How would you change baseball?

[Oeditpus Rex]

I'd:

• Get rid of the DH.

• Keep the current playoff format, but make the division series best-of-three and the LCS best-of-five. Baseball should not be played in November.

• Bring back the spitter. It never left, anyway.

• Come up with a way to identify fans who interfere with the game and ban them from ever attending another game, majors or minors.



:popcorn:

[TransitJohn]

1. I can only add one to that list

Get rid of the Yankees.

[Chovexani]

2. But then who would people bitch and whine about?

:hide:

[SeattleGirl]

4. Hmmm, you have a point there, Chovexani.

Got's to have the Yankee hate!

[darkstar]

3. Raise mound.

Get rid of sloppy "out" calls on pivot portion of double plays.

:hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. What, the 'neighborhood' call?

Nah. That's part o' baseball, like the spitter. :)

[AngryAmish]

95. I agree about the neighborhood call

It keeps guys from breaking their legs. Keep it.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5. No night games and Grass only.

:hide:

[darkstar]

6. Wow, old school.

Sharpened spikes too?

:hi:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. Down and dirty ---

:toast:

[Oeditpus Rex]

15. There's almost no artificial turf left

Only yards that still have it are Minnesota, Toronto and Tampa Bay.

I'd love all day games, but that's just not financially feasible anymore.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

24. Oh Yeah. I keep forgetting. It IS all about the money.

:eyes:

I understand Toronto and Minnesota (I guess) but, why Tampa Bay?

[Oeditpus Rex]

25. I guess

because it's in Florida. :shrug:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

27. Exactly ---

They should be able to grow grass. AND I am not referring to the kind you smoke (not this time, anyway)

[JTG of the PRB]

29. It's because they have a domed field.

It's not even a RETRACTABLE dome. :eyes: Losers.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

32. Yeah. Losers. Sheesh.

:toast:

[Initech]

7. Here's what I'd do:

1. Tell George Steinbrenner to go fuck himself.

2. Open expansion teams in Portland or Vegas (AL West) and Nashville (NL Central).

3. Come up with a way to identify which season ticket holders of home teams sold their tickets to fans of opposing teams.

4. Buy Yankees hats for everyone who works for ESPN.

[darkstar]

10. "Buy Yankees hats for everyone who works for ESPN"

:rofl:

[Initech]

13. ESPN = professional bandwaggoners network

[Oeditpus Rex]

17. They wouldn't draw in Vegas

The 51s drew only 365,659 in 2006 — average 5,079 per game, 11th in the PCL. (Cashman Field holds 9,334.)

There's too much else to do there. :shrug:

I'd imagine everybody at ESPN already has Jankee caps, and probably posters of A-Clod or Jeter over their beds.

[krispos42]

84. Probably too damn hot...

Unless they put up a translucent dome with air-conditioning. Lets in enough light to grow a nice crop of real grass. Maybe have adjustably-tinted panes in the dome. And the A/C system would make it tolerable even in August. The Metrodome in the Cities has it, and it's a blessing.

[trogdor]

98. That's AAA

I assume. Harder to get excited over minor league ball. If Pittsburgh can have a major league team, so can Vegas. Maybe Donald Trump or somebody can buy the Pirates and move them there.

[Oeditpus Rex]

121. Sacramento draws twice as many fans as Vegas

Same league, and the summer weather isn't much different. And Sacramento's within driving distance of San Francisco and Oakland. :shrug:

Hell, Louisville's drawn over a million.

[SoxFan]

131. Other cities are more deserving

Vegas is a lousy baseball town, and it always has been. In 2006, the 51's averaged just about 4,100 per game, below many AA and some A (Dayton, Lowell) ballclubs.

Sacramento and Memphis both drew about 10,000 per home game. Louisville, Buffalo, and Indianapolis also drew big crowds. These cities deserve a team before Las Vegas.

