Around Baseball 2019

[Krylian]

[vdubmvp]

 

Holy f*** that's annoying.

[Stangstag]

Holy f*** that's annoying.

 

Did you see what Acuna did?

[Krylian]

Did you see what Acuna did?

 

He turned a double into a single by pimping a homer... Sort of.

[vdubmvp]

Did you see what Acuna did?

 

Yeah, and I don't really like the implication that he cares more about himself than his team because he made a mistake and misjudged his hit.

[Krylian]

Yeah, and I don't really like the implication that he cares more about himself than his team because he made a mistake and misjudged his hit.

 

Meh. Everyone knows what he means. "Don't be a f***ing *******, Ronald."

[L54]

Yeah, and I don't really like the implication that he cares more about himself than his team because he made a mistake and misjudged his hit.

 

You don’t have to, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right move. That’s how you send a message to all 25 guys that nobody is above anyone else. Snitker is paid to lead these guys and that’s exactly what he’s doing here.

 

You let the inmates run the asylum and things can go south pretty quick.

[Boxcar]

He turned a double into a single by pimping a homer... Sort of.

 

Sort of? I'm not a fan of a lot of these so called unwritten rules but this was ridiculous and Snitker did the absolute correct thing by taking him out. With Acuna's speed, that should've been a triple.

[glory]

I just saw it and it's another example of why baseball is going to go the way of the NHL in North America within the next 10 years. Acuna shows a tiny bit of personality, it cost him a base, and you want to take him out of the game to set an example when fans paid money to see him play? Take him to the back, tell him what he did was wrong, and then move the f*** on.

 

Although I am upset that both Acuna and Albies signed their primes away for a carton of milk, effectively costing themselves tens of millions (if not hundreds of millions in Acuna's case) so maybe I'd should view this as karma for them being so stupid.

[Krylian]

Sort of? I'm not a fan of a lot of these so called unwritten rules but this was ridiculous and Snitker did the absolute correct thing by taking him out. With Acuna's speed, that should've been a triple.

 

The 'sort of' was with regards to it being a homer....but not really.

[Abomination]

I'm LMAO at all those kids doing the Kimbrel stance in the stands!

[Stangstag]

I just saw it and it's another example of why baseball is going to go the way of the NHL in North America within the next 10 years. Acuna shows a tiny bit of personality, it cost him a base, and you want to take him out of the game to set an example when fans paid money to see him play? Take him to the back, tell him what he did was wrong, and then move the f*** on.

 

Although I am upset that both Acuna and Albies signed their primes away for a carton of milk, effectively costing themselves tens of millions (if not hundreds of millions in Acuna's case) so maybe I'd should view this as karma for them being so stupid.

 

This is dumb. Laziness and idiocy is not “personality”

[Krylian]

I just saw it and it's another example of why baseball is going to go the way of the NHL in North America within the next 10 years. Acuna shows a tiny bit of personality, it cost him a base, and you want to take him out of the game to set an example when fans paid money to see him play? Take him to the back, tell him what he did was wrong, and then move the f*** on.

 

Although I am upset that both Acuna and Albies signed their primes away for a carton of milk, effectively costing themselves tens of millions (if not hundreds of millions in Acuna's case) so maybe I'd should view this as karma for them being so stupid.

 

Do we know that Acuna hasn't "shown personality" in the past and was already talked to?

 

There's a difference between showing personality (after a play has already concluded) and letting it affect the outcome of a play.

[Slade]

Here's the video.

 

https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/18/71000e90-648e52fc-0809e075-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4

 

 

Now that I see the video no issues pulling him. That might of been a triple.

[Grant77]

Yeah, and I don't really like the implication that he cares more about himself than his team because he made a mistake and misjudged his hit.

 

If he cared about his teammates then he would run at full speed until the ball clears the fence. He cared more about pimping the HR and getting attention for himself. That is blatantly obvious.

 

I've got no issue with celebrations foe the most part but don't do it when the ball is still in play.

[Brownie19]

Maybe he's a big Machado fan...

[Krylian]

If he cared about his teammates then he would run at full speed until the ball clears the fence. He cared more about pimping the HR and getting attention for himself. That is blatantly obvious.

 

I've got no issue with celebrations foe the most part but don't do it when the ball is still in play.

 

Like NFL players that celebrate a touchdown before they cross the line, only to have a defensive player catch up to them and knock it free. Nothing makes me happier than see them embarrassed like that.

 

Finish the play first, then celebrate all you want.

[glory]

This is dumb. Laziness and idiocy is not “personality”

 

He thought he hit a home run, and admired it. He was wrong. It cost him a base. Take him to the side, tell him he was wrong, and move on. Taking your best player out of the game for that is ridiculous. The guy is making highlight reel catches, and is a great player in every facet of the game. He obviously cares. But god forbid a 21 year old pimp a home run because he legit thought he hit it out and be wrong about it. Take his ass out.

[Spanky99]

Maybe he's a big Machado fan...

 

Bwahahaha... mint!

[Boxcar]

He thought he hit a home run, and admired it. He was wrong. It cost him a base. Take him to the side, tell him he was wrong, and move on. Taking your best player out of the game for that is ridiculous. The guy is making highlight reel catches, and is a great player in every facet of the game. He obviously cares. But god forbid a 21 year old pimp a home run because he legit thought he hit it out and be wrong about it. Take his ass out.

