texas. Play All-Star Game in Orlando,Las Vegas,Hawaii once coming up.
Offense brings the fans. They totally fixed the balls. As per plan.
Fix em back. No way. But. ! I bet the “new” mlb study will be about toning it down a bit. . . They know they went way overboard and lost control. Ball in there court, They can at least address the issue at hand now. If Yelich ends up with 600 career home runs. There’s definitely something sneaky going on…
– No NL DH period. Keep the integrity of the game. It’s historical at this point. And Tony Clark is a fool. . . A career dh himself. Can’t see the big picture. Thinks getting more positions in the lineup and more player money is doing good for the sport. What a schumk.
Tony Clark was a 1B-man. 1211 games at 1B, 101 games as DH.
baseball-reference.com/players/c/clarkto02.shtml
An extremely good defensive first baseman at that
Attendance has been going down despite the offense.
The Dodgers attendance is already over 2 million & will keep going up
What does one team have to do with the overall attendance for MLB?
The Jays were first in AL attendance in 2017. Being really bad has tanked that number the last few years.
Tell me about it. They have the best record in the NL by far. Gee, what a surprise, a winning team spending 200 million has attendance. We have to put up with this kind of LA bs every year.
You do realize the Dodgers are 4th in payroll and the giants are 5th.
In 2018 the giants were 2nd and the Dodgers were 3rd.
Neither year did the giants have a winning record. Spending a lot of money is no guarantee.
spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/2019
“Integrity of the game.” What a foolish statement. The DH is 47 years old. They lowered the mound 50 years ago. The use of relief pitchers has transformed the face of pitching (and length of games). We have instant replay challenges. Can’t slide into second with risk of hurting fielder. Can’t (supposedly) ram a catcher in the head while coming home. Many, many, many changes have taken place over the past 50 years, and yet the one you resist is the DH. The sacrosanct DH. I wish they would institute it just so guys like you could resent the present some more!
Or maybe pitchers can put down the video game controller and learn to hit.
Pitchers have never been able to hit. There are the bob Gibson’s and mike Hampton’s of the world, some guys batting 200, and then scrubs. And it’s always been that way.
Great. Pitchers will help speed up the game with their quick outs. Maybe even decrease Tommy John and make better in-game managers. Win-Win.
Or maybe they should work on pitching? Lol
pitchers were better hitters in the past. let us not forget the greatest hitter in baseball history won an ERA crown.
Camden – one would expect that already. Do position players only work on hitting?
Why does baseball need to speed up, when cricket is the 2 most popular sport in the world and games can take up to 5 days and 6 hours each day.
Different Strategies between NL and AL.
It’s not foolish to State the obvious. Only foolish to look the other way. As you seem to be doing. Stating changes throughout. Instead of the quintessential process of playing two distinctly different styles of baseball. I like the DH. I wouldn’t rule getting rid of the DH completely. Yet you seem to want to abolish the history of the game. Hence integrity of where it all begun. No NL style in both leagues.
Foolish? Certainly not to want to keep both styles continuing to play their game. Its entertaining. I’d say look in the mirror before stating such wild claims of foolery.
Just my opinion, I always felt I would never see a more incompetent commissioner in my lifetime than Pud Selig. As much as it pains me to say it, Manfred has him beat. You might say, he ‘trumps’ Selig.
No politics
No politics … wasn’t even that clever of a pun… thin it’s been doen 17182828992 times before too
Anyone else see the unintentional comedy pairing of the overabundance of homers and the desire for an NL DH? People want to speed up the game, but AL games are usually a lot longer than NL games. I wonder why?
I have never once argued for getting rid of the DH in the AL. I wish I could say the same for AL fans. There should be a place for fans of both versions of the game. To be honest, the biggest thing I would support would be expanding the league by two, having 4 4 team divisions in each league and getting rid of interleague play altogether. That way, fans of both leagues wouldn’t have to worry about playing the other way.
hiflew, amen brother!
I agree that adding 2 teams and getting rid of interleague play is the way to go. I’m not a fan of watching AL teams playing without their DH when in NL parks nor am I a fan of NL teams having to use a DH.
It just changes the game.
Issue #1 SHOULD BE to get rid of Interleague play. My god, the leagues play with different rules, how are they supposed to compete on an even playing field? If the NL refuses to adopt a nearly 50-year-old rule (the DH), then the AL should refuse to play them. (Let the PREDICTABLE “TRADITIONALIST” flack from NL fans begin!).
