How to Fix Baseball

[The_Lyrical_Miracle]

The large majority of sports fans in America know that from its once lofty position as America's national pasttime, Baseball is broken. Ratings and attendance are down, star players aren't as large as those in other sports, games are too long, and hitters go for too much and either hit a HR, strike out, or walk. The list of complaints is well known.

Here's how you fix it:

1. Pitch clock, which was just approved, is a good start. Get rid of these slow, slothlike pitchers who use a slow pace to try to ice and manipulate hitters. The only thing they're doing is manipulating the audience to a different channel or out of the park entirely. The charm is long gone.

2. Radar Strike Zone. This would be a grid square over the plate, the same for every hitter. Umps are terrible overall at getting the right calls, they constantly have bad nights where they only get 90% of calls correct. The "human error is good" argument is baffling, and usually only made by the winning team who isn't screwed over by a called strike 3 2 inches outside of the plate in a tight game for playoff contention. To compare, the NBA rim is always the same distance wide and always 10 ft high. It doesn't shift based on the mood and best guess of who puts it up that day.

3. Move the mound back. In all of this, it's not the hitters that have become too good, it's the pitchers. Pitchers continue to throw harder and harder, with more and more cut and spin. This forces hitters to realize that the odds of making contact are becoming lower and lower. So, they go for larger swings to make the most of any contact they get. If you move the mound back a foot or two, you'll return reaction times back to where they used to be in previous eras.

4. I guess I don't TRULY mean traditionalists to take this one seriously... but I think it's a great idea. With all the talk about who is taking PED's and steroids... well, you allow steroids, but only for one guy in your line up. You get one guy juiced out of his mind (probably the DH) in your lineup. Boom, we're back to must-see TV like when McGwire and Bonds dominated the league, when baseball was on fire.

 

[Darkwind]

Here is a better way to fix it.


Watch Badmitton.

 

[The_Lyrical_Miracle]

Here is a better way to fix it.


Watch Badmitton.

Name one Badmitton player without looking it up. LOL

 

[Darkwind]

Name one Badmitton player without looking it up. LOL

Missed the point, eh? lol

Okay, lets do it this way since you want excitement, which baseball lacks.

Watch the LPGA. At least the visuals are better.

 

[The_Lyrical_Miracle]

Missed the point, eh? lol

Okay, lets do it this way since you want excitement, which baseball lacks.

Watch the LPGA. At least the visuals are better.

So, are you saying baseball is fine? Or do you agree there are problems and just say to stop watching it.

 

[Darkwind]

So, are you saying baseball is fine? Or do you agree there are problems and just say to stop watching it.

I'm saying that you have to be a front hole to watch baseball!

Baseball has exciting and athletic plays every two to three months and if you want to watch baseball, go to youtube and catch the highlights.


This is a good one.

 

[The_Lyrical_Miracle]

I'm saying that you have to be a front hole to watch baseball!

Baseball has exciting and athletic plays every two to three months and if you want to watch baseball, go to youtube and catch the highlights.


This is a good one.

LOL, the two of us can agree that baseball overall has some glaring deficits compared to other sports. Let's list them;

1. LONG season. 162 games. Each game means almost nothing.
2. Star players? They get a few plays in the field and get up to bat 3-4 times a game, VERY minimal influence on the game.
3. LOTS of down time with little pace.

 

[Mac-7]

Here is a better way to fix it.


Watch Badmitton.

Baseball is ok

I dont watch pro football because its too woke and anti American

there is no reason that MLB has to be number one in the ratings market

that has nothing to with the enjoyment of watching the games

if you miss football watch a college game

either live or on YouTube where the greatest college football games ever played are ready to be watched again

 

[DGS49]

I would time the pitchers and force the batters to stay in the box between pitches.

And I would outlaw extreme shifts.

And make every team live with the same player payroll. If they want to pay a couple players "too much," then they have to reduce their roster by a player or two.

