Baseball is dying

[boedicca]

I love baseball - it reminds me of my dad. He was such a fan.

 

[Tom Horn]

Batting is part of the game, so is playing the field. Stupid batters can’t even beat a defensive shift. They can’t bunt, can’t steal a base

I hate the shift....it's robbed our DH Victor Martinez of maybe a hundred knocks over the last few years because he's a slow runner (13 years of catching in the Show will do that to a fella). He nails a pitch on a line into RF, the 2B fields it on one hop and throws his out...it's bullshit. Name me Commissioner and I'll make all infielders keep their feets on the dirt.....yes I will. If an infielder's toe even touches the OF grass during the pitcher's windup, my umps will eject him. This shift nonsense is killing the hitting. Why should a power hitter have to try to dink singles to the opposite field because the defense has 4 guys in the pull-field?

 

[Tom Horn]

I'm right-handed and didn't find out I could really HIT batting lefty until I was 15....too late. I've been beaned, clobbered by a flying bat while standing on 3B, and once in a Pony League game, went over a chain-link fence in LF, robbing a sure HR and landed on the hood of my Mom's car. She was sound asleep at the time and woke up with a start....I waved and showed her the ball in my glove and she dutifully beeped the horn with a big yawn.

 

[rightwinger]

Batting is part of the game, so is playing the field. Stupid batters can’t even beat a defensive shift. They can’t bunt, can’t steal a base

I hate the shift....it's robbed our DH Victor Martinez of maybe a hundred knocks over the last few years because he's a slow runner (13 years of catching in the Show will do that to a fella). He nails a pitch on a line into RF, the 2B fields it on one hop and throws his out...it's bullshit. Name me Commissioner and I'll make all infielders keep their feets on the dirt.....yes I will. If an infielder's toe even touches the OF grass during the pitcher's windup, my umps will eject him. This shift nonsense is killing the hitting. Why should a power hitter have to try to dink singles to the opposite field because the defense has 4 guys in the pull-field?

Choke up and slap it to the other field
Go for HRs when the situation calls for it

 

[Tom Horn]

Choke up and slap it to the other field
Go for HRs when the situation calls for it

The situation always calls for a HR until you have 2 strikes on ya. With modern pitching, you have to guess what's coming, always ready to hit the cheese. If you're looking for the fastball you can still hit the yakker or the sinker but not the other way around. Most power hitters look for something to drive until they get two strikes on them. Then you see the subtle change to defensive hitting or just trying to meet the ball. Today's MLB hurlers throw so hard with "late break" it's almost impossible to guide the ball past a shift....they're lucky to hit it at all and why there are so many foul balls. SO, to counteract the pitcher's advantage, you're seeing more catcher's signs being stolen, not only by base-runners but the "eye in the sky"....a camera in the scoreboard. Don't think it ain't happening and that MLB isn't aware of it and they close it down when they catch a club doing it but you never hear about it. So the hitters are using the dangerous harder maple bats instead of the old ash wood. Dangerous because they don't break...they shatter and sooner of later a pitcher or corner infielder with get speared by a shard and they'll be banned.

And the ball is juiced....you see balls struck up by the trademark traveling 400 feet. Even the most modern ballparks are still designed for the 60's era hitters in HR distances. A 21st century SS can drive a ball out of the park because he's 3 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than a SS from that era. Then there's the bandbox parks where a breeze blowing out has the OF stationed on the warning tracks even for the bottom of the batting order. I disagree with the OP that baseball is dying...it's changing and like NASCAR, there are things the fans aren't liking....like the shift and 100 pitch limits on the starters.....and of course the crazy salaries which makes tickets and concessions too expense for working stiffs. When it costs a guy $150 bucks to take his family to a game, half of the fans will watch the game at home other than a visit or two a summer. So MLB owners are swearing off big FA contracts and maybe, just maybe, with lower salaries, they can lower prices and bring their fans back out to the park.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Choke up and slap it to the other field
Go for HRs when the situation calls for it

The situation always calls for a HR until you have 2 strikes on ya. With modern pitching, you have to guess what's coming, always ready to hit the cheese. If you're looking for the fastball you can still hit the yakker or the sinker but not the other way around. Most power hitters look for something to drive until they get two strikes on them. Then you see the subtle change to defensive hitting or just trying to meet the ball. Today's MLB hurlers throw so hard with "late break" it's almost impossible to guide the ball past a shift....they're lucky to hit it at all and why there are so many foul balls. SO, to counteract the pitcher's advantage, you're seeing more catcher's signs being stolen, not only by base-runners but the "eye in the sky"....a camera in the scoreboard. Don't think it ain't happening and that MLB isn't aware of it and they close it down when they catch a club doing it but you never hear about it. So the hitters are using the dangerous harder maple bats instead of the old ash wood. Dangerous because they don't break...they shatter and sooner of later a pitcher or corner infielder with get speared by a shard and they'll be banned.