Kinda like the predictable crap that you just spewed.
Yes, but that is a predictable response to my predictable response. Onward!
Nobody is as much a baseball traditionalist than I, but I agree that the DH HAS become tradition. It’s used in EVERY professional baseball league BUT the NL. Today’s players and the age of specialization have dictated that if you pitch…you pitch. Don’t worry about hitting.
What was George Brett’s ERA?
How many innings did Joe Morgan log?
What was Rickey Henderson’s career WHIP?
See, no one cares about that, because hitters, hit!
So, let the pitchers, pitch!
Strategy? Lets think about this? Do I have my pitcher bunt an out or do I PH for him? If I PH for him, what if his position is vacated by a starting fielder? I can’t use him again. I have NO input on if he gets hurt, or thrown out arguing, or the game goes into extras….but I can WIN this game if my batter gets on…..
It’s a crapshoot, because you DON’T know whats going to happen. And if you can solve it by ALREADY having a hitter in that spot, instead of a pitcher, you MIGHT be able to win more games!
They don’t HAVE to use the DH. The pitcher could still bat.
Interleague play the option.
Forbes article after 2014 season states: “Through 1,054 games the American League saw games at 3:04:17 while National League game pace was at 3:00:46.”
Wow. That’s a total of 3 minutes and 31 seconds longer!
You can have the DH in the NL, fine. But we (AL teams) don’t want to play you in interleague play. Would you agree with that? Flip-flopping back and forth throughout the season is nonsense.
I’d rather see an East/West with 8 team divisions, 14 division games, 8 cross-division games and scrap interleague. Or 6 cross-division and 16 interleague games.
I agree with you Flew, and I’d be fine with the DH’ed scrapped in the AL.
you pay extra to al for travel cost?
Here I thought people were into math thanks to Frangraphs. Here Vizion…
Currently we have 72 in-division games. My way has 98.
Currently about 70 games (35 and 35) against other divisions. My way has 64 with no interleague.
Add another 20 games for interleague with today’s current method.
So, would there REALLY be extra travel?
i meant east-west leagues.
I don’t think I would like the East/West leagues. My favorite team (Rockies) is on the opposite side of the country as me, but they play in the same league as my local broadcast team (Reds). At least that way I get to see 6-7 games of my team playing on TV for free each year. And I get to see them finish before midnight. The Rockies game times are not as bad as the other West teams, they usually start at 8:30 PM and end around 11:30 PM Eastern. But the West Coast teams are at 10 PM and 1 AM.
Another thing is, if you thought there was an East Coast bias before, just wait until teams never cross the country to play the Yankees. It’s not fair for East Coast fans to have to constantly stay up til after midnight to see Mike Trout play and it’s not fair for West Coast fans to have to skip work to see Aaron Judge play at 4 PM. At least now you can see them on cross country trips.
Yes, it would help travel plans, but it’s not like travel across country is really that difficult anymore. .
I’d want the old divisions back only with Atlanta and Cincy in the East and St Louis and Cubbies in the West. Maybe even moving Milwaukee back to the AL. It keeps the rivalries intact. An East/West scenario wouldn’t, and then what do you do with the DH? Detroit could renew their rivalry with New York and Boston,
If they get natural geographic rivals in each league, then each part of the country could have a somewhat “local” AL and NL team. Part of this would involve some minor realignment such as moving Houston back to the NL to pair with the Rangers so Texas fans can enjoy both leagues. Since the Fox deal is getting ready to expire, they need to work it out so that every viewer in the country has both a local AL and a local NL team to watch. Meaning Ohio fans would get to see both Cleveland and Cincinnati games as non-blackout games. Florida fans could see both Tampa and Miami games. Missouri fans would get Cardinals and Royals games. You get the gist.
The whole point is to give all fans a choice of which version of baseball they prefer, no matter where they happen to live.
Who would the Twins get? What about Atlanta?
I am against expansion any time soon. There isn’t enough pitching to go around or catching for that matter. I would love to see the end of interleague games. The World Series was better when I he teams playing hadn’t already played in the regular season.
The games are longer for several reasons, including the shrunken strike zone, the large number of pitching changes, and technological changes ( advanced metrics) being used. The strike zone used to be from the letters to the knees, now it is from the navel to the knees. With the advanced metrics hitters are laying off the high pitches which used to be strikes and looking for launch angle. Change the strike zone back to the way it was before the eighties and the games will go faster.
