MLB Off-Topic

[Blzer]

For reference, you'd need to have a 4 man rotation the entire season to get 40 games. No way we'll ever see that again right?

Unless someone like Shohei Ohtani becomes an opener specialist, you will not see a pitcher start 40 games ever again.

[Madden08PCgmr]

LMAO at the MLB Derby opener.

The overwhelming majority of the guys in their highlight reel were steroid users; Canseco, Mac, Sosa.. I didn't see Bonds, but may have missed him.

Shame on the HOF voters that continue to box these guys out.

MLB needs to have a special election to get the deserving guys into the HOF. The HOF voters shouldn't be allowed to claim the high ground on this if we're going to celebrate these historic accomplishments year after year.

[DrJones]

LMAO at the MLB Derby opener.

The overwhelming majority of the guys in their highlight reel were steroid users; Canseco, Mac, Sosa.. I didn't see Bonds, but may have missed him.

Shame on the HOF voters that continue to box these guys out.

MLB needs to have a special election to get the deserving guys into the HOF. The HOF voters shouldn't be allowed to claim the high ground on this if we're going to celebrate these historic accomplishments year after year.

MLB *does* hold special elections to get deserving guys into Cooperstown: the Veterans Committee, whose voters are a mix of HOF players and MLB execs. Bonds, Clemens, and Palmeiro were on the ballot in 2023 and received FAR LESS support than they did from the writers.

[Majingir]

NBC, ESPN, Apple among those in the running for SNB rights.

If NBC gets the rights to SNB as well, it really would feel like the 90s with them having MLB and NBA rights at the same time, something that happened from 94-00.

LMAO at the MLB Derby opener.

The overwhelming majority of the guys in their highlight reel were steroid users; Canseco, Mac, Sosa.. I didn't see Bonds, but may have missed him.

Shame on the HOF voters that continue to box these guys out.

MLB needs to have a special election to get the deserving guys into the HOF. The HOF voters shouldn't be allowed to claim the high ground on this if we're going to celebrate these historic accomplishments year after year.

Also probably not the best idea mentioning a player in the derby looked up to/models his game after Bonds...

[Blzer]

The MLB continues to show why they have the best ASG (hockey's new 4 Nation Face Off is great though).

I can't believe Boone selected Jonathan Aranda of all people he had to choose from. Even if someone like Judge was unavailable, he still had Bobby freakin' Witt. Maybe he used Aranda so people would stop talking about Jazz Chisholm with his HRD outing, and that worked!

Speaking of HRD, they continue to make nice little improvements and this was on its way to being an ideal format. Although some things less intentional, I liked that they had:

- A final 3-4 out set like traditional HRD format.
- Less overall round time (perhaps as a result of the above).
- At least three lefties and three righties participating.
- A Central or Eastern time ballpark to get some dusk and night skies (or a closed roof) to track the ball better.
- A ballpark with varied decks, porches, targets, etc.
- Distance being a deciding factor in extra outs or advancing in a tiebreaker.

And as always, having a hometown player in the Derby.

Now, I personally think they still need to wait for each ball to land, or limit the number of pitches even more (somewhere between 30-36 pitches in the three-minute round), or actually disqualify any swings that take place before a ball lands.

Also, how in God's name did ESPN screw up the batter camera, but FOX was able to get it right for their tiebreaker swing-off? Show us the player, especially if you're going to take up half the screen. And in the final 3-4 outs, please don't have a split-screen.

Regardless, this was a fun break. I won't miss this not being on ESPN, but here's to hoping another network picks up Karl Ravech.

[DrJones]

The MLB continues to show why they have the best ASG (hockey's new 4 Nation Face Off is great though).

I don't really consider the 4-Nations a substitute for the ASG (at least no more than the Winter Olympics is). NHL players traditionally take best-on-best international games VERY seriously, and it had been a long, long wait. Even if there hadn't been a political subtext, those games were a lock to be playoff intensity.

