Your Most Controversial Baseball Opinion

[Steve Lein]

Shifting is an abomination... to the extent it is implemented now.

A "rover" type position should not be allowed (e.g.: an infielder 30+ feet into the outfield).

Infielders have to be on the dirt, 2 per side of second base. You can still implement "shifts" in this scenario, just not the extreme ones you get now and gets rid of the beer league softball outfield position that takes away classic singles. ✌️

[DFlow]

Getting rid of the juiced ball of 2019 was a terrible idea. The two basic "renaissance" seasons for baseball in the past 25 years were 1998 (Home run race) and 2019 (juiced ball season) where fans across baseball were actively engaged. For a sport that is becoming increasingly unpopular, it's unimaginable that you can't see that more home runs means more money for MLB.

[Kanonen80]

I'd rather regular season games end in a tie than have them decided by a groundout-sac-fly competition 

[chaderic20]

Don't eliminate the shift, mandate it! All fielders, minus the pitcher and catcher, must start the play on the batter's pull side of second base. Watch how quickly players learn to hit the other way!

[Otto von Ballpark]

I've got a controversial opinion:

Blackouts are actually good! Thanks to blackouts and the T-Mobile sponsorship, MLB.TV is virtually free to anyone who wants it.

[IndianaTwin]

On 4/19/2022 at 12:36 PM, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Get rid of instant replay and bring back arguing and make up calls!!

Any response that gets me to go back and watch this again is going to get a “like” from me. 

 

[Mark G]

Mine is simple and very much alone.  Eliminate free agency.  The team that scouts you, drafts you, grooms you in the minors for years, and turns you into a major league player deserves the rewards of your play, not some team that comes along with a fat contract and no other investment.  Binding arbitration works for both sides, and can be used from day one if necessary, but the team and the fans should be able to keep their players.  Players will still move through trades and waivers, but should not be able to just walk away from teams on a whim; they knew the score when they signed a professional contract, that this would be part of the drill.  There will always be players that gripe; you will never totally please them all.  The team and the fans have rights, too.  Especially considering the money each one puts out.

Just one old schooler's musings.  

[joefish]

On 4/19/2022 at 4:22 AM, bighat said:

The mound should be moved back a couple of feet. It's unfair to expect anyone to hit a 100MPH fastball, and as more pitchers start hitting 100, we're going to see more and more strikeouts. Move the mound back, implement a pitch clock and put in robot umpires. Make life harder on the pitchers, nobody wants to see a 1-0 pitcher's duel, even if they pretend they do.

But everybody wants the pitchers who can win a 1-0 duel.

[bighat]

I don't know if this is a controversial opinion or not, but....

I don't like it when announcers say things like "The count is even at 2-2", or "that pitch evens the count at 1-1". 

It's not "even"!!!  The count is heavily in favor of the pitcher! In terms of fairness, an "even" count would be like 2-1 or 3-2.

[lwarring]

Baseball should adopt the 3 ball walk rule. Baseball is full of multiples of 3 and fewer balls for a walk would encourage more strikes.

[Mike Sixel]

11 hours ago, Mark G said:

Mine is simple and very much alone.  Eliminate free agency.  The team that scouts you, drafts you, grooms you in the minors for years, and turns you into a major league player deserves the rewards of your play, not some team that comes along with a fat contract and no other investment.  Binding arbitration works for both sides, and can be used from day one if necessary, but the team and the fans should be able to keep their players.  Players will still move through trades and waivers, but should not be able to just walk away from teams on a whim; they knew the score when they signed a professional contract, that this would be part of the drill.  There will always be players that gripe; you will never totally please them all.  The team and the fans have rights, too.  Especially considering the money each one puts out.

Just one old schooler's musings.  

Of al the ideas here, this is the worst by far.

[Shaitan]

Human umpires make the game more interesting.

[Shaitan]

This thread should be retitled: None of us actually like baseball

[Mark G]

13 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Of al the ideas here, this is the worst by far.

Not to anyone old enough to have lived through both eras.  Maybe you do, but I don't know one fan over 60 who doesn't agree in one form or another.  I know I am alone on this site, but not around the bar stools.  