They definitely need to call the letters. Pitch thrown directly at the mask of the catcher is rarely ever called a strike. It should be.
Geographical the Division.
Games being shorter because at least one hitter is guaranteed to be awful and rarely, if ever, get on base is a weird angle to promote.
I’m not suggesting promoting it as the best aspect of the game. However, MLB cut out throwing 4 pitches for an intentional walk to speed up the game. They are going to force teams to have pitchers face at least 3 batters minimum to speed up the game. They have limited mound visits to speed up the game. Why is it any weirder to keep the game the same to keep the speed up?
So, NL fans should never see the best player in baseball, Mike Trout?
Having no interleague play belongs right next to “make the teams take trains to every road game” on a list of old ideas that don’t need to be revisited.
NL teams, except the Dodgers, only get to see him now for 3 games every 3 years. And there is a 50% chance that those 3 games are road games and the fans won’t see him for another 3 years. Is it really that big a change? And fans of half of the East Coast teams still have to stay up late because the Angels are hosting their team that year.
There is no reason each team can’t play in each park each year.
The NHL and NBA have figured out how to have away games for each team in each city. And they only play 82, not 162.
At the very least, go to a every other year system. Ex. Dodgers play in Anaheim this year, Angels come to LA the next, etc.
This isn’t football where they only play 16 games, this is not that hard to pull off.
How many times a year does “your team,” whichever one it is, get to play Mike Trout’s Angels? My guess is one series or zero series. Maybe you will play the Angels 2 series in 10 years? Also, with the “advent” of the Internet, you can see Mike Trout all you want.
From the interviews i have heard from catchers and pitchers, it seems the ball is slicker. That likely means a change in the leather and the way it is rubbed up.. . It looks to me the seams are smaller than old balls.. all i know for sure is that the twins just broke the 1st half HR record with guys This old fan would say in the past they could never do that..
This. Could be something simple like they got new stitching machines that stitch the balls 5% tighter so less seam projection, less drag. Could be slightly more nefarious in that Manfred or someone ordered them to set the existing machines to 5% tighter to see the effect.. Could be something similar with finish of b-ball surface: what products they use, how long they do it for, etc. Could be many different things.
MLB baseballs are still hand stitched.
Its all in the hardness of the core of the ball. One has to look no further than in the major difference of a white dot softball vs a yellow ball (cantaloupe). It’s like hitting a golf ball vs hitting a kiwi in terms of hardness.
It was a MAJOR change going from one to the other and done for safety for the pitcher. It’s not rocket science that these new baseballs simply have a harder core made for more compact; longer flying trajectory period.
I just watched a video on how baseballs are made. Yes, the balls are hand-stitched but the process up to that point, which is quite extensive, is automated.
KEEP THE FREAKING DH OUT OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE because it’s not a part of the traditional game of baseball.
You said it Babe!
This AL fan agrees with you.
Then keep the NL from playing the AL during the season. And perhaps, if the leagues have separate rules, they shouldn’t even play each other in the post season. As a gym teacher somewhere once said: Get with the program!
You do realize that the NL rules have been around longer than the AL rules right? That it’s the AL that is not “getting with the program?”
The AL went with a new rule in 1973. It is only natural for rules to evolve over time. The rule is in place. (But clearly NL fans love their pitchers hitting, and nothing will deter them from that attitude.)
Dozens of rules weren’t “part of traditional baseball”. Regardless of which side of the DH debate you fall on, that reasoning is nonsense.
Having to navigate an automatic out in the lineup is sensible? Asking a player who hasn’t batted since little league to face the best pitchers in the world is sensible? The AL isn’t the outlier. Nearly all professional leagues use a DH. The double switch is interesting the first time you see it, but watching guys who are considered good if they hit .140 try to hit (risking injury for their true role) is ridiculous.
Yeah, because watching old fat guys that are so unathletic that they can’t even play first base is that much better.
The point is that both sides have good arguments, so why not keep both versions of the game to keep everyone happy?
You seem not to have noticed that the identity of the DH has evolved over time. No longer it is (usually) the old power hitter who can no longer field or run well.
It appears that no one is happy. Or didn’t you notice?
Absolutely, pitchers are getting hurt now more so than ever, do fans really want to add to that possibility, by also risking the loss of pitchers by making them hit, please be reasonable!!! We lose pitchers almost every year to the dl/il in some hitter/base running scenario. Is a pitcher hitting really worth the loss, especially when they do it so poorly?
I agree but this is a bad argument. It makes you look shortsighted because before the early 1900’s, a LOT of things weren’t part of the game.