And the ball is juiced....you see balls struck up by the trademark traveling 400 feet. Even the most modern ballparks are still designed for the 60's era hitters in HR distances. A 21st century SS can drive a ball out of the park because he's 3 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than a SS from that era. Then there's the bandbox parks where a breeze blowing out has the OF stationed on the warning tracks even for the bottom of the batting order. I disagree with the OP that baseball is dying...it's changing and like NASCAR, there are things the fans aren't liking....like the shift and 100 pitch limits on the starters.....and of course the crazy salaries which makes tickets and concessions too expense for working stiffs. When it costs a guy $150 bucks to take his family to a game, half of the fans will watch the game at home other than a visit or two a summer. So MLB owners are swearing off big FA contracts and maybe, just maybe, with lower salaries, they can lower prices and bring their fans back out to the park.

The players are juiced as well.

 

[Tom Horn]

The players are juiced as well.

Just say whatever pops into your pea brain don't ya....

First offense: 80 games
Second Offense : 162 games
Third Offense: Lifetime ban.

 

[Montrovant]

The players are juiced as well.

Just say whatever pops into your pea brain don't ya....

First offense: 80 games
Second Offense : 162 games
Third Offense: Lifetime ban.

6 players have gotten that 80 game suspension in the last 2 years. Obviously, those are only the ones who were caught.

 

[Tom Horn]

6 players have gotten that 80 game suspension in the last 2 years. Obviously, those are only the ones who were caught.

It's a thing of the past.....they suspend if they find a trace of a masking agent. Look at the players today....no zits and jimmy legs sitting on the bench. They don't juice anymore because it's not necessary....with the right vitamin/mineral supplements, weights, and personal trainers they get the same results..hell, they're doing YOGA.

 

[Montrovant]

6 players have gotten that 80 game suspension in the last 2 years. Obviously, those are only the ones who were caught.

It's a thing of the past.....they suspend if they find a trace of a masking agent. Look at the players today....no zits and jimmy legs sitting on the bench. They don't juice anymore because it's not necessary....with the right vitamin/mineral supplements, weights, and personal trainers they get the same results..hell, they're doing YOGA.

And yet those players were all suspended since mid-June of 2016. Athletes look for an edge. Some are willing to cheat to do it. It may not be as common as it has been in the past, but clearly it still happens at least occasionally.

 

[rightwinger]

The players are juiced as well.

Just say whatever pops into your pea brain don't ya....

First offense: 80 games
Second Offense : 162 games
Third Offense: Lifetime ban.

The players are juiced

They operate on the fringe of allowable drug levels

 

[Tom Horn]

The players are juiced

They operate on the fringe of allowable drug levels

There are no "allowable drug levels" of steroids which is what "juiced" refers to. I realize once you've latched onto a fantasy you won't let go of it. MLB drug testing is cutting edge stuff, far superior to what some turd in a lab can come up with to mask 'roid use. Players are randomly tested during the season and in the off-season....it's part of the labor agreement. Marginal minor leaguers, usually latins, get snagged trying to cheat and it makes the news...why? because it's news for it's rarity. Those who lose 80 games usually get released which becomes a lifetime ban.....MLB took so much grief over Clemens and Bonds, McGuire, Palmiero, etc. it's now a death sentence. The only reason the ban isn't permanent for the first offense is that a player may take a banned supplement by mistake...something a latin may get in the Dominican Republic , Venezuela, or some other third-world shithole.....okay, so now you know whether you realize it or not...class dismissed.

 

[rightwinger]

The players are juiced

They operate on the fringe of allowable drug levels

There are no "allowable drug levels" of steroids which is what "juiced" refers to. I realize once you've latched onto a fantasy you won't let go of it. MLB drug testing is cutting edge stuff, far superior to what some turd in a lab can come up with to mask 'roid use. Players are randomly tested during the season and in the off-season....it's part of the labor agreement. Marginal minor leaguers, usually latins, get snagged trying to cheat and it makes the news...why? because it's news for it's rarity. Those who lose 80 games usually get released which becomes a lifetime ban.....MLB took so much grief over Clemens and Bonds, McGuire, Palmiero, etc. it's now a death sentence. The only reason the ban isn't permanent for the first offense is that a player may take a banned supplement by mistake...something a latin may get in the Dominican Republic , Venezuela, or some other third-world shithole.....okay, so now you know whether you realize it or not...class dismissed.