[Oeditpus Rex]

141. These are the clubs that out-drew the 51s in 2006:

1. Monterrey Sultans (AAA) 989,454
2. Sacramento River Cats (AAA) 728,227
3. Memphis Redbirds (AAA) 692,426
4. Round Rock Express (AAA) 677,706
5. Louisville Bats (AAA) 652,692
6. Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA) 613,065
7. Buffalo Bisons (AAA) 607,929
8. Dayton Dragons (A) 582,903
9. Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA) 581,308
10. Frisco RoughRiders (AA) 580,480
11. Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) 569,380
12. Indianapolis Indians (AAA) 547,768
13. Iowa Cubs (AAA) 546,554
14. Saltillo Sarape Makers (AAA) 542,341
15. Oklahoma RedHawks (AAA) 526,932
16. Columbus Clippers (AAA) 518,875
17. Durham Bulls (AAA) 507,547
18. Corpus Christi Hooks (AA) 506,398
19. Kane County Cougars (A) 500,052
20. Fresno Grizzlies (AAA) 499,595
21. Springfield Cardinals (AA) 492,372
22. Norfolk Tides (AAA) 463,836
23. Potros de Tijuana (AAA) 462,975
24. Reading Phillies (AA) 460,216
25. Salt Lake Bees (AAA) 451,938
26. Lakewood BlueClaws (A) 448,310
27. Rochester Red Wings (AAA) 437,088
28. Greensboro Grasshoppers (A) 427,890
29. Long Island Ducks (AA)* 419,150
30. Trenton Thunder (AA) 413,068
31. Akron Aeros (AA) 412,995
32. Nashville Sounds (AAA) 410,569
33. Jacksonville Suns (AA) 404,992
34. Portland Beavers (AAA) 401,092
35. Portland Sea Dogs (AA) 400,534
36. Lexington Legends (A) 376,702
37. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (AAA) 376,284
38. Lancaster Barnstormers (AA)* 370,176
39. Las Vegas 51s (AAA) 365,659

*Not affiliated with organized baseball. Caliber of play said to be between AA and AAA.

[SoxFan]

144. And if you pro-rate it...

there are a few short-season A teams that average more per night (Lowell Spinners, Brooklyn Cyclones, Aberdeen IronBirds). They only play 38 home games, so they don't show up in the full-season stats you cited.

[njdemocrat106]

48. "Tell Steinbrenner to go fuck himself"

I think that's any red-blooded baseball fan's secret (or maybe not so secret) dream, be they Yankee fan or Yankee hater.

[Initech]

114. True dat.

Although the Yankees have the highest payroll of any ball club... and THEY STILL LOST!!! :rofl:

[KamaAina]

107. Another team in the already overcrowded NL Central?

2. Open expansion teams in Portland or Vegas (AL West) and Nashville (NL Central).

Some realignment might be in order there, so there wouldn't be seven teams in the NL Central (Pirates to the East?).

In any event: more cheesy expansion teams? What would their gimmicks be? (D'backs - swimming pool in ballpark, Rockies - balls must be kept in humidors lest they fly out of there like cannon shot)

[Initech]

135. Where else could you put them?

NL West has 5 teams, NL East has 5 teams. AL Central has 5 teams. AL East has 5 teams. Guess the only one is the AL West, and there aren't very many cities that could support them.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

9. I'd make it

interesting.

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. It

is.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

133. It

isn't.

[Oeditpus Rex]

142. Is

[JVS]

11. 4TH BASE!

[some guy]

12. Outlaw intentional walks. n/t

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. Make them illegal?

Or just outlaw the actual throwing of the four pitches? :shrug:

[some guy]

28. make it illegal.

The pitcher should have to pitch to the batter. I kind of know it would be impossible to call a pitch intentionally not thrown near the strike zone, but when the catcher is standing, and several feet outside the batters box, it's easy to tell it's an intentional walk.

If the catcher had to stay in the batters box, and in his normal catching position, the pitcher could still try to throw intentional balls, but something in the dirt would risk getting away from the catcher moreso than the way intentional walks are done now.

And give the batter a chance to swing at the pitch, rather than just stand there for the four pitches.

[Oeditpus Rex]

34. I don't understand that

Well, okay — I do, sort of. Managers made the intentional walk profane with Bonds in 2004, but that was an anomaly.

I could maybe see banning it for purposes other than setting up a force play — if first base isn't open, no walkie.