A better argument is that they should be accountable for the whole game, you shouldn’t subsidize bad play by hiding players behind a DH, things like that.
Traditionalists felt the same way when runners couldn’t be called out when getting hit by a thrown baseball. Ground rule doubles were home runs. There were no called strikes.
National league fans need to evolve. The world is changing and you guys are still listening to games on the radio.
AAA changed to MLB balls for the 2019 season. Lo and behold the offensive numbers have spiked. I’m sure the AAA pitching prospects appreciate that.
The last couple years we have seen articles published on the baseballs ranging from MLB not making changes or alterations to yes there were some changes to changes on the seams and a sudden rise in blisters for pitchers.
Baseball is all about catering to hitters – a constant since the 1994 strike. They will always look at McGwire/Sosa’s chase for Maris as the reason fans came back. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Viewership in 1998 would disagree.
Verlander is 100% correct. This game has turned into a joke with these homeruns. Games are longer, guys are stronger, equipment is better and parks are smaller. Tommy John continues to end seasons and open new careers for other pitchers in the minor leagues. Baseball does not care about the health of pitchers. Next man up.
Save some pitchers’ careers; bring the 1967 rules back, bring the old balls back and then we’ll see quicker games and the very best hitters in the world remain the very best hitters in the world against the greatest pitchers in the world. That is more impressive than today’s game.
Are you sure you actually like baseball? If you’re not whining about the Blue Jays, then you’re complaining the state of the game and harkening back to 1967 like a miserable old man. Go have a glass of prune juice and watch Matlock
What part of what I said do you have a problem with?
Nothing?
Then why are you posting a comment?
Are you angry and bitter?
Yes to the last question.
Why ruin your Wednesday coming at me? The day has just begun. I’m sure even you can find something more useful than coming up with useless insults.
The game has turned into a joke with all the homeruns…..to start with. Like all of your comments, this ones brutal. The only joke here is you. Pick another sport to criticize. Toolbag.
That shift sure caters to hitters.
If the Rays can’t move to downtown Tampa, then move the team to Montreal or Charlotte or Nashville or Portland or Las Vegas–just one location. Please pick the most viable market. It’s unfair to ask the players and their families to have to relocate in the middle of the season. What about the fans in the city which has the team in the first half, but not the second? Why should they ever care about the team at all? Except for 1981, there has never been any sort of reward for winning the first half of the season.
Secondly, the DH needs to stay the hell out of the NL. If that must mean the end of interleague play, that’s fine with me.
I don’t know for sure if the ball is any different. However, since 2017, the Dodgers have been hitting many more home runs at home. I used to always hear how Dodger Stadium is a pitcher’s park, not so much anymore, I guess.
No one talks about the strike zone being smaller than ever, giving hitters the advantage.
angels hitter was called out with a fastball 3 balls outside the zone to end the game.
Swing the bat?
no.
Sure, let’s have everyone swing at horrible pitches that are obvious balls. Every comment you make is absolutely stupid.
2 strikes you protect the plate. If that is stupid then I’ll wear it. However, if they are obvious balls they’d be called balls, right? Or is it human error.
Anyway that’s called baseball. I’m sure you are aware of the game. I’m not aware of who you are so I’ll keep you in the insignificant category you’ve always resided.
TrimReaper
“2 strikes you protect the plate. If that is stupid then I’ll wear it.
I’m afraid you’ll wear it. This isn’t little league, or little league or high school. Even the best hitters can’t do anything with certain pitchers In most cases, you have a better chance taking a pitch an inch off the plate than swinging at it.
.
No DH in the NL is an old dated way of thinking. I am as traditional as the next guy but ppl have to face it watching the pitcher bat is stupid. Especially the way the game has evolved with the amount of RP on a roster. No league in professional baseball other than the NL do the pitchers hit. High School either.
I used to be one of those arguing keep the DH outta the NL until Chipper Jones got old. Then it made me realize that maybe if the NL had the DH he possibly could have prolonged his career a couple more years. And it made me think to some of the great hitters who had to leave the NL teams because they became to old to play the field.
The length of games are 2 issues easily fixed.
1. Get the batters in the box ready to hit
2. Cut down in between innings commercial times
Ever notice how long Yankees Red Sox games are ???? Also ever realize damn near every one of their games is on national tv.
MLB should also use some of if not all the luxury tax money they garner to set up a fund for teams to be able to build new ballparks. Kinda like the fund the NFL has for their stadiums.
