MLB Off-Topic

[kehlis]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Rays confirm the new ballpark, will open in 2028.

So with As likely going to Vegas soon and Rays situation sorted out, how soon before MLB starts up the expansion talks? I could see them at least discussing it as early as this offseason.

Why do we need expansion? I would love nothing more than to just stay with what we have.


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[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Why do we need expansion? I would love nothing more than to just stay with what we have.


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It's inevitable.

League can easily make a few billion on expansion fees which could mean 70-100m per team in free money, not to mention the 50+ extra players getting jobs in the majors as well as all the new coaching staff and others too.

League and PA would be in favor of it, and Manfred flat out said they wanted to get those 2 stadium situations sorted before they dove into expansion talks.

[countryboy]

MLB Off-Topic

Why do we need expansion? I would love nothing more than to just stay with what we have.


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I would actually prefer expansion by two to get to 32 teams. Then you could have 4 - 4 team divisions in each league and have the final week or 10 days or so, be divisional matchups to make divisional races more appealing.

Plus wouldn’t require expansion of the playoffs. 4 division winners and two wildcards. The two wildcards play the bottom two division winners in the 3 game wildcard series and then advance to LDS.


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[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I would actually prefer expansion by two to get to 32 teams. Then you could have 4 - 4 team divisions in each league and have the final week or 10 days or so, be divisional matchups to make divisional races more appealing.

Plus wouldn’t require expansion of the playoffs. 4 division winners and two wildcards. The two wildcards play the bottom two division winners in the 3 game wildcard series and then advance to LDS.


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Exactly, it becomes more like how the NFL format was before.

Maybe go a step further and winning division doesn't guarantee home field?

Not that it matters as much, but it also allows every team in your division to be playing a divisional team the same time too. You could even make the final weekend of the season be "divisional regular season finale weekend" where its just like that, everyone plays that final series vs a team in their own division.

[DrJones]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I would actually prefer expansion by two to get to 32 teams. Then you could have 4 - 4 team divisions in each league and have the final week or 10 days or so, be divisional matchups to make divisional races more appealing.

Plus wouldn’t require expansion of the playoffs. 4 division winners and two wildcards. The two wildcards play the bottom two division winners in the 3 game wildcard series and then advance to LDS.

I'd much prefer each league to have 2 divisions of 8 teams: the 2 division winners get 1st round byes and the 4 WC play 3-vs-6 and 4-vs-5 best-of-3 series to advance to the LDS.

56 intradivision games (7x8)
56 interdivision games (8x7)
48 interleague games (16x3)

...or something to that effect. It'd make winning your division more important and would prevent 1994 AL West scenarios. With 8 4-team divisions, it'd only be a matter of time before sub-.500 clubs made the postseason, and I'd rather they didn't.

[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I'd much prefer each league to have 2 divisions of 8 teams: the 2 division winners get 1st round byes and the 4 WC play 3-vs-6 and 4-vs-5 best-of-3 series to advance to the LDS.



56 intradivision games (7x8)

56 interdivision games (8x7)

48 interleague games (16x3)



...or something to that effect. It'd make winning your division more important and would prevent 1994 AL West scenarios. With 8 4-team divisions, it'd only be a matter of time before sub-.500 clubs made the postseason, and I'd rather they didn't.

I think I did something like this before where if you divided up the current teams into 8 team divisions, depending on where the expansion teams end up, you could actually have 2 fully eastern time zone divisions, 1 fully* pacific time zone division, and 1 fully* central time zone division.

The * being the Rockies (depending which one they end up in), but other than them, the other 31 teams would be fine.

That actually seems more realistic if they could pull that off. Travel isn't as much an issue anymore, it's more so the timezones. Having a team like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and so on being in an eastern timezone division, and a team like Rangers, Astros being in a central timezone division (while As/Mariners/Angels don't have to have a team in their division 2 hours time difference) I'm sure would be much better too in terms of tv ratings locally and nationally.

Only thing which would be unpopular among fans is that this format requires an AL/NL merger. So your league is just 4 divisions. Division winners make playoffs and get BYEs while the next 8 best regardless of division are the 1-8WC teams (in a 3 game series like what was said), winners of those advance to LDS against the respective division winners (which means reseeding in this case based on who wins the WC games).

[DrJones]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38435845/michael-vick-bo-jackson-top-overpowered-video-game-athletes

Almost 20 years later, and ESPN is still using me to farm for clicks!
I really should've found a way to monetize this.

[l3ulvl]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-game-athletes

Almost 20 years later, and ESPN is still using me to farm for clicks!
I really should've found a way to monetize this.

[DrJones]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Guilty as charged.

[Majingir]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1706413295593263379?t=8IuwsnwsYXGOyPZwkX7omg&s=19

It's been 20 years!?

For all the sluggers they've had since, the closest we've ever come to this was the Edwin hat trick game (which was especially fun because it was during a playoff push and fans were going crazy with hats)

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Only 3 pitchers have over 200 IP currently.

Man, baseball has changed.

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Only 3 pitchers have over 200 IP currently.

Man, baseball has changed.

I saw something last week that the Giants are only going to have 1 pitcher qualify by innings count this year.

I'm sure there are some other teams like that, too. But that kinda blew my mind

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[Picci]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

It was 50 years ago yesterday, I remember watching as a kid Willie Mays say good bye to America.


<b>Baseball Icon Willie Mays Speaks on His Night in 1973</b>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh9woGdCYdc

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yh9woGdCYdc?si=E5tEZUit7ZXn4bqX" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[zello144]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

RIP Brooks Robinson. Never got to see any of those guys play but did see his statue in Baltimore last time I was there.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

RIP Brooks Robinson


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