I'd be all for just making it a wave-off, though. There's really no point to throwing four intentional balls. There's the school of thought that the ball should always be in play whenever someone's legally in the batter's box and the pitcher is legally on the rubber — but then, a pitcher could accomplish the same thing by hitting the batter, and at that point the ball's dead, so... :shrug:

[some guy]

39. Intentioanlly walked batters

don't charge the mound the way hit-by-pitch batters some times do. Your way might add some extra excitement to the game. :thumbsup:

I just don't like that some times late in a game a team will intentionally walk a batter who is having a good game, so they can pitch to some one they think less likely to put the ball in play. I suppose it's considered smart defense, but it seems chickens*it to me.


I realized in reading your post I don't really think about baseball in terms of defense, beyond the shifting of players on the field.
"...setting up a force play..." I'm vaguely, but not consciously aware of that aspect of strategy.

[Oeditpus Rex]

41. With a runner on first

you've got a force play at second — the runner has to run because there's a runner behind him (the batter), and, because of that, he doesn't have to be tagged to be out.

You get a guy coming up hitting .362, like Bonds did in 2004, with runners on and the game on the line, it's just good sense to walk him if first base is open — especially someone like Bonds, who doesn't run well. One, you take the bat out of his hands; two, you set up a force play.

If first isn't open — and it often wasn't when Bonds was walked that year — you're just admitting that you don't trust your pitcher to get him out. Hell, he was even walked at least once that I recall that year with the bases loaded. :crazy:

[some guy]

44. Yeah,

I understand force outs, I just never think of that sort of defensive strategy.

"...you're just admitting that you don't trust your pitcher to get him out." That's the root of why I would want to eliminate intentional walks.

Intentionally walked in a run? I'd hope they were up several runs in that situation.

[Oeditpus Rex]

45. If memory serves

they were up three or four.

I think it was Pittsburgh.

[Initech]

115. I'd rather outlaw intentionally hitting a batter.

Evidence: Vlad Guerrero of the Angels has had more pitches intentionally thrown AT him than any other player of the league, and it's been the subject of several benches-clearing fights.

[Oeditpus Rex]

120. Fights are good for baseball

They jack up players and fans love 'em. :bounce:

I'd tone down the "warning" crap. Your guy throws at my guy, my guy gets a shot at your guy. After that, there may be a penalty, but umpires know better than anyone else if a guy deserves to get thrown at.

(This is another reason to get the hell rid of the DH. If you don't want guys to get thrown at, let pitchers hit. The threat of retaliation is effective.)

Hey, ump. How about a warning?

Sure, kid. Watch out you don't get killed.

That's baseball.

[Initech]

137. I'd love to see the umpires get beat up.

I'd be fun, kind of like watching WWE wrestling. :popcorn:

[deucemagnet]

14. Adopt Blernsball rules immediately.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blernsball

[Oeditpus Rex]

21. If you said Calvinball

I might be with ya. :)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Abolish the infield fly rule.

It's too confusing.

[Oeditpus Rex]

22. Can't do that

It'd lead to way too many easy double plays, and even triple plays.

That's why they wrote it to begin with.

[Canuckistanian]

23. Five bases and two balls.

Oh, and there would be no such thing as a "foul ball".

Pants optional.

[flvegan]

26. Abolish drug testing.

Legalize GH, steroids, et al.

I wouldn't touch them, but it'd be the best thing for the game.

[reyd reid reed]

30. Get rid of indoor stadiums

Baseball in meant to be played outside. On grass.

Period.

[Oeditpus Rex]

35. But then you couldn't have ball clubs

where it rains a lot, much less snows. :shrug:

'Course, I guess those people don't deserve baseball anyway.




:hide:

[reyd reid reed]

37. Hell, it snows here.

And Coors ain't got no roof. If it's rained out, it's rained out. If it's snowed out...well, you get the idea. You reschedule it and play a double-header at some point. Most of the teams play in open air...why not all of 'em?

[Oeditpus Rex]

38. Ain't you heard?

The Players Association hates doubleheaders. x(

[reyd reid reed]

40. But.....but.....

*I* like 'em. And...haven't you heard?...it's what *I* like that counts.

Hell, I think they oughta schedule doubleheaders. On the weekends. One Sunday a month.

[Oeditpus Rex]

42. Like they used to?

First major league ball game I went to was a doubleheader — Houston at SF.