Citizens are hip to the game now and are not inclined to allow publicly funded ballparks anymore. So these owners should stop kickin their feet and throwing temper tantrums that they are not getting it anymore.
3. Call pitches between the belt and letters
4. Push the fences back
5. Raise the mound
6. Raise the seams on the ball
7. Take the arm guards off the hitters
8. Stop changing balls when one hits the dirt
9. Stop granting time to the hitter when the pitcher is set
10. Make something up if one of the first 9 fails.
Why would they take away arm guards?
Why would baseball banned the shine ball, the spit ball or pitchers having sandpaper?
Because thats called doctoring the ball, which is illegal. Protecting your bones from 98mph fastballs is not illegal. Would you like to see more young stars on the DL for months due to broken bones? Think before you comment
Who’s bones are broken? Hitters? Hmm….maybe back off the plate? Maybe? Or are hitters entitled to every advantage?
I can tell you to come up with real thought but your ignorance is too strong. The only strength you have.
Seriously, you want more players hurt on 95 MPH fastballs. You’re insane. And ignorant.
Home Runs are not the issue with baseball, it’s the lack of contact and the lack of singles. So your solution is to decrease contact and put players at risk. Take away their batting helmets why you are at it.
TrimReaper,
You make fair points, then insult the person.
If I were you I would stick to the fair points and leave out the insult.
Selective reading I guess, Scrap.
Lacknuts….what were players doing before arm guards were a thing? What did they do for over 150 years of baseball? I’m just curious if you knew when the game was invented and that baseball was being played before you were born. I guess not.
Better question is how did Cal Ripken manage to stay healthy enough to play as long as he did? In fact, how many players go on to play 20+ years in the major leagues?
Here’s a thought for you; if you crowd the plate, you will get hurt. Very simple. Check out games from the 1980’s. See how hitters set themselves up, where they positioned their hands and where they stood. It matters because people actually watched baseball back then. Maybe the game was more exciting 30 years ago? They watch more than they do today. Although you may not care about history, history is what we have to go on. For that, it does not make me ignorant.
I cannot believe you think hitters should go helmet-less. To suggest that is absolutely abhorrent. Never should we want a player to die.
As for contact….well, could that be an issue with hitting philosophy? Never mind, you wouldn’t know the answer to that either.
that’s how we played as 8 year olds. mlb player w/o arm guards? you buy insurance for them?
I’m sure players and teams have enough insurance coverage. Same coverage used for Tommy John and other injuries. I’d also say an 8-year old facing live pitching could use the arm guard more than professionals. I guess it’s ok for today’s era to have more advantages than any hitter before ’94. I bet Aaron, Mays and other legends have massive numbers had they been allowed to hang over the plate with body armor with little to no fear.
Its called evolution of sport. As much as you wish it was still the 1960’s……its not. Maybe watching classic baseball re runs is more up your alley?
Do you search online for Tommy John procedures because you love seeing pitchers get hurt? I’m sure you do. Your way leads to careers ending. I’d rather not have your perspective. Then again, I’d be an idiot to have your perspective.
Trim, the fact you think spitballs and arm guards are the same shows this site is better off without you.
I never said they were the same. What I am saying about arm guards is it gives hitters an advantage, as did spit balls 100 years ago.
Anyway, not sure who made you judge and jury Dico but I guess if telling me to leave makes you feel better then I hope you have a terrific day. I know I am.
If arm guards gave an advantage, every player would wear them. An arm guard functionally provides protection from a very fast moving baseball. Putting on an arm guard does not make you a better hitter or give you better odds at hitting a baseball.
He’s an interesting guy. He’s comparing the 60s to today. Pitchers are throwing the ball at least 10 MPH faster today and there are at least twice as many pitchers today. Many, if not most, have much much less command than the pitchers of the 60s,
I’ve never heard anyone advocate for more players having the career arch of Tony Conigliaro and Dickie Thon.
You said you didn’t want helmets. I’m all for face guards on helmets.
Want to know why there is less command today? Pitchers are trained to throw less pitches and less innings. Then they go all out for 4-5 innings in the minors before the 3rd time through the order, flaming guys with filthy gas. Young arm goes down? Well, if it’s not due to “overuse”, organizations won’t take the blame for their development approach.
Hitters will think twice crowding the plate with no arm guard. Slowly pitchers will take less off the fastball and use the outside again. Be less afraid of the inside. Hitters will change their approach and evolve. Pitchers will go deeper in games. Tommy John will slowly decrease. Games will start and finish quicker.