The game thrived through 2 world wars, Korea, and Viet Nam.  For almost a century it was considered THE game in America.  I guess it is just a coincidence that it is fading little by little during this era.  This isn't the NFL, where the draft is more important than free agent signings.  Baseball draftees take 5 or more years to reach the majors and the investment is high.  Teams need that investment to reap rewards to keep competitive balance.  There needs to be a balance between what is good for the players and what is good for the teams, or more importantly, what is good for the game and the fans.  The players get their money, and, again, they knew the drill when they signed up.  My sons are 26 and 28, and they do not know a single baseball fan that follows the sport on a regular basis.  I happen to know a lot of people 60+, and almost all of them like the game and follow it at least somewhat.  Again, just a coincidence?  Not according to the 60+ folks.  Or my sons.  The turnover is simply too high for a sport like baseball which relies more on fan connection and less on non stop action.  And if this site isn't living proof of that, I am wrong on that subject, but I stand by this one.  The only winners in free agency are the superstars.  The rest of the players benefit just as much from binding arbitration, and the teams and the fans are the losers.  If you know how that balances out, you are far smarter than I am, so I will cede the argument.    

[Nine of twelve]

Finally got around to reading this. Many of the joke posts were entertaining but I'm only going to post my serious opinions and respond only to what I view as serious opinions.

I used to be against the unbalanced schedule but now I think it should remain. Balancing the schedule would mean more long trips crossing more time zones for the teams on the coasts, giving teams in the central time zone an unfair advantage.

Electronic pitch calling is significantly superior to human pitch calling. (I admit this is a fact, not an opinion, but I'm saying it anyway.) It should be introduced post haste so that pitchers and batters are properly rewarded for their performance.

No pitch clock but I would compromise: the pitch clock would be used only when the bases are empty, would not start until the batter is in the batter's box, and would be used only if there is a batter clock as well.

No restrictions on pitching substitutions.

No restrictions on positioning fielders (other than abiding by the rule that only the catcher is allowed to be positioned in foul territory).

I'll group these four together: larger strike zone, lower mound, longer distance from the pitching rubber to home plate, softer (not heavier or more airflow-resistant) baseballs. This would result in fewer strikeouts, fewer bases on balls and fewer home runs. Makes for a better game.

No more than 5 postseason teams per league.

 

[Nine of twelve]

On 4/19/2022 at 7:11 AM, Craig Arko said:

Contraction should be on the table again.

This should significantly improve the quality of play in the major league game so I'm in favor. Except if my favorite team would be eliminated.

[Nine of twelve]

On 4/19/2022 at 9:15 AM, Muppet said:

Why not make it possible for the Royals and Tigers play each other in the WS? 

Interesting idea, but no major sports league is set up that way.

[Nine of twelve]

On 4/19/2022 at 10:09 AM, Eicemann said:

To shorten game times & accelerate pace of play, foul balls should NOT be UNLIMITED.  Invoke a maximum limit of foul balls after which the pitcher would be credited with a K and the AB ended.

 

On 4/19/2022 at 11:42 AM, chpettit19 said:

What about making it a BB if the hitter fouls off enough pitches to hit the limit? Get more runners on base to provide more action which is what the game is missing.

Putting a limit on foul balls means one team gets an unearned advantage. Should the pitcher be rewarded because the batter was unable to hit a fair ball or should the batter be rewarded because the pitcher was unable to get the batter out? I think the answer should be neither. Keep the rule as is.

[Nine of twelve]

On 4/19/2022 at 12:58 PM, Mike Sixel said:

Every team in the second season. Yup, every team in the playoffs. The worst teams do one or two game series for a couple days to whittle it down, etc.......TV ratings would be thru the roof (and, reduce the first season to 148 or 140 games or so). The end of the season would be filled with games that matter! Going from no bye in round 1 to a bye? HUGE. Having to win 2 games in a 2 game series, vs 1? Ouch!

 

edit to add: this is my real opinion, actually. As is the draft one above. 

Each team would play 140 games just to establish seeding? The regular season would be basically a 5-month long spring training.

[Nine of twelve]

On 4/19/2022 at 10:27 PM, jimbo92107 said:

Irrelevant. Umps aren't missing calls because of a vague strike zone, they're missing calls because humans suck at judging fast moving objects. 