Later, though, I came to think that's too much baseball for one day when you're sitting on a hard hunk o' metal. (And doubleheaders in the minors were 7 & 7.)

[reyd reid reed]

46. Still are...

at least sometimes. Or one of 'em is. I know I've done 7-inning Sky Sox boxes.

Now...that's when I *don't* like doubleheaders.

[Oeditpus Rex]

50. Hypocrite

:P

I dunno what it is now. In Trips, it used to be 9 & 7, but that was like 20 years ago. A-Ball was 7 & 7, and I think Double-A was, too.

Now that I think of it, though, that was in the days when minor league rosters were 21, so you had fewer players to work with. If you've got eight pitchers instead of 10, you don't need to be stacking up a lotta 18-inning days.

[cemaphonic]

31. Allow the batter to carry the bat with him

[Wapsie B]

33. If the DH goes away make the pitchers swing just like everyone else.

None of this crap about bunting to get on base and then putting in a pinch runner. Make 'em hit and run the bases like everyone else. No intentional walks. That's chickenshit. Pitch to everyone.

[Oeditpus Rex]

36. Intentional walks are part of strategy

Pitchers rarely, if ever, bunt for a base hit — they sacrifice, or attempt to. And if they do get on base, you don't run for them because then they're out of the game. There wouldn't be much point to having your pitcher go up to lay one down and then pinch-run for him when you'd have more options by just pinch-hitting for him in the first place.

[enigmatic]

43. Two Words

Salary Cap.

No more Yankees or Red Sox spending more than the rest of their division combined; there has to be some kind of across the board salary parity for small-market teams to compete (and I say this as a lifelong beyond fanatical fan of the Cleveland Indians, the model now for small-market teams to compete)and Baseball to survive.

[Oeditpus Rex]

49. They've got the revenue-sharing thing

That's not the same as a cap, but it's something.

I guess it's worked a little, because there's more parity in baseball than just a few years ago. But I'd much, much rather leave it to scouting and savvy general managers, like it used to be, than just who's got the fattest wallet.

Baseball is such an ass, though. The Jankees worked it so their cable channel, YES, isn't legally part of New York Yankees Baseball, Inc., so their income from it (which is greater than that from their baseball operations) isn't "taxable" in the revenue-sharing deal.

Problem is, everybody wants success right now, and "business models" like the Florida Marlins' of about 10 years ago proved they can have that if they're just willing to spend a brazillion dollars — and then watch it all go to hell the next season when you get rid of all those expensive guys because they put you in the red.

:eyes:

[enigmatic]

51. It's not enough

YES's revenue will always lap a network like Fox Sports Ohio; it's never going to change whether the Yankees are competitive or not.

Have you seen this?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/071009&sportCat=mlb

I have to admit laughing a little while doing so; try being a Cleveland Sports Fan for some really joyless decades....

[Oeditpus Rex]

53. That column illustrates precisely why I don't understand Jankees fans

It's like rooting for Mal-Wart, and it goes back to the '50s. In 1964, I think, when Jim Bouton was trying to get a raise out of Dan Topping Jr., he was told, "Don't forget, you get a World Series share. You can always count on that."

What the hell fun is it if the only question is when you're gonna clinch? :shrug:

Every March, when Spring Training starts, all I want is a good pennant race — two or three clubs in the NL West (one of them the Dodgers) fighting for every inch, right up to 162.

That's baseball.

[sasquatch]

47. Shoot Bud Selig, install the salary cap, take control of all tv contracts

Mainly DO NOT ALLOW THE PLAYOFFS TO BE BROADCASTED BY ONE CHANNEL, LET ALONE A CABLE TV CHANNEL!!

[enigmatic]

52. Shit, I forgot about Bud

Worst Commisioner Ever. No one comes close, even Ford Frick..

[Connonym]

101. I was wondering how long it would take for Selig to be mentioned

I'm disappointed that it took so long :-P

[Oeditpus Rex]

57. Offing Selig goes without saying

Damn, I wish Bart Giamatti hadn't died. :cry:

[murielm99]

62. Yeah!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[sasquatch]

73. I'm glad you liked it

:hi:

[jakefrep]

97. To borrow from someone upthread, who would we complain about?

[Heidi]

54. Cuter uniforms!

:bounce:

[Oeditpus Rex]

56. They've tried that

In 1976, the White Sox wore shorts for at least one game.