You want to protect hitters and I want to protect pitchers. Accusing me of wanting guys hurt could not be further from the truth.
Haha. Trust me, you’re already an idiot. You dont need anyone else’s help in that department. Dont you have a scathing yelp review to wrote or something?
NL baseball is playing smarter baseball than AL because of taking a reliever for a pitch hitter many times. Involving more double switches. Plus at least the NL team can bunt better than AL.
Instead of fixing of putting a DH. Why not fix the rules that have a complicated meaning like the check swing and balk. We call the ruling at the plate the “buster posey rule” and now it’s the “blames chase utley for breaking a guy leg”. The game should keep contact in those cases but to degree that is not cheap late decision to slide.
Stanford grad Bob Boone, who managed in both leagues and was one of the smartest men to ever play baseball says its harder to mange in the AL than the NL.
There is nothing complex about the double switch. Pitches hitting makes the games worse. The DH is the last rule change that I know of that made the game better.
Two things;
Manfred is digging deeper into his hole by sticking to the “we haven’t juiced the balls” line, and it’s only going to make it worse for himself when it comes out that they did. He knows it, we know it, it’s just a matter of time before he’s caught.
Second, if Tampa Bay can’t support baseball for a whole season, why should Tampa Bay even have a team? Move it to a city that will.
the lease!
It’s all about the venue and where it’s located in St Pete….. move it across the bridge into Tampa towards the hockey and football venues. If this town supports hockey very well, no reason that it can’t support baseball. 2 get an owner that does something for this idea instead of sucking all the money up for his self. Greedy I think is the term. Still think the threat for playing half a season in Montreal is just a move to get the Tampa area to pay for a new stadium… this owner couldn’t run a tinker toy shop!
lofl
Maybe they should move to Tampa and we can find out if it can support a baseball team. Or maybe you can use this time for a geography lesson before you start throwing blame around.
My God, they’re called the Tampa Bay Rays. It’s not an egregious error to say they are located in Tampa Bay!
no town named tampa bay
Manfred is a liar, plain and simple. Anyone with a lick of sense knows the ball is juiced.
100 percent agreed
conplaining about interleague play is so garbage. who cares if your team has to play a few series with or without the DH each year? Every team has to, so no one’s at at advantage. also gives the teams in each league the opportunity to experiment with the other league’s ruleset, which could be valuable, especially to new managers, in the world series.
Are they using this “juiced” ball when the Tigers bat? If so, they are really bad.
The Commissioner must be investigated for the integrity of the game. This must be transparent. All records between MLB and the baseball manufacturer must be subpoenaed by a Grand Jury. What was said and, furthermore, what influences were brought to bear? If true, this is an attempt to defraud the public and injure pitching careers and must be investigated openly. If the ball has been juiced with the Commusioner’s knowledge he must be fired for the good of the game
Rawlings is owned by MLB. Rawlings makes the baseballs.
MLB can do whatever it wants. People make baseballs. They are hand stitched.
Human hands have nothing to do with how a baseball is made, other than the final step which is to hand-stitch them.
I heard that in order to save owners money on the water bill they are going to replace all the showers in each clubhouse with just one shower. To make sure that the teammates don’t waste the water by taking turns Manfred is going to travel to as many games as possible and stand there and watch to make sure the players actually all get a shower together at one time.
“While Manfred did indicate a willingness to negotiate with the union as regards free agency, the league’s “economic system has to preserve the competitiveness of those small-market clubs. That is always our overriding goal.””
THIS is the biggest lie of all the above lies that Manfred told.
No sport openly puts it’s finger on the scale for it’s big market teams like MLB. There has been exactly one legit small market team that has won in the past 30 years, since salaries exploded.
The top 8-10 teams have as many fans as the bottom 20-22 teams. MLB wants the big market teams to win to draw bigger ratings, sell more merchandise, etc. The rest of the teams in the league are just window dressing. The stars align for one or two of them at any given time so people can point to them and say “see the Royals can compete.” How long was that window open? 3 years?
So, the reality is that MLB does NOT want actual parity. They want faux parity. Otherwise, they’d move towards an NHL style cap and floor system (which would help the players, ironically*) a full international draft with a draft lottery and more meaningful revenue sharing.
*A cap and floor model that guarantees the players a certain % of the revenue would be the best thing to happen to the MLBPA. Look at the NBA where teams have to toss stupid money at mediocre players just to reach the cap floor. NHL, NFL and NBA players get between 47-50% of their sports revenues. MLB players get 39% and dropping.
