Baseball needs a hard salary cap. The idea of a luxury tax will never work because there’s no mandate for small market owners to spend the additional dollars improving the team. The luxury tax has been proven not to work and in my opinion will never work. If the owners didn’t stab each other in the back they can actually break the Union and agree on a reasonable salary cap.
No baseball..ugh!
- Thread starter Bkmtnittany1
- Start date
I fixed this for you. If the OWNER put a decent product on the field, people would come.
There is so much disparity between the poor and the rich, they would never agree on a cap that includes a mandatory base. The mandatory base is what would help create a more competitive league. In order to have the mandatory base the profit sharing would need to be overhauled.
The Pirates made the wildcard from 2013-2015.
Pirates' Attendance in MLB
2013: 19th
2014: 15th
2015: 15th
2016: 18th
2017: 25th
2018: 28th
2019: 27th
2021: 25th
So, even when they're a "perennial" playoff team, attendance is average, at best. One of those years they had the second best record in the NL. They even popped back up over .500 in 2018. It wasn't until 2019 that the performance really cratered. Basically, Pittsburgh fans say: "if you make the playoffs, we'll give you tepid support ... otherwise, bye, Felicia!"
Owners last night apparently "angrily" rejected the players latest proposal....season still off.
Owners don't want first month of season because apparently they are money losing games, and no penalty from tv contracts for a certain percentage of games missed.
Looks like one area of agreement is to ban the “ shift” in MLB. That is one change that I agree with.
I’m torn on that. There’s a part of me that believes it should be two infielders in either side of 2B. But then there’s the other side that says professional hitters should be able to slap the ball the other way or, god forbid, be able to drop a bunt in that side of the field.
Makes me think about guys like Ryan Howard who never figured out how to hit vs the shift.
I'm not a fan of banning shifts. Baseball seems intent on turning the game into a HR derby.
I used to hate the shift but came around to thinking it's crazy to force the defense to stand aside and allow batters to get on base. There's a lot of empty space between the seven guys behind the pitcher. As mentioned above, professional players should be able to find somewhere to hit the ball.
The willingness to accept strikeouts in exchange for increased HRs has lengthened the game and reduced action. Strikeouts and fly outs are boring to watch, and HRs aren't that much better. I love baseball, but I'm finding games from Korea, Japan, and youth games more entertaining than MLB.
With all this nonsense, I was struck yesterday at what the game still means to some involved with it. I was talking to the security guy at the players entrance yesterday who pointed out Charlie Manual’s and Bowa’s cars which were the first cars parked closest to the entrance. He told me that Charlie and Bowa still routinely arrive at 6AM on many days.
The first person I saw at one of the fields was Bowa. He looked energetic and determined and enjoyed taking photos with anyone who approached him.
These guys are getting into their late innings but being lifers they are drawn to the game more so than even the Field Of Dreams characters. There is nothing more they enjoy than being in uniform and teaching youngsters. When you think of the lockout, think a second too about guys like Charlie and Bo who will both be buried in those uni’s. You realize that the game still runs strong through some and it’s not all about the prearb pool and CBT.
The first person I saw at one of the fields was Bowa. He looked energetic and determined and enjoyed taking photos with anyone who approached him.
These guys are getting into their late innings but being lifers they are drawn to the game more so than even the Field Of Dreams characters. There is nothing more they enjoy than being in uniform and teaching youngsters. When you think of the lockout, think a second too about guys like Charlie and Bo who will both be buried in those uni’s. You realize that the game still runs strong through some and it’s not all about the prearb pool and CBT.
You guys may have hit on this already, but did you see the 14 second pitch clock with no one on base? That’s fast man. Kinda surprised. I assumed it would be closer to 18 or 19. They did decide on 19 with runners on base.
The shift actually increases the likelihood that someone will be swinging for the fences.
Here's the logic ... the shift REALLY affects left-handed hitters (LHB). A LHB has a natural advantage against right-handed pitching (RHP) because the ball takes longer to come in to them ... they have an extra moment to decide on their swing, and to get around on the ball. This is why down and in to a LHB is usually death. They're going to rope hard hit balls all day long (comparatively and relatively speaking, of course). Grounders, bounders, line drives and fly balls.
The shift basically takes away this advantage ... and then some. Now, a LHB has 2 choices ... they can either try to hit only OVER the shift (doubles and HRs), or they can try to go opposite field. And the latter option is what all the shift-proponents and oldenheimer small-ball advocates scream ... "Just go the other way ... or bunt! Duh! No more shift!" Except it's not that easy. In fact, it's not really possible. With the shift allowed, a RHP will pound a LHB inside all day. These guys are throwing 93-95 mph (or harder) cutters in on the fists. You simply can't go the opposite way with that ... not with any reliability ... and not without completely changing your swing/approach so that you can't take advantage of other hittable pitches. This is why you see guys still hitting into the shift ... because they're trying to hit OVER it, as the alternative isn't really an alternative at all ... despite the cries of the hitting experts on their couches.
The shift sucks. "True" lefties (left-handed throwing and left-handed hitting) are screwed over in baseball ... they can only play 4 positions (outside of pitching) - 1B and the 3 OF spots. 3 of those spots are traditionally bigger-bodied power-hitting positions. And, lefties, due to their non-shift advantage at the plate, are naturally more power-hitting, regardless. So, you're asking the very few lefties that make their way up into the pros, based on their stroke, to do things they're completely not equipped to do (if they're even possible, at all).
So, you limit a lefty's opportunities by the nature of the game, force them to become a certain type of hitter to make it in the bigs ... then you take away that ability/advantage. What happens? Well, as you could expect .. there are fewer and fewer lefties in pro baseball every year. And with fewer lefty-hitters, there are fewer lefty pitchers needed.
Yes, I know ... you can find exceptions to this ... small lefties who made it, lefties who hit to all fields and rely on speed/contact ... but those are the exceptions.
And the solution to fix this situation is easy ... have fielders play where they traditionally played. Nothing at all drastic. Just go back to the way the game was generally played since its inception. Football limits the offense's advantage by demanding a certain number of players must line up on the line of scrimmage ... baseball can prevent the defense from getting an advantage on hitters.
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