MLB, union reach tentative agreement on new CBA (Big changes to the game)

Yappi

Yappi

Go Buckeyes
MLB had pushed for expanding the postseason to 12 teams -- a plan to which the MLBPA agreed. Additionally, player uniforms will feature advertising for the first time, with patches on jerseys and decals on batting helmets.

Other elements of the deal include:

• A 45-day window for MLB to implement rules changes -- among them a pitch clock, ban on shifts and larger bases in the 2023 season

• The National League adopting the designated hitter

• A draft lottery implemented with the intent of discouraging tanking

• Draft-pick inducements to discourage service-time manipulation

• Limiting the number of times a player can be optioned to the minor leagues in one season
 
 
I have been losing interest in baseball over the years, still watch when the Reds are on and have partial season tickets. Designated hitter? shift rules? draft lottery? oh well; too late to cancel my tickets, didn't expect the DH to be implemented. [no problem with people liking the rule; just not for me]
 
I prefer the DH but really don't want the National League to adopt it. The difference between the leagues is a good thing.

The shift I really don't understand. You have 7 defensive players that you can put anywhere you want. It just so happens that placing 4 in the infield and 3 in the outfield spread apart is the best defensive alignment for over 100 years. Now that the game has changed and some hitters struggle, you now tell the defense where they cannot play? It doesn't make sense. You put the defense in the best possible position. If your offense struggles, adapt to the new alignment.

Next, we can stop calling strikes. If the batter doesn't like it, he can tell the pitcher where he wants the next pitch. If that doesn't work, maybe the hitter can have their own pitcher throw pitches to them like in the HR derby.
 
This (the DH) became a bargaining chip for the union, not a unique baseball rule. Personally, I'd rather not have the DH, but from a union perspective, getting rid of it is cutting a paying job to someone, and as we know with unions, that doesn't fly.

Restricting defense (the shift) is just a ploy to create more offense in baseball. Sadly, the critics have cried long and hard enough and the people that make these decisions isn't about what's best for the game of baseball, but what gets more people to watch. Baseball held off as long as it could, but it's falling into the same hole as the NBA and NFL. Fan interest rules the roost. Believe it or not, way back when, basketball didn't have a shot clock, 3 point line or no zone defenses. And the NFL didn't have all the whacky rules it has now to increase scoring.

To make a substantial change to baseball, you have to stop overcompensating players who just hit home runs. The guy who hits .310, gets on base .420 and hits 10 homers a year has been ruled worthless by baseball front offices. They'd rather a guy hit .220 and 45 homers and strike out 2 of 3 plate appearances.
 
14Red said:
Bunt never went away, guys just don't do it.
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come on eye roll GIF by @SummerBreak
 
Ultimately the sport needed to make some changes in order to gain more fans. And whatever it takes to get more fans….is good for baseball.
 
brianwr112 said:
Ultimately the sport needed to make some changes in order to gain more fans. And whatever it takes to get more fans….is good for baseball.
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But the same people who have changed the game so much that it is losing fans are doubling down on the rules that have driven people away.

Home runs are great but are now just another hit. It has lost it's mystique because every player in the lineup is expected to be a home run hitter. The game was far more interesting when the little fast guy who hit 2 home runs a year but stole 50 bases was the leadoff hitter. He frustrated the other team because he led off the game with a bunt and was on second base before you knew it. That great number two hitter was going to move him along or get an RBI hit. The three hitter brought him in. The four hitter was there to get the big hit and multiple RBIs.

The game was diverse and every style could win any given night. Defense counted as much as offense. A good third baseman was more than a guy who could hit 40 home runs.
 
I was talking more about the DH and banning the shift. It‘ll be interesting to see if players try to put the ball in play more now that there’s a bit of a gap? Theory would be they don’t have to hit the ball out of the park to reach base. My theories are seldom right.
 
Gh0st said:
David Bell says "Challenge accepted". This is the guy that used a pitcher for a rightly-lefty matchup against an opposing pitcher.
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Yep, that is the truth of the matter. I am a Reds fan and the less thinking Bell has to do, the better. He double-switched the Reds into bad situations so many times last year, because they would be out of bench bats by the 8th inning.
 
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