A cap system guarantees that the players make more when the sport makes more.
Notice that NHL, NBA and NFL players are NOT screaming “collusion”? Instead of trying to get what is fair, the MLBPA sought to get as much as they can and they ended up getting less. Now, instead of focusing on their failure at collective bargaining, they are screaming “collusion” when the free market goes the other way.
Verlander is right, Manfred is a joke.
1. I think we need a designated runner, because watching a catcher run is “boring” and nobody wants to see slow people run. This is the exact same thing as the DH argument.
2. Obviously, i think the DH is dumb..
3. The DH benefits players and helps extend careers, making both the players and the owners money. We will have a universal DH at some point.. ,
I also dislike the DH, but…
I LOVE Buck Showalter’s compromise idea. Allow a DH but only as long as the starting pitcher is still in the game.
This eliminates a few of the dead at bats while actually INCREASING the amount of strategy in the game (beyond the current NL game even).
I’d be OK with it’s adoption across both leagues, if you want to unify the rules.
Not sure about the Showalter idea… Tigers vs Astros… Zimmermann vs Verlander… Astros jump out to a 5 nothing lead. Zim is gone by the third inning. Now the Tigers have to pull their best hitter Cabrera. Game is over. Game was over before it began, but fans have no reason at all to watch.
No, the new rule would (or should) allow the manager to move the DH to a position spot.
So, now he has to decide whether to pull Miggy or put him at 1B and pull that guy OR move that guy and if so, who to pull for him, etc.
It adds way more strategy with real consequence.
It sounds great to me.
I dunno. I absolutely love to watch Max Scherzer hit.. The man brings intensity to every at bat. He stole a freaking base the other day!!!
I hadn’t heard of this before but I really like this idea too. It’s obvious there are a lot of people gunning for the NL DH, so if it has to change, this would be a great compromise
“I think we need a designated runner, because watching a catcher run is “boring” and nobody wants to see slow people run.”
I like watching slow people run. Fat people especially.
Your right. The video’s of Bartolo Colon doing anything are priceless.
Because Pitchers hitting is somehow the equivalent to catchers running?
That’s the best you got? f you have to stretch that much to make a point, maybe you shouldn’t make the point.
I’m with Verlander. It’s become a joke. Little League parks, juiced balls and 30,000 fans staring at their phone the entire game. An American icon slipping into non-relevance.
fivethirtyeight.com/features/juiced-baseballs/
^^^^this.
Anybody thinking about the exterior making a difference in flight has never personally experienced hitting balls with different cores.
The exterior alterations (elevated stitches, texture of the leather, etc) is all for pitcher’s advantage.
They either need to find a happy medium or consider this the new norm. You can’t deny these hitters are still squaring up these balls off the best pitchers in the world.
At the same time you still have to find a way to keep the nostalgia of 35-40 bombs a year to the guys that are meant to do it, not the guys with “warning track power.”
The other half of me tells the pitchers to quit whining and strike them out and/or quit walking guys, what a predicament..
They can lift the mound back to what it was over 50 years ago, but most on this site think that’s too harsh.
Elevate the seams, see what happens.
Maybe there would be less walks if umpires enforced the strike zone between the letters and belt. They are too inconsistent and do not call pitches crossing the plate at that level.
Are fans ready for curves to be called when it crosses the plate at the knees and lands just above the dirt? Nope. Couldn’t believe some of the slow-motion replays showing curve balls crossing the zone from the side angle. That will tick a lot of people off.
More pitchers getting injured from throwing than hitters swinging a bat. That needs to be addressed.
install loud buzzers in umpires’ ears. when they make mistakes they buzz. over time they will get better.
How about when woodruff took kershaw deep in the NLCS last fall. That was awesome
They should bring the DH to NL and let pitchers stop hitting, even in the minors. Being up to bat and running the bases gives them a chance of getting hurt weather it’s getting beaned by a pitch, pulling a hammy running around the bases. When injuries have gone up significantly over the past 30 years for pitchers, why add another risk? Just make the whole league follow the same rules.
all anyone needs to look at for evidence(circumstantial) of an altered baseball is AAA. This year they are using the same baseballs as MLB – and they too are setting record HR numbers. Can’t use the talent argument at that level. From everything I’ve read and heard, the big issue with the ball is the seams are not raised as high – this causes pitchers to less of a grip which means they can’t make it move quite like they would like – they are throwing BP. look at the London games, that was a stadium designed to prevent wind for track and field purposes. No air movement + ball pitchers can’t easily manipulate + no ball movement because of lowered seams/no wind/less grip equals the ridiculous numbers put up.