Then there was the fashion abortion that was the Houston Astros of the '70s.





(To be fair, the '70s were a horrible period for the accouterments of the game. The Astros were just the most horrid example.)

[Heidi]

58. I kinda liked those Astros uniforms.

They were cheerful! :bounce:

[Oeditpus Rex]

61. BASEBALL ISN'T CHEERFUL, DAMMIT!

:grr:



You've reminded me, though — it's too late to edit the OP, but I'd like to include a rule by which players would be fined $250,000 for not pulling up their pants legs!

:grr: :grr:

[krispos42]

81. Thanks, Rex, thanks a lot

Now I have some bozo from Houston permenatly burned onto my screen. I, like many others, still use the good'ole cathode ray tube, yanno...

Hold on a second...


Yep, it's still there even when I turn the screen off. It even glows by it's own light, damn you!

Now when I'm trying to sleep I'll have have some Texan perpetually about to bean me with a baseball.

Whoop-de-doo.


















:rofl:

[Heidi]

55. Lederhosen instead of those stretchy pants and leggings!

:popcorn:

[Oeditpus Rex]

59. And an oom-pah-pah band

to play "Amerika Über Alles" during the seventh-inning stretch?




:hide:

[Heidi]

60. Oh, man, you and I need to start a professional sports marketing consultancy.

We are soooooooooo ahead of the curve. :rofl: :spray:

[Oeditpus Rex]

64. Or behind it

Whatever we could think of, Bill Veeck probably did it.

He was the Sox owner (and, before that, Indians GM) who had the shorts idea... and the "Disco Demolition Night" idea... and a shower in the bleachers so fans could cool off during those nasty Chicago summers...

When he was with Cleveland, they had a Mothers Day thing where every mom got a Hawai'ian orchid, flown in that day in a refrigerated plane. Cleveland Municipal Stadium was packed to its capacity of 78,000.

Bill Veeck was a baseball god. :patriot:

[Heidi]

65. Mother's Day promotion: Get lei'd in Cleveland!

:bounce:

[Oeditpus Rex]

69. Good thing you weren't GM of the Hawai'i Islanders

:spank:

[Heidi]

71. What baseball needs

is a touch of Heidi! :yoiks:

[murielm99]

66. My daughter loves those stretchy pants!

She says that baseball is the best sport for admiring male ass.

She has an entire theory about it. Basketball players wear stupid baggy shorts, football players are too padded to reveal anything interesting, and soccer is boring, unless one is in Europe or South America.

[Heidi]

67. Let me be the first to say that tight, stretchy pants _do_ have a certain appeal.

:evilgrin:

[Oeditpus Rex]

72. She wasn't around in the '70s, was she?

I just couldn't figure out how Jerry West could play 45 minutes of basketball without getting a single hair out of place. :shrug:

[tkmorris]

79. Brylcream baby

A little dab will do ya.

[Inchworm]

63. Cussing announcers with NY/NJ accents

omg...

What the fuk was he tinkin!! Dat bastid shoulda stayed thu fuk at second! You're fuckin outta heeeeere! Go spen sum time on the bench and think about it...

:D

:hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

68. Sweet!

I'm all for getting rid of generic "I come from nowhere" accents out of broadcasting, period. :thumbsup:





He'd'a been safe if he'd'a slud. But he didn't, and they throwed him out.

—Dizzy Dean

[Inchworm]

70. I love it! yea!

"He'd'a been safe if he'd'a slud. But he didn't, and they throwed him out."

I wanna say hockey has good announcers but its been 10 years since I listened on radio :)

:hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

74. The PTA in St. Louis tried to get Dean off the air

They said he wasn't learnin' their kids good English. :)



He and Pee Wee Reese were the announcers on the first ball games I ever watched — the old NBC Game of the Week in the early '60s. I still remember him saying, "Howya doin', pardners? This is Dizzy Dean and my ol' pardner Pee Wee Reese."