 

[Couchpotato]

The large majority of sports fans in America know that from its once lofty position as America's national pasttime, Baseball is broken. Ratings and attendance are down, star players aren't as large as those in other sports, games are too long, and hitters go for too much and either hit a HR, strike out, or walk. The list of complaints is well known.

Here's how you fix it:

1. Pitch clock, which was just approved, is a good start. Get rid of these slow, slothlike pitchers who use a slow pace to try to ice and manipulate hitters. The only thing they're doing is manipulating the audience to a different channel or out of the park entirely. The charm is long gone.

2. Radar Strike Zone. This would be a grid square over the plate, the same for every hitter. Umps are terrible overall at getting the right calls, they constantly have bad nights where they only get 90% of calls correct. The "human error is good" argument is baffling, and usually only made by the winning team who isn't screwed over by a called strike 3 2 inches outside of the plate in a tight game for playoff contention. To compare, the NBA rim is always the same distance wide and always 10 ft high. It doesn't shift based on the mood and best guess of who puts it up that day.

3. Move the mound back. In all of this, it's not the hitters that have become too good, it's the pitchers. Pitchers continue to throw harder and harder, with more and more cut and spin. This forces hitters to realize that the odds of making contact are becoming lower and lower. So, they go for larger swings to make the most of any contact they get. If you move the mound back a foot or two, you'll return reaction times back to where they used to be in previous eras.

4. I guess I don't TRULY mean traditionalists to take this one seriously... but I think it's a great idea. With all the talk about who is taking PED's and steroids... well, you allow steroids, but only for one guy in your line up. You get one guy juiced out of his mind (probably the DH) in your lineup. Boom, we're back to must-see TV like when McGwire and Bonds dominated the league, when baseball was on fire.

Radar Strike zone is terrible, and it can't be the same for all players. Judge would a ludicrously small zone part of which would be below his knees compared to Altuve who's would be far too large and up near his neck. It also removes a large part of the catcher job and would allow them to focus just on keeping baserunners from stealing thus eliminating stolen bases almost completely. I dont think people are saying man if only these umpires were better I'd watch MLB.

The biggest problem with baseball is there's not enough parity. It;s part of the reason why the NFL is so popular and all the teams have a fanbase. Every team at the start of the year has a shot. That's just not the case in baseball. Revenue sharing and a salary cap would do wonders for baseball IMO. Making all the teams (or at least the majority of them) competitive is the problem

 

[Couchpotato]

I would time the pitchers and force the batters to stay in the box between pitches.

And I would outlaw extreme shifts.

And make every team live with the same player payroll. If they want to pay a couple players "too much," then they have to reduce their roster by a player or two.

Why outlaw the shift? And what's extreme? I dont think there's anything in the rulebook about where position players line up (minus the catcher) The players could have broken the shift a long time ago if they wanted to. Just push bunt it into the natural holes the defense creates when they shift. If you do that every time they shift and get on base they will stop doing it.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

The large majority of sports fans in America know that from its once lofty position as America's national pasttime, Baseball is broken. Ratings and attendance are down, star players aren't as large as those in other sports, games are too long, and hitters go for too much and either hit a HR, strike out, or walk. The list of complaints is well known.

Here's how you fix it:

1. Pitch clock, which was just approved, is a good start. Get rid of these slow, slothlike pitchers who use a slow pace to try to ice and manipulate hitters. The only thing they're doing is manipulating the audience to a different channel or out of the park entirely. The charm is long gone.

2. Radar Strike Zone. This would be a grid square over the plate, the same for every hitter. Umps are terrible overall at getting the right calls, they constantly have bad nights where they only get 90% of calls correct. The "human error is good" argument is baffling, and usually only made by the winning team who isn't screwed over by a called strike 3 2 inches outside of the plate in a tight game for playoff contention. To compare, the NBA rim is always the same distance wide and always 10 ft high. It doesn't shift based on the mood and best guess of who puts it up that day.

