2019-2020 Offseason Discussion

[rmc523]

I don’t think there’s any real long term damage because people will forget about this once the sport is back but it can’t be said enough how truly awful manfred is and how desperately the sport needs a new, more progressive forward thinking person in that spot similar to Adam silver in the nba. Baseball just refuses to adapt to new things in the name of “tradition” and it’s holding back the sport so badly. I fucking love baseball and even I can’t watch a full game without doing something else at the same time. There are so many common sense adaptations I would make that would make the game so much more appealing

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Loss of revenue does not equal losing money for the season. Businesses aren’t guaranteed to make money, eat the lesser profits for the year, pay the players their full prorated salaries and move on.

When a team does better than projections and they make more money than expected do the players get more then? No. That’s just how business works. The players are not asking for their full contracted salary, they are merely asking that the owners pay them what they contacted for on a per game basis. That’s already a good compromise. The owners have a constantly appreciating asset and unlike the players they don’t have a limited timeframe where they can make this kind of money. They need to stop being greedy, pay them the full prorated salary, and get back to normal next year

I disagree on the damage - short term, yes, most fans may forget about it once they're back.....BUT long term is what I'm looking at....because the tense negotiations for this can spill over into a strike next offseason when the CBA expires, and we thought a strike was a real possibility BEFORE this covid stuff. They might get past this dispute, but have bigger problems for the CBA. This major divide and disagreement and the clash between the owners and players on something "simple" like pay in a limited season, imagine how CBA negotiations will go.


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What adaptations are you thinking of?

[fish16]

I disagree on the damage - short term, yes, most fans may forget about it once they're back.....BUT long term is what I'm looking at....because the tense negotiations for this can spill over into a strike next offseason when the CBA expires, and we thought a strike was a real possibility BEFORE this covid stuff. They might get past this dispute, but have bigger problems for the CBA. This major divide and disagreement and the clash between the owners and players on something "simple" like pay in a limited season, imagine how CBA negotiations will go.


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What adaptations are you thinking of?

The main one being an automated strike zone. there is 0 reason with the technology available in 2020 that we have moderately overweight middle aged men determining whether the pitch was in the strike zone and give the catcher the ability to manipulate pitches to look like they are strikes solely to trick the umpire.

I would also shorten the regular season by 30-40 games. I dont think this ever happens because that results in less revenue and lower salaries but i think it would make the sport much more interesting and make the regular season games more impactful and interesting to watch. we already know who the best teams are by august/september.

Then id allow 6 teams from each league in the playoffs. 3 division winners and 3 wild cards- The 2 worst wild card teams play a 1 game playoff for the right to play the #1 wild card. Winner of that game and #1 wild card team would then play a best of 3 game series all at the better team's home park. this expands the playoffs, still gives at least 1 sudden death wild card game in each league, and also promotes winning the first wild card. Then 7 games in the divisional round instead of 5.

Universal DH- pitchers are awful hitters and nobody comes to a game to watch a pitcher hit. it might add more strategy but its not fun to watch.

Those are just off the top of my head.

[Lee Stone]

The main one being an automated strike zone. there is 0 reason with the technology available in 2020 that we have moderately overweight middle aged men determining whether the pitch was in the strike zone and give the catcher the ability to manipulate pitches to look like they are strikes solely to trick the umpire.

I would also shorten the regular season by 30-40 games. I dont think this ever happens because that results in less revenue and lower salaries but i think it would make the sport much more interesting and make the regular season games more impactful and interesting to watch. we already know who the best teams are by august/september.

Then id allow 6 teams from each league in the playoffs. 3 division winners and 3 wild cards- The 2 worst wild card teams play a 1 game playoff for the right to play the #1 wild card. Winner of that game and #1 wild card team would then play a best of 3 game series all at the better team's home park. this expands the playoffs, still gives at least 1 sudden death wild card game in each league, and also promotes winning the first wild card. Then 7 games in the divisional round instead of 5.

Universal DH- pitchers are awful hitters and nobody comes to a game to watch a pitcher hit. it might add more strategy but its not fun to watch.

Those are just off the top of my head.

Agree with all those changes ... biggest being automated balls and strikes

[Nick]

I don't agree with a shorter season. The more the baseball the better. I love the grind of a 162-game season. Also, I know there's no going back, but I'll always believe 3-division winners and 1 wild card was the sweet spot. This 1 game playoff where one team usually is some 5 or 6 games better than the other during the season doesn't do it for me. Those play in games used to mean something because it was like 162 games and it still wasn't enough. With the wild card play in game usually one team's getting screwed.

Automated balls and strikes - yes, Universal DH - I'm coming around.

[fish16]

I don't agree with a shorter season. The more the baseball the better. I love the grind of a 162-game season. Also, I know there's no going back, but I'll always believe 3-division winners and 1 wild card was the sweet spot. This 1 game playoff where one team usually is some 5 or 6 games better than the other during the season doesn't do it for me. Those play in games used to mean something because it was like 162 games and it still wasn't enough. With the wild card play in game usually one team's getting screwed.

Automated balls and strikes - yes, Universal DH - I'm coming around.