[Inchworm]

75. I'd listen to an energetic...

Texan? lol

:yourock:

[Oeditpus Rex]

77. Arkansas

Harumph.

[Inchworm]

78. Bloody hell

Pardner is sooo vague :D

:hug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

82. The wrong part, though

Lucas, up by Fort Smith.



Always the wrong part. :(

[Inchworm]

85. "X-ray of Dean's head shows nothing"

hehe.. I was reading up :P

I guess he intentionally threw himself into the throw to 1st.. saving a double play and was knocked the fug out. :D

:)

[Oeditpus Rex]

87. I never read anything that said one way or the other

Wouldn't doubt that it was intentional, though.

Reporters talked to Paul ("Daffy") after the game; he said Dizzy was awake as they carried him off and they talked a bit.

"What did Diz say?" one reporter asked.

"Nothin'. Jes' talkin'."

:)

[WCGreen]

76. Institute a real revenue sharing plan that doesn't allow big market

teams to inflate the cost of baseball...

Although, teams like Cleveland that have adopted an organizational philosophy about how the game is played from top to bottom instead of just going out and buying anything available are starting to blossom...

That's all John Hart did with the Indians in the 90's...

HE didn't construct a team, he bought an offense that put people in the seats...

[_testify_]

92. Deal.

But only if said revenue sharing plan has a clause that makes it mandatory for a certain percentage of the cash to be spent on payroll. Teams like Tampa Bay (who I'd LOVE to see become truly competitive)take the big market teams' luxury tax and just flat out pocket it. It doesn't go to payroll, and payroll is where the tax money comes from.

[tkmorris]

80. Put Pete Rose in the hall

It's been long enough.

[Oeditpus Rex]

83. Yes!

Thank you. :thumbsup:

And put Joe Jackson in there while they're at it.

[sasquatch]

88. This Reds fan agrees

[Dr Fate]

86. It would be neat if the players were actually from the city they play for.

I've never been able to get past that when it comes to pro-sports.

I can never figure out why I'm supposed to get all loyal and patriotic about some corporate "Home team" when the most of the players are from everywhere else. It would also be cooler if the city and thus the tax-payers actaully owned the teams.

But that's just me- I'm sure i'm in the minority-but I could actually get more excited about pro sports if I really thought the teams were part of the community...

[Oeditpus Rex]

89. I feel the same way, sorta

It'd be a lot neater if they were all locals — kinda like the high school team or somethin'. But I'd be happy just to go back to the days before free agency, when you could count on guys to be with the same ball club for 10 years or so. I think that was a lot better for the fans, though it rather sucked for the players.

But, hell — even in pro ball's earliest days, they weren't always true "home" clubs.

About half of the 1868 Red Stockings were eastern imports, presumably compensated somehow. The two leading batsmen, John Hatfield and Fred Waterman arrived from the New York Mutuals, one of the strongest teams and another one pushing the bounds of the amateur code. Asa Brainard had been the Excelsiors regular pitcher for four seasons, succeeded in 1867 by Candy Cummings. Catcher Doug Allison was from the Geary club of Philadelphia, one of the stronger local clubs in that city.

Of that group, only Hatfield wasn't on the 1869 Red Stockings, the first professional ball club.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Red_Stockings

[LSdemocrat]

90. My definite ideas: No DH, no interleague play, plus

A couple of things that I'd have to see more info on:

1. Lower the threshold for the luxury tax and institute a minimum team salary
- Make the threshold about $125 million and do not increase the figure for inflation/revenue increases
- Any revenue collected first gets equally divided amongst teams in the offending team's division up to the $125 million threshold
- Make the minimum team salary about $50 million - increase yearly by the greater of $5 million per year or 5% of the increase in shared MLB revenue

2. Probably my most far fetched idea: Decrease number of divisions in each league from 3 to 2.
- Have the top 2 teams in each division qualify for the playoffs
- Make the Division Series best of 7 and have the winner win the division title
- I would also favor league realignment to make this work

[Oeditpus Rex]

116. I totally forgot about freakin' interleague

Probably because I'd like to forget about freakin' interleague. :grr:



Freakin' interleague would be

[pokerfan]

91. I would make the postseason series to 7 games

on all three levels. And shorten the regular season so we aren't playing in November.