3. Move the mound back. In all of this, it's not the hitters that have become too good, it's the pitchers. Pitchers continue to throw harder and harder, with more and more cut and spin. This forces hitters to realize that the odds of making contact are becoming lower and lower. So, they go for larger swings to make the most of any contact they get. If you move the mound back a foot or two, you'll return reaction times back to where they used to be in previous eras.

4. I guess I don't TRULY mean traditionalists to take this one seriously... but I think it's a great idea. With all the talk about who is taking PED's and steroids... well, you allow steroids, but only for one guy in your line up. You get one guy juiced out of his mind (probably the DH) in your lineup. Boom, we're back to must-see TV like when McGwire and Bonds dominated the league, when baseball was on fire.

The large majority of sports fans in America know that from its once lofty position as America's national pasttime, Baseball is broken. Ratings and attendance are down, star players aren't as large as those in other sports, games are too long, and hitters go for too much and either hit a HR, strike out, or walk. The list of complaints is well known.

Here's how you fix it:

1. Pitch clock, which was just approved, is a good start. Get rid of these slow, slothlike pitchers who use a slow pace to try to ice and manipulate hitters. The only thing they're doing is manipulating the audience to a different channel or out of the park entirely. The charm is long gone.

2. Radar Strike Zone. This would be a grid square over the plate, the same for every hitter. Umps are terrible overall at getting the right calls, they constantly have bad nights where they only get 90% of calls correct. The "human error is good" argument is baffling, and usually only made by the winning team who isn't screwed over by a called strike 3 2 inches outside of the plate in a tight game for playoff contention. To compare, the NBA rim is always the same distance wide and always 10 ft high. It doesn't shift based on the mood and best guess of who puts it up that day.

3. Move the mound back. In all of this, it's not the hitters that have become too good, it's the pitchers. Pitchers continue to throw harder and harder, with more and more cut and spin. This forces hitters to realize that the odds of making contact are becoming lower and lower. So, they go for larger swings to make the most of any contact they get. If you move the mound back a foot or two, you'll return reaction times back to where they used to be in previous eras.

4. I guess I don't TRULY mean traditionalists to take this one seriously... but I think it's a great idea. With all the talk about who is taking PED's and steroids... well, you allow steroids, but only for one guy in your line up. You get one guy juiced out of his mind (probably the DH) in your lineup. Boom, we're back to must-see TV like when McGwire and Bonds dominated the league, when baseball was on fire.

Nice suggestions but NONE of that will fix or change things,the ONLY thing that fixes the corrupt MLB baseball and changes things is going back to the good old days where you dont give all these players millions of dollars for playing a kids game, and have a salary cap like the NFL does.that way you have the good days back where players stay with one team their whole career or at least most their career and every team has as much chance as the other guy of going to the world series. if the NFL operated the same way baseball does,teams like Green Bay,Pittsburgh,Minnesota and Cincinnati,would NEVER have a prayer of being in the superbowl instead of as it is now where every year,they have as much chance as the next guy does.

Until that changes,baseball will be a fucking joke and it will always be the same ole song and dance where you know going into the season the small market teams are just developing their players to go on to the big major market teams for the high dollar and we will see the same old big market teams year in and year out squaring off to go to the world series in the likes of the dodgers,Yankees,Red Sox, Astros,or another big market team once in a while like last years Atlanta braves when its not one of those teams.

same old fucking bullshit that will never change as long as this corruption is allowed to keep going on. MLB is every bit as corrupt as the NFL is and thats saying an AWFUL LOT!!!!!!

This is the ONLY thing matters on HOW to change the corrupt MLB baseball,everything else posted beforehand is all irreelvent sense none of that will fix the problem of baseball where this DOES.

 

[IamZ]

Get rid of Latin players. They have no personality.

 

[Leweman]

Add a payroll minimum and maximum. Shorten the season to 154 games. The games need to speed up time wise. Although I feel all sports are way too long any more. Too many tv commercials.