 

Yeah, god forbid a 21 year old pimp a ball that would have maybe barely cleared the fence. That cost him 2 bases, not one and they ended up not scoring in the inning.

 

No issues pimping no doubters. Zero. That was obviously not a no doubter. I don't really see how anyone could take issue with putting your foot down. Just because a player is good doesn't mean he gets to get away with everything.

[wilko]

Yeah, god forbid a 21 year old pimp a ball that would have maybe barely cleared the fence. That cost him 2 bases, not one and they ended up not scoring in the inning.

 

No issues pimping no doubters. Zero. That was obviously not a no doubter. I don't really see how anyone could take issue with putting your foot down. Just because a player is good doesn't mean he gets to get away with everything.

 

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2914439/laughing-manny.gif

[Brownie19]

I just discovered that Rogers Hornsby only drove in 94 runs in a season in which he hit .424

 

Based on this...you've have thunk those in baseball would have realized that RBI totals don't really tell us much of anything about a hitters ability. Like seriously...RBI's should have been discredited in 1924 people.

[Brownie19]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/1815031/gossage-calls-modern-baseball-unwatchable-its-like-a-video-game

 

This shouldn't surprised anyone. In other news. Goose hates the clouds also. Sometimes they get dark and he doesn't like that.

[Spanky99]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/1815031/gossage-calls-modern-baseball-unwatchable-its-like-a-video-game

 

This shouldn't surprised anyone. In other news. Goose hates the clouds also. Sometimes they get dark and he doesn't like that.

 

Hahahaha...

[Ex Player]

Robo-Ump has been largely successfull:

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2019/08/19/baseball-robo-umpires-atlantic-league-mlb-trackman/2038459001/

 

As MLB's 'robo-ump' experiment unfolds, Atlantic League feeling the benefit – and downside – of an automated strike zone

 

In its quest for a more efficient, error-free and hopefully optimized game experience, Major League Baseball’s transformation of the Atlantic League from the game’s last-chance motel into its test lab has largely been a rousing success.

 

An automated strike zone that converts the home-plate umpire from arbiter to mere messenger is right far more often than it is wrong. A ban on mound visits and relief specialists undeniably speeds the game’s pace.

 

And rules changes aimed to encourage balls in play and runners in motion – Thou shalt not shift defensively, but you may “steal” first base – gives hitters options beyond launching balls over a vexing alignment of fielders.

 

Yet as its experiment with a “robotic” strike zone and other nuances enters its second month, the formal partnership between MLB and the Atlantic League illustrates the upsides and consequences of optimization.

 

Umpire-player conflicts may be few. That doesn’t mean players, managers and umpires don’t feel somewhat conflicted about their roles as pioneers when the outcome may eventually marginalize their respective crafts.

 

“I think it’s really cool to be around this,” says Kent Blackstone, the shortstop for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, “because if they can get it right, I see this being in Major League Baseball in three to five years.

 

“For us to be the first ones to use it, if I want to get into the operations of baseball, I can say I was there during all this. I try to shift it to the positive.”

 

Spend an August day in the Atlantic League, and you get the overwhelming sense it’s only a matter of when, not if, the radical experiments bubble up to the big leagues. When MLB officials descended on the Blue Crabs’ training camp in Lakeland, Florida, to discuss this most unusual season to come, momentum was palpable.

 

“There’s a lot of people who say, ‘This will never be passed at the major league level,’ ” says Stan Cliburn, the Blue Crabs’ 62-year-old manager. “Well, people better look back and see that baseball’s about change, life’s about change.

 

“Is it the direction Major League Baseball is going? They’re certainly taking a hard look at it.”

 

That will certainly delight fans who chafe at every blown ball-strike call, screen-shotting the injustice in a bid for social media glory. Yet the “robot ump” path from the sun-baked fields of independent ball to the big leagues will have its detours.

 

The greater dilemma might revolve around what’s lost on the way.

 

'You have to adapt'

 

Creature comforts in the Atlantic League – with franchises in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina and suburban Houston – are few. A sack of Egg McMuffins might constitute the morning clubhouse spread, and the Blue Crabs’ unofficial motto – “If you don’t like it, play better” – reflects the players’ collective hope to latch on with an MLB-affiliated club.

 

An ominous device affixed to the stadium façade, however, goes a long way toward making them feel like big-leaguers.

 

TrackMan is, for now, the device that powers MLB’s Statcast, producing a trove of statistics that are increasingly mainstream: exit velocity, launch angle, pitch movement, sprint speed and so on. Without the MLB partnership, Atlantic League clubs would not have that data and, several players note, it will now be easily accessible for major league organizations that might have an interest in signing them.

 

TrackMan also provides the brainpower behind the automated ball-strike system, peering down on home plate. Though inanimate, it nonetheless pops up in conversations in manners like, “Well, TrackMan missed that one,” or, “I think the TrackMan went out for a bit.”

 

And TrackMan certainly has its quirks. For one, do not lie to TrackMan.

 

Blackstone found this out the hard way. Since he has not played affiliated ball, the 25-year-old shortstop had no previous data – such as height or batting stance – in the TrackMan system. Like many athletes of a certain height, Blackstone gifted himself an extra inch in submitting his player information, because who wouldn’t prefer a 6-foot shortstop over a 5-11 shortstop?

 

Trouble was, the generous height was entered in the system to establish his strike zone. And so in his first few games with the auto strike zone, several very high strikes were called against him.

 

“I always say I’m 6 foot,” says Blackstone. “But that’