I would even as far as playing five games a week, allowing the pitchers rest up. With expansion, there has been a serious dilution of pitching.

The owners would never go it for it though. though fewer games might result in fuller parks, it would result in less TV revenue. And TV revenue trumps butts in the seats.

And that's the reason my idea is dead in the water.

I actually don't mind the DH, though I understand why the purists hate it. I enjoyed watching Edgar of the Mariners continue to jack home runs instead of watching some pitcher with .073 ERA flail away. But either way, the rule needs to be the same in both leagues.

[DarkTirade]

93. Heat-seaking balls and explosive bats.

[Burma Jones]

94. Sand Traps and Water Hazards

And Aluminum Bats, just to keep the pitchers on their toes.......

[Froward69]

96. Allow the base runners to carry the bat

then allow them to use the bat to knock the ball out of the basemans glove. sucess=safe
then it would not be so booring.:tinfoilhat: :sarcasm:

[Catchawave]

99. Bring the Dodgers back to Brooklyn !

Baseball's never been the same since they left.

[ThatsMyBarack]

100. Figure-skating specials for rained-out ballgames on TV!

;)

[KitchenWitch]

102. I am with you on all of the above - I would also make ME the commisioner

I would institute a salary cap.

I also agree about pulling up the pant legs. Damn it bugs me to watch players who don't wear their pants right.

[Dr. Strange]

105. Commisioner KitchenWitch...

I like it!

[Phillycat]

103. Instant replay.

That's the only thing I'd change, or add, rather.

[Oeditpus Rex]

118. Only for certain calls

Disputed homers, especially if there's fan interference, fair/foul calls in the outfield and traps. You start doing it for safe/out on the bases and especially ball/strike calls, or even balks, you're opening a big can o' worms. Anyway, the umpires' union would never accept it.

Not disputed hit-by-pitch calls, either. If it's close enough to be questionable, it's not likely a camera would pick it up.

For homer and fair/foul calls, though, I'd even go as far as to have special cameras installed atop the fences at the fair poles. That way, you don't have to rely on the teevee guys.

I'd also allow clubs only one "protest" per game, and maybe not until after the fifth inning.

[Javaman]

104. Put mines in the infield. now that would make for some interesting plays. nt

[Initech]

138. Ha ha ha... I love George Carlin.

[GoneOffShore]

106. Flat willow bats

No gloves

two bases - one behind the pitcher, no mound

3 wooden stakes behind the batter with two little wooden dowels balanced on top

& the same behind the pitcher

Eliminate foul lines

[jakefrep]

109. I like your ideas a lot.

Then MLB can expand to the West Indies.

[Oeditpus Rex]

127. That would be

cricket.





Warwickshire had dismissed the Kalahari Batsmen for 140, and then it was their turn to face this extraordinary Kalahari attack. Pratt was the first to go, but Pratt and Pratt put on a second wicket stand of nought, which was broken by Odinga in his most hostile mood.

C.U. PRATT KILLED OUTRIGHT, BOWLED ODINGA - 0
P.B.T.R. PRATT LEGS OFF BEFORE WICKET, BOWLED ODINGA - 0
B.B.C.T.V. PRATT ASSEGAI UP JACKSEY, BOWLED UNBOKO - 0
Z. PRATT MACHETE BEFORE WICKET, 'BOWLED UMBONGA - 0
M.J.K. PRATT STUMP THROUGH HEAD, BOWLED UMBONGA - 0
V.E. PRATT RAN AWAY - 0
P.D.A. PRATT RETIRED HURT - 0
W.G. PRATT RETIRED VERY HURT - 0
PRATT DIED OF FRIGHT, BOWLED ODINGA - 0
Y.E.T.A.N.O.T.H.E.R. PRATT NOT OUT BUT DREADFULLY HURT- 139

[jakefrep]

108. No night games on weekends or holidays.

All baseball cards shall be sold in quantities of 15 or more per pack, for no more than $1 per pack.

Immediate expansion to Havana, and the restoration of a team in Montreal.

[cboy4]

110. Actually have a baseball player fail at least one drug

test before the entire baseball world accuses him of taking steroids.

The way Barry Bonds has been treated is despicable.