If mlb wants to rigorously define the strike zone, great. Whoever programs today's electronic strike callers appears to have a good understanding of what's supposed to be the strike zone. If that changes, then so will the code. Meanwhile, whatever the zone dimensions, electronics provides accuracy down to millimeters, whereas we see human umps commonly blowing calls by half a foot.

Let's use modern technology to make the game more fair.

I would have given this post 10 likes if that were allowed.

[Nine of twelve]

On 4/21/2022 at 9:37 AM, DFlow said:

Getting rid of the juiced ball of 2019 was a terrible idea. The two basic "renaissance" seasons for baseball in the past 25 years were 1998 (Steroid-fueled Home run race) and 2019 (juiced ball season) where fans across baseball were actively engaged. For a sport that is becoming increasingly unpopular, it's unimaginable that you can't see that more home runs means more money for MLB.

FTFY.

[Nine of twelve]

On 4/22/2022 at 12:01 AM, Mark G said:

Mine is simple and very much alone.  Eliminate free agency.  The team that scouts you, drafts you, grooms you in the minors for years, and turns you into a major league player deserves the rewards of your play, not some team that comes along with a fat contract and no other investment.  Binding arbitration works for both sides, and can be used from day one if necessary, but the team and the fans should be able to keep their players.  Players will still move through trades and waivers, but should not be able to just walk away from teams on a whim; they knew the score when they signed a professional contract, that this would be part of the drill.  There will always be players that gripe; you will never totally please them all.  The team and the fans have rights, too.  Especially considering the money each one puts out.

Just one old schooler's musings.  

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure this would be illegal.

[Nine of twelve]

18 hours ago, Shaitan said:

Human umpires make the game more interesting.

But not in a good way.

[Mike Sixel]

On 4/22/2022 at 11:38 PM, Mark G said:

Not to anyone old enough to have lived through both eras.  Maybe you do, but I don't know one fan over 60 who doesn't agree in one form or another.  I know I am alone on this site, but not around the bar stools.  

The game thrived through 2 world wars, Korea, and Viet Nam.  For almost a century it was considered THE game in America.  I guess it is just a coincidence that it is fading little by little during this era.  This isn't the NFL, where the draft is more important than free agent signings.  Baseball draftees take 5 or more years to reach the majors and the investment is high.  Teams need that investment to reap rewards to keep competitive balance.  There needs to be a balance between what is good for the players and what is good for the teams, or more importantly, what is good for the game and the fans.  The players get their money, and, again, they knew the drill when they signed up.  My sons are 26 and 28, and they do not know a single baseball fan that follows the sport on a regular basis.  I happen to know a lot of people 60+, and almost all of them like the game and follow it at least somewhat.  Again, just a coincidence?  Not according to the 60+ folks.  Or my sons.  The turnover is simply too high for a sport like baseball which relies more on fan connection and less on non stop action.  And if this site isn't living proof of that, I am wrong on that subject, but I stand by this one.  The only winners in free agency are the superstars.  The rest of the players benefit just as much from binding arbitration, and the teams and the fans are the losers.  If you know how that balances out, you are far smarter than I am, so I will cede the argument.    

I prefer humans to have some choice of where they work. And I'm 58.... I also prefer they get paid. The old days were terrible for players and their families. 

[Mark G]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I prefer humans to have some choice of where they work. And I'm 58.... I also prefer they get paid. The old days were terrible for players and their families. 

With all due respect, that is pure nonsense.  They are free to walk away anytime their contract expires.  And speaking of their contracts, they contain a crap ton of clauses about MLB rules, just as much as their organization's rules.  They work for MLB just as much as they work for their organization.  If I work for a company with multiple sites they have the option of transferring me at will.  If I don't go, I don't work for them anymore.  If I apply at an organization that has multiple sites and I only want to work in one particular site, but they don't need me there, I don't work for them either, do I?  People make choices like this every day of their lives; athletes are no different.  And they get paid; quite well, thank you.  Binding arbitration and the CBA has seen to that.  That wouldn't go anywhere.   Again, the only players that benefit from free agency are the stars/superstars; the majority (vast majority?) of the players do not benefit from it at all.  And you could make a strong case that the huge contracts for the few adversely affect said majority of players by taking the bulk of the team's payrolls.  Bottom line:  The organization that puts the kind of investment in making a major league player out of you deserves the rewards of that investment.  When the players start sharing the costs of development, they can write their own tickets.  Not sure what is so unusual or unfair about that, but you apparently think it is.  And since it is not going to change any time soon, you win the debate by default.    Thanks for it.  Keeps my typing skills sharp.    