EDIT: On the off chance that there's both an ASG and MLB players in the Summer Olympics in 2028, I wouldn't be opposed to a one-off "USA vs World" format, particularly if the Blue Jays are hosting that year.

I can't believe Boone selected Jonathan Aranda of all people he had to choose from. Even if someone like Judge was unavailable, he still had Bobby freakin' Witt. Maybe he used Aranda so people would stop talking about Jazz Chisholm with his HRD outing, and that worked!

To give Boone the (possible) benefit of the doubt, those players were chosen before the game started (Eugenio Suarez was replaced last-minute after he got hurt in the 8th), and it's implied (not confirmed) that he basically asked, "Hey, who wants to do this?" It's not unheard of for coaches/managers to ask for volunteers even in similar situations that are actually important (shootouts in hockey, penalty kicks in soccer).

[IndianSummer]

RIP Ryne Sandberg.

[Madden08PCgmr]

RIP Ryne Sandberg.

I'm not that far from 50... but man, I'm too d@mn young for guys like Ryno to be passing..

[DrJones]

With Wrigley penciled in for the 2027 ASG, that makes 9 of 12 in NL ballparks. There's going to be huge run of AL hosts for the decade or so after that. Toronto, Baltimore, and Boston haven't hosted since the 90s. After Citizens Bank next season, the only recently built stadium yet to host will be "New" Yankee. If the A's ever find their way to Vegas, they're getting one. If the Rays ever find a decent home, they're getting one. Houston's last ASG was in 2004 when they were still in the NL. The Royals and White Sox are talking about new stadiums. The 4 NL teams who haven't hosted since 2010 (Brewers, Pirates, Giants, Cardinals) are likely the only ones from the Senior Circuit who will host between 2028-2040.

[Blzer]

In 2024, Juan Soto led the league with a 1.08 walks-per-strikeout ratio. Barry Bonds in 2004 had a ratio of 5.66.

That year was also the last time anyone had more home runs than strikeouts in a single season (Bonds 46 HR / 42 SO). The only other player to do that in the expansion era was George Brett in 1980 (24 HR / 22 SO).

[Madden08PCgmr]

I'm all for realignment. 100%.. The expansion talk is cracking me up though.

If they not going to share more revenue and establish a spending minimum/maximum, they need to RETRACT.

[DrJones]

I've been fine with most modern changes, but I really HATE the idea of radical geographic realignment (ie, the AL/NL becoming the Eastern/Western Conference like the NBA/NHL). If anything, I'd use expansion as an excuse to roll back to the 1969-1993 era of 4 divisions, but with the current number of playoff teams (because that genie's never going back into the bottle). Here's how I'd do it:

AL East: Baltimore, Boston, Chi White Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay, Toronto
AL West: Houston, Kansas City, LA Angels, Las Vegas, Minnesota, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Texas

NL East: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Miami, Nashville, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington
NL West: Arizona, Chi Cubs, Colorado, LA Dodgers, Milwaukee, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis

Schedule: Each team plays 63 (7x9) divisional games, 48 (8x6) intraleague games, 48 (16x3) interleague games, plus 3 extra games vs interleague "rivals"

Playoffs: Same as now, except there are 2 division winners (with byes) + 4 WC (3 vs 6, 4 vs 5 in 1st round) instead of the current 3 division winners + 3 WC

This would fix one of my pet peeves (I think winning your division should be meaningful; I hate that the 3rd division winner in each league is currently a wild card team) while maintaining traditional division rivalries.

Do I think this is likely? No, the NL West teams would probably balk at the increased travel. We'll probably end up with 8 divisions of 4 teams: good for travel and local TV, bad for tradition and competitive balance (there will be some truly AWFUL division winners making the postseason in an 8-division league).

[Blzer]

More Bonds love:

Since 2019, everyone but the Giants have had a player for their team with a 30+ HR single season. The last one the Giants had was in 2004.