[HERVEPA]

112. Check the pictures. He's an ass anyhow, aside from the steroids

Make them legal if you want, but how can you believe he didn't use the?

http://tinyurl.com/29x3fk


http://tinyurl.com/yolfvl

[cboy4]

113. Well HERVEPA, you have no proof that responsible

weight training isn't the reason for his muscle gain.

Even the commissioner of baseball agrees that Bonds hasn't been found guilty of a thing, nor has he broken a single baseball rule. Not one.

[IndianaJones]

128. good luck with that whole "rules" thing. its not about baseball...

its about hating the man.

[Rambis]

111. Fire Pud then contract 8 teams

pitching sucks!

[ZombieNixon]

117. Some kind of death ray

Not sure what I'd do with it, but I think it needs to be there. :evilgrin:

[Oeditpus Rex]

119. Point it at the fans

Put Darth Vader's head on it with his voice saying, "KEEP YOUR ASS AND YOUR SHIT OFF THE FIELD!"

Once a game, zot a ball in mid-flight to keep 'em honest.

:evilgrin:

[BOSSHOG]

122. No artificial turf, no domed stadiums

- more weekday afternoon games
- the world series will alternate between the leagues. Why do prima donnas need an incentive to do anything?
- NO DESIGNATED HITTER

[TK421]

123. exploding bats n/t

[AlCzervik]

124. batter drinks 2 for every strike.

[rakeeb]

130. good call.....

I was just thinking that baseball doesn't seem to get any less boring when I drink, but maybe it would get more interesting if THEY had to drink.

[Initech]

139. You cant leave first until you chug a beer.

Any man scoring has to chug a beer.

You have to chug a beer at the top of all odd-numbered innings.

And the fourth inning is the beer inning.

[hedgehog]

125. Bring back the pennant race

The play-offs are a weak imitation of football. Baseball is all about the long run.

[hedgehog]

126. There needs to be a minimum number of day time week day games so

old guys can listen on the radio while puttering in the garden.

[Adsos Letter]

129. Batter allowed to keep bat and use as a weapon in attempts to

make it to base...infield allowed to use ball as a weapon against batter UNLESS he has arrived safely on base...

[Arkham House]

132. Eliminate the wild card, and let fans vote for the Hall of fame

1. Wild Card. It has destroyed the traditional pennant race, letting us watch mediocre teams straining hard to make "the postseason"... If the goddam Yankees had had to beat out the Red Sox this year, instead of a half-assed "pennant race" with teams from other divisions...God, how much better that would have been... The last real "pennant race" was the 1993 one between the Giants and Braves for the NL West--and what a race it was...
2. Obvious, and long-overdue. See Bill james' *The Politics of Glory* for the whys-and-wherefores. Getting the BBWA's monopoly on voting away from it is a big step forward...

[Oeditpus Rex]

136. Mediocre?

The Rockies don't look very mediocre to me. :shrug:

How would you set up a three-club playoff? Or are you advocating going back to two divisions, or even no divisions?

I and many others think the wild-card system is the best thing baseball's done in the last 30 or 40 years. It seemed like a sort of "Oh, well" solution to the problem of expansion creating an odd number of divisions, but it turned out to be a boon to fans late in the season. Rather than encouraging mediocrity, it encourages another half-dozen or so ball clubs (and their fans) not to throw in the towel.

No to fan voting for the Hall. Too cumbersome, and the majority would vote for their favorites, like All-Star balloting, which is a travesty. Instead of letting the writers vote, select a panel consisting of the nominees' contemporaries and HOFers from the previous generation. They're best-qualified to make the selections.

[taught_me_patience]

134. Salary Cap

even up the playing field so that we don't see redsocks and yankees every year. It's seriously getting boring.

[av8rdave]

140. Declare the Yankees permanently ineligible?

Just a thought...

[jmowreader]

143. Make it more like MAD Magazine's "Basebrawl"

Some highlights:

* ball made from cast iron (MAD recommended using a cannon ball, which are in short supply)

* runner allowed to carry bat with him for defense--this has already been mentioned by others

* pitcher, catcher and batter all on the same team, because while a pitching duel is one of the great beauties of the game of baseball, actually seeing players hit the damn ball is far more entertaining