[Craig Arko]

On 4/23/2022 at 1:38 AM, Mark G said:

Not to anyone old enough to have lived through both eras.  Maybe you do, but I don't know one fan over 60 who doesn't agree in one form or another.  I know I am alone on this site, but not around the bar stools.  

The game thrived through 2 world wars, Korea, and Viet Nam.  For almost a century it was considered THE game in America.  I guess it is just a coincidence that it is fading little by little during this era.  This isn't the NFL, where the draft is more important than free agent signings.  Baseball draftees take 5 or more years to reach the majors and the investment is high.  Teams need that investment to reap rewards to keep competitive balance.  There needs to be a balance between what is good for the players and what is good for the teams, or more importantly, what is good for the game and the fans.  The players get their money, and, again, they knew the drill when they signed up.  My sons are 26 and 28, and they do not know a single baseball fan that follows the sport on a regular basis.  I happen to know a lot of people 60+, and almost all of them like the game and follow it at least somewhat.  Again, just a coincidence?  Not according to the 60+ folks.  Or my sons.  The turnover is simply too high for a sport like baseball which relies more on fan connection and less on non stop action.  And if this site isn't living proof of that, I am wrong on that subject, but I stand by this one.  The only winners in free agency are the superstars.  The rest of the players benefit just as much from binding arbitration, and the teams and the fans are the losers.  If you know how that balances out, you are far smarter than I am, so I will cede the argument.    

Hi, I’m over 60. Now you’ve met one who doesn’t agree with you.

[Craig Arko]

On 4/23/2022 at 2:50 PM, Nine of twelve said:

This should significantly improve the quality of play in the major league game so I'm in favor. Except if my favorite team would be eliminated.

Yup. This, the odd numbered leagues requiring inter league play every day, and cities with teams like Tampa and Oakland that don’t seem to care.

[TheLeviathan]

2 hours ago, Mark G said:

With all due respect, that is pure nonsense.  They are free to walk away anytime their contract expires.  And speaking of their contracts, they contain a crap ton of clauses about MLB rules, just as much as their organization's rules.  They work for MLB just as much as they work for their organization.  If I work for a company with multiple sites they have the option of transferring me at will.  If I don't go, I don't work for them anymore.  If I apply at an organization that has multiple sites and I only want to work in one particular site, but they don't need me there, I don't work for them either, do I?  People make choices like this every day of their lives; athletes are no different.  And they get paid; quite well, thank you.  Binding arbitration and the CBA has seen to that.  That wouldn't go anywhere.   Again, the only players that benefit from free agency are the stars/superstars; the majority (vast majority?) of the players do not benefit from it at all.  And you could make a strong case that the huge contracts for the few adversely affect said majority of players by taking the bulk of the team's payrolls.  Bottom line:  The organization that puts the kind of investment in making a major league player out of you deserves the rewards of that investment.  When the players start sharing the costs of development, they can write their own tickets.  Not sure what is so unusual or unfair about that, but you apparently think it is.  And since it is not going to change any time soon, you win the debate by default.    Thanks for it.  Keeps my typing skills sharp.    

This is a profound misunderstanding of how this works.  Almost impressive in just how many points you manage to have a completely misguided take.  Well done.

To make it short: you had agency in choosing your company and in leaving your company for any competitors they have.  Your company does not have an anti-trust exemption, nor were you drafted out of high school and bound to them or no one else.  Let's be just a wee bit rational?

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, TheLeviathan said:

This is a profound misunderstanding of how this works.  Almost impressive in just how many points you manage to have a completely misguided take.  Well done.

To make it short: you had agency in choosing your company and in leaving your company for any competitors they have.  Your company does not have an anti-trust exemption, nor were you drafted out of high school and bound to them or no one else.  Let's be just a wee bit rational?

It was amazing. Like, he gets to leave and go to another company, and do the same kind of work, but other people shouldn't have that right. Truly mind boggling. 

[Shaitan]

I don't care what mph the ball was hit or how many feet a home run traveled.