 

[Couchpotato]

Nice suggestions but NONE of that will fix or change things,the ONLY thing that fixes the corrupt MLB baseball and changes things is going back to the good old days where you dont give all these players millions of dollars for playing a kids game, and have a salary cap like the NFL does.that way you have the good days back where players stay with one team their whole career or at least most their career and every team has as much chance as the other guy of going to the world series. if the NFL operated the same way baseball does,teams like Green Bay,Pittsburgh,Minnesota and Cincinnati,would NEVER have a prayer of being in the superbowl instead of as it is now where every year,they have as much chance as the next guy does.

Until that changes,baseball will be a fucking joke and it will always be the same ole song and dance where you know going into the season the small market teams are just developing their players to go on to the big major market teams for the high dollar and we will see the same old big market teams year in and year out squaring off to go to the world series in the likes of the dodgers,Yankees,Red Sox, Astros,or another big market team once in a while like last years Atlanta braves when its not one of those teams.

same old fucking bullshit that will never change as long as this corruption is allowed to keep going on. MLB is every bit as corrupt as the NFL is and thats saying an AWFUL LOT!!!!!!

This is the ONLY thing matters on HOW to change the corrupt MLB baseball,everything else posted beforehand is all irreelvent sense none of that will fix the problem of baseball where this DOES.

The salary cap in football didnt do any of those things.

 

[candycorn]

Well, first you have to decide what needs "fixing". Different stake holders (Owners, Labor, Fans) have different priorities. One source said that the profits from a single MLB team are over $100M. That is profit. Not revenue. So I doubt the owners see much need in "fixing" things. The other two stakeholders? Probably see room for improvement. Here are my ideas. First, I think as far as scheduling goes, the NFL has it down to a science so MLB should seek to copy them from my point of view.