Ya i dont think it is really all that fair to do a 1 game playoff but it really is great TV. playoff baseball with stakes really is awesome. Whenever the marlins finally make it again im gonna have a heart attack. Maybe the change i would make is keep the 1 game playoff and you can keep the division winners, but once the playoff teams are decided i think there should be the possibility of a 2nd place team with a better record than one of the division winners should get in while that division winner has to win the 1 game playoff.

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random thought but the rule 5 draft should be interested if they count this year as a service year in the minors. you have all the guys who were supposed to get evaluated this year who wont get that opportunity plus the guys who would normally be eligible for the rule 5 anyways. Could be some really interesting names who become available due to a surplus of guys on teams 40 man rosters

[rmc523]

The main one being an automated strike zone. there is 0 reason with the technology available in 2020 that we have moderately overweight middle aged men determining whether the pitch was in the strike zone and give the catcher the ability to manipulate pitches to look like they are strikes solely to trick the umpire.

I would also shorten the regular season by 30-40 games. I dont think this ever happens because that results in less revenue and lower salaries but i think it would make the sport much more interesting and make the regular season games more impactful and interesting to watch. we already know who the best teams are by august/september.

Then id allow 6 teams from each league in the playoffs. 3 division winners and 3 wild cards- The 2 worst wild card teams play a 1 game playoff for the right to play the #1 wild card. Winner of that game and #1 wild card team would then play a best of 3 game series all at the better team's home park. this expands the playoffs, still gives at least 1 sudden death wild card game in each league, and also promotes winning the first wild card. Then 7 games in the divisional round instead of 5.

Universal DH- pitchers are awful hitters and nobody comes to a game to watch a pitcher hit. it might add more strategy but its not fun to watch.

Those are just off the top of my head.

I'm on board with most of what you're saying - I don't know if I'd cut it down that much - maybe 20 games.

Automated strike zone works for me - display it on the screen like Foxtrax or whatever they call it, and let everyone see. There's nothing worse than watching a gorgeous pitch in the bottom corner of the zone being called a ball, and then one 3 feet off the plate called a strike because the zone is different that day.

I don't mind your ideas for the playoffs. I've always hated the one game wild card game - all of baseball is based upon series (barring a tie), aside from these two instances - where a single error can mean the end of the season, I just don't like it. I'd have it be a 3 game series for the wild card game.

universal DH - yes. For a while I liked non-DH, but I'm at the point where I'm fine with having the DH all around - there's no need to have the pitchers hit (despite seeing a pitcher hit a home run occasionally being fun), not to mention NL teams are at a disadvantage with an extra spot to rest guys on any given day.

[emkayseven]

I'm on board with a lot of that but I'd shorten back to 154 game season to allow for expanded playoffs. I know it would never happen but the whole idea of divisions is kind of silly and unnecessary. I'd prefer to see the best teams in the playoffs no matter what. I'd love 2 15-team leagues where the top 5 from each league make it. 4 plays 5 in a one game play-in, then 1 plays the winner and 2 and 3 play.

When baseball expands (and I say when because it will need the 2+ billion dollars from expansion fees to overcome what happened this season and what will happen with a strike) I'd realistically say we should have four 4-team divisions with each winner making it plus one wild card. Still like a no division setup better but I'm not naive to think that will ever happen.

[Todd]

I would just do four 4 team divisions in each league, the four division winners make the playoffs with no wild card, and do away with interleague play.

[tjfla]

Prolly gonna end up at 54 games from August to Nov and owners wanna move on from this crappy season

[Namaste]

The first is that they (owners) are likely not losing money at all

I’m convinced that fish16 is a troll bot and not a human.

[rmc523]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/...d-be-easy.html

A nice article on MLBTR about it


Short version is his proposal is to use the 50 games as a baseline for both sides. Then calculate potential revenues for the extra 30 games (Or whatever number) proposed and split that number evenly between the owners and union and be done with it.

[Lee Stone]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/...d-be-easy.html

A nice article on MLBTR about it


Short version is his proposal is to use the 50 games as a baseline for both sides. Then calculate potential revenues for the extra 30 games (Or whatever number) proposed and split that number evenly between the owners and union and be done with it.

My understanding is that the 50 games represent the extent of the loss owners can offset with the profit from televising the playoffs. Therefore, any additional regular season games simply add to the loss column. Expanded playoffs might allow owners to add maybe ten regular season games. In either case, they would need concessions from the players in the event that playoffs were cancelled due to Covid19. Given the "economic feasibility" clause in the March contract, players should be willing to accomodate.

[rmc523]

My understanding is that the 50 games represent the extent of the loss owners can offset with the profit from televising the playoffs. Therefore, any additional regular season games simply add to the loss column. Expanded playoffs might allow owners to add maybe ten regular season games. In either case, they would need concessions from the players in the event that playoffs were cancelled due to Covid19. Given the "economic feasibility" clause in the March contract, players should be willing to accomodate.

Right, that's the logic behind the pay full prorated up to that 50 games, and then split revenues beyond that.

[fish16]

I’m convinced that fish16 is a troll bot and not a human.

if they were they would open their books in a second.

[fish16]

Patrick Saunders
@psaundersdp
Agent Joel Wolfe on
@MLB
owners crying poverty:

"The Marlins played without fans for 15 years, yet still managed to give a player the biggest contract in sports history (Stanton), and then sold the team for a Billion dollar profit, with 5 competing buyers."

this exactly