Too bad there wasn’t a DH in 1920. Could you imagine watching Babe Ruth both hit and pitch? Fortunately enough, 100 years later we get the privilege of watching Ohtani.
Watching most pitchers hit isn’t sport, it’s novelty.
He did hit and pitch. In both 1918 and 1919 Boston played him in the OF and 1B as well as starting 20 and 15 games respectively (own from the 38 and 40 the two prior years). It was after he was bought by the Yankees that he became a full time OF and very occasional 1B.
I don’t think you understand the meaning of “novelty”. A pitcher hitting is not new, original or unusual..
Babe Ruth stopped being a regular starting pitcher at age 22. Spin that anyway you want. Boston started turning him into a hitter at 23 and he got 543 PAs at 24, that’s before he became a Yankee. .
As far as Novelty.
The quality of being new, original, or unusual.
Pitches batting provides no real value. Since the NL is the only league that still lets pitchers hit, it’s unusual and original. I don’t think you know what novelty means.
Something that has occurred in professional baseball for about a century and a half is unusual? Really? OK…the sky is definitely a different color in your world. With that long of a history it’s not original either.
As for the Babe, I had already stated that he had diminished starts in 1918 but that does not negate the fact that Boston valued his pitching as demonstrated by 2 starts in the WS (both wins…17 IP..1.06 era).
People, people. “Novelty” has multiple definitions.
1) New, original, unusual.
2) Anything that has fleeting amusement..
Etc.
The theory I have is using juiced balls to create more offense to make the games longer. This way when he says “we need to shorten games!” he has more basis to work with while getting what he wants.
Outside of shortening commercial breaks, Manfred has not been great. I have they go back to the normal balls next season as this is a big mistake and when people look at stats down the line they’ll say “oh that was 2019, everyone could hit 30 hrs then- just like the height of the steroid era.
he has been awful!
Ok Mozeliak, no DH for at least 3 years. You can now trade Jose Martinez.
wouldn’t surprise me if the final revelation is that they changed something about the ball-making process to cut costs while someone (likely wearing a lab coat and having wild hair) said “But this could cause the balls to take off like rockets!”, at which time Manfred motioned to his guards to escort the gentleman out while laughing maniacally.
at least that’s what i want to believe
I’m a defense guy, but I like action. The problem is we’re going about “action” the wrong way.
I want to see guys hit the ball for doubles and triples not homers. I want to see the ball in play constantly. We have world class athletes wearing $400 gloves that hardly get used.
Teams need to stop building these tiny ballparks. We don’t need to raise the mound anymore, if anything we should be lowering it a hair for more contact. Rallies are exciting, a guy hitting a 320’ homer down the line and trotting around the bases is not.
Make parks the size of Coors field all across the league. It promotes building a team and using strategy rather than essentially having a home run contest every night. Guys like Laser, Buxton, DeShields, J Hey, Harrison Bader would be extremely valuable if you made parks bigger and had outfielders have to cover some ground again. If you believe in offense, play power hitters at your corners. If you believe in defense play defensive minded players on the corner outfield. Make team style matter again when building your team.
Rawlings was sold June of last year to MLB Products. Is there anyone who has been part of a company that has been sold? When companies are sold, things change. Especially in manufacturing.
I don’t see this as a nefarious plot by the commissioner and the owners to change the ball. I see it as “stuff happens” when companies are sold.
Manfred is an obvious LIAR. He thinks more home runs equals higher attendance and he is dead wrong! Many (most?) of us believe he’s making a joke of the game. Want to know why attendance is down ….. then go buy a ticket but take out a loan on your house first. As for Manfred, he will go down as just another joke that demeaned the game. ENOUGH of your lousy rule changes. For us real fans its keep the game the same and dump the commissioner.
This whole ball juicing thing is a conspiracy to get the Yankees another World Series championship. That’s why their lineup is constructed the way it is so all they need to do is hit a pop fly in that joke of a park of theirs for it to go out.
This guy’s awful. Get Manfred out of there. Ban him for life. Whatever. His watch, his fault.
i read all these comments and no one said anything about using aluminum bats.
Just move the Rays to Montreal and the marlins las Vegas. it will most likely be the A’s that go to Las Vegas