1. The pitch clock is a good idea but, like instant replay, it will take a few seasons to work out the kinks. I can see more throws to first base to re-set the clock if that is an option.
2. Making the hitter stay in the batters box is also a good idea but it would take a few seasons to work out kinks. I remember one year the wind was blowing so hard a batter got dirt in his eyes, the umpire gave him time out. Will that be a possibility?
3. The season. Starts on the first Tuesday in April with a noon game in Cincy (every one else plays that night) and ends on the first weekend in October.
4. All Star game.
   • Make it a Monday-Friday celebration with the game on Tuesday. It seems to me that most players would rather have the three days off instead of the honor of playing in the meaningless game. So give the players that play in the game 3 days off as well.
   • Expand the rosters to 40 players for each team. Currently there are 20 position players and 12 pitchers. Make it 25 and 15 so there are fewer snubs. Since nobody really cares about the game, nobody should really be upset that some players are making the team while others are not.
     • I'd have 3 position players and 2 pitchers out of the 8 new spots filled by a HOF committee who appoints a "favorite" to play an inning or two. Like imagine they were having it in Fenway Park this year instead of Dodger Stadium. I think the fans there would love to see the HOF committee appoint someone like Big Poppy or another not-too-distant retiree be able to get up there and take some swings. I don't mean someone who played with Yaz or Fisk but put someone who isn't eligible, a local favorite, a recently retired superstar, a magnetic personality, or someone who was clearly snubbed who is still current on the field for the spectacle of it.
   • Let the manager decide who starts. Currently, the starting line up is determined by the fan's vote and the reserves are selected by a player ballot and a commissioner's office. The manager should be able to pick who starts and who doesn't....thats what managers do. Remove any clause from contracts that has a start-in-the-all-star-game clause and replace it with being selected.
5. Expand to 32 teams. Add franchises in Las Vegas and Nashville. Take the current 15 team leagues that have 3 divisions and convert them into 16 team leagues with 4 divisions. Just like the NFL.
6. In 2021, the D-Backs played the Padres, Dodgers, Giants and Rockies 19 times each. Holy Shit! Does anyone need to see 19 games between two teams? My plan would be to do the following
   • Play your 3 division rivals 14 times a year (42 Games). Play each team in your league 9 times (108 Games). That will get you to 150 games. The other 12 are inter-league with another division from the other league. Just like the NFL sets it up every year to where you play 2 home games and 2 away games with a division from the other conference, you have that with the opposite league's teams. Meaning that the NL West would play 2 away series with two AL Central teams and two AL Central teams would visit. See #7
7. Two parts to this one.
   • When the other team comes to visit, I would only have it on weekends and do a double header on the Saturday followed by a Sunday night game. This would mean you have two double headers scheduled a year.
   • I love what they did with Iowa last year. More please. I would have a lot more special venue games. About 6 per year. Puerto Rico! The DR. Mexico City. Sao Paulo. Even a barn-storming event once in a while. Hank Aaron stadium in Mobile... There is a beautiful stadium up in Buffalo, NY. I'm sure there are great little parks around the mid west and northeast.
8. During the summer , set aside two weekday games a month to where kids under 14 get in free with their parents. Start developing some love of the game (or at least going to the game) in the youth. There was a game the D-backs played last season that drew 7,000 fans. Unless they are winning, they'll never draw well because nobody grew up watching the Diamond backs play ball. Make the players available for autographs and photos (starting players too) during these games. A little ambassadorship never hurt anyone.
9. For the players... I would take the 10 & 5 rule and make it an 8 & 4 rule. Satisfaction means different things these days.
10. I would expand the rosters but only make so many players eligible for substitution. Expand it to 28 from the 26. However, the other three players would not be eligible for every game. This would give the manager some flexibility on resting a player. Bryan McCann talked about how AJ Hinch would tell him that he was not going to be catching on Thursday night. So McCann would be able to go to the stadium later than usual, not go through the pre-game drills, etc...
11. One last thing for the players. What I would do is set aside some road trips where the family could come along on a trip. This would be optional for the players of course but if you're going to New York or LA for 4 games (or the DR perhaps), how nice would it be to be able to take the wife and kids along so they could hit the beach or the Empire State building. Most players probably don't have trouble taking their family on a vacation during the off season and all but it would just be nice for the clubs to do something like this for the families and the players.

Just a few ideas above.

 

[22lcidw]

Why outlaw the shift? And what's extreme? I dont think there's anything in the rulebook about where position players line up (minus the catcher) The players could have broken the shift a long time ago if they wanted to. Just push bunt it into the natural holes the defense creates when they shift. If you do that every time they shift and get on base they will stop doing it.

That may mean they would know how to bunt.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

Add a payroll minimum and maximum. Shorten the season to 154 games. The games need to speed up time wise. Although I feel all sports are way too long any more. Too many tv commercials.

totally agree on the minimum and maxium payrolls. thats what i said earlier,that fixes EVERYTHING.prevents the big market teams like the dodgers,astros and yankees being the ones that are always playing to go to the world series every year.

154 games is only losing 8 games though,that solves nothing. many more games need to be cut. start spring training late like in late april and have spring traning games run all the way through the entire month of may. dont start the regular season till june. That way baseball is far more enjoyable not having so many games played the entire year.taking a couple of months out of the season solves the problem of there being so many games in an entire season,makes the season much more exciting to look forward to instead of saying to yourself HOW MUCH LONGFER TILL BASEBALL IS OVER WITH.

 

[Couchpotato]

That may mean they would know how to bunt.

Do you really think pro ball players don’t know how to bunt or couldn’t learn? It’s really not that specialized a skill. Especially when it does t have to be a great bunt

 

[BackAgain]

What’s this shit about the games taking too long?? They may proceed a bit too slowly (like the time between pitches) but that’s a slightly different matter. Hell, I like extra innings. As Michael Kay of the YES Network calls it, “free baseball.” And I’m thrilled they got rid of the ghost runner nonsense, too.