Sure....Baseballs screening is 100 percent effective
Drug use is over with...Baseball is clean

Total BS

 

[Polishprince]

Sure....Baseballs screening is 100 percent effective
Drug use is over with...Baseball is clean

Total BS

There is a lot of money to be made playing a kid's game. Young men are willing to take big risks.

Sure, its risky taking steroids or other enhancements. Not only is there the risk of getting pinched, there is a risk of health problems during and after the young man's career.

But taking chances is what young guys do- being a soldier is risky, iron worker jobs are risky, astronaut is risky, sticking people up is risky.

 

[mudwhistle]

MLB Attendance Drops to Lowest Average In 15 Years

Baseball has the lowest attendance in over 15 years.

Why?

As the article speculates, it is probably a combination of factors. Never in the history of baseball have so many teams been on track to lose a 100 games. We have teams from day one no one takes seriously. You are then left with watching the really good teams play there horrible teams, or worse, you have two really bad teams play that no one cares about. Never before in the history of baseball has there been such a payroll discrepancy. You have your rich teams and poor teams. How can a team like the Devil Rays compete with a team like the Yankees when the Yankees spend more money on their bull pen than the Rays spend on their entire team?

It's just not working and people know it. The movie "Moneyball" is a good movie to watch to understand this issue, which was created by the baseball unions since the last strike.

Other factors, the game is too boring for fans today and weather probably also have an effect, as well as rising admission rates and concession prices.

So there is it, the best sport ever created and it is dying. I reckon nothing lasts forever.

Baseball no has been berry berry good to me.

 

[rightwinger]

MLB Attendance Drops to Lowest Average In 15 Years

Baseball has the lowest attendance in over 15 years.

Why?

As the article speculates, it is probably a combination of factors. Never in the history of baseball have so many teams been on track to lose a 100 games. We have teams from day one no one takes seriously. You are then left with watching the really good teams play there horrible teams, or worse, you have two really bad teams play that no one cares about. Never before in the history of baseball has there been such a payroll discrepancy. You have your rich teams and poor teams. How can a team like the Devil Rays compete with a team like the Yankees when the Yankees spend more money on their bull pen than the Rays spend on their entire team?

It's just not working and people know it. The movie "Moneyball" is a good movie to watch to understand this issue, which was created by the baseball unions since the last strike.

Other factors, the game is too boring for fans today and weather probably also have an effect, as well as rising admission rates and concession prices.

So there is it, the best sport ever created and it is dying. I reckon nothing lasts forever.

Baseball no has been berry berry good to me.

Go away Chico

 

[LA RAM FAN]

The Astros are still 12th in MLB payroll only $11 million behind the Yankees.

The Red Sox however have a $240 MILLION payroll, compared to the White Sox who are at $78 million.

MLB 2018 Payroll Tracker

Nope.....
Sox payroll..240,013,118
Astros payroll..163,300,474

I didn't compare the Red Sox payroll to the Astros. I compared them to the Yankees like YOU did.

I compared the Red Sox (highest) with the White Sox (lowest).

I'm just comparing top payrolls.

This is EXACTLY what you said:

"The Astros are doing fine with a small payroll compared to the Yankees."

The Astros payroll isn't small compared to the Yankees. It is only $11 million less, which is basically one players salary.

I figured the yankees were a top payroll.
Sue me.

your living in the past.LOL the dodgers are the new biggest money grabbers.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

Baseball requires patience, much like Soccer. It is not at all for those seeking immediate gratification. But at least with Soccer there isn’t 162 games each year.

Shorten the season or simply the number of games.

I don’t even pay attention until the last 20 games of the regular season anymore.

same here,until the final month of the season,i dont even pay attention whats going on in baseball.yeah your right,they need to shorten the games,162 is way too many to keep any interest.

 

[Rocko]

Baseball requires patience, much like Soccer. It is not at all for those seeking immediate gratification. But at least with Soccer there isn’t 162 games each year.

Shorten the season or simply the number of games.

I don’t even pay attention until the last 20 games of the regular season anymore.

same here,until the final month of the season,i dont even pay attention whats going on in baseball.yeah your right,they need to shorten the games,162 is way too many to keep any interest.

The owners don’t want to lose out on the revenue

 

[LA RAM FAN]

How about a 3 ball walk, a 2 strike strikeout and two fouls with 1 strike is a strikeout?

I'd keep balls and strikes traditional but I'd call four FOUL balls a strikeout same as softball. Announcers call a 10 pitch AB "good" with plenty of foul balls.....stupid. If the putz can't strike the ball into fair territory in 4 tries he's out.

yeah its long overdue that they should call a certain amount of foul balls a strikeout same as in softball. in the pros.players know how to keep fouling balls off till they get the pitch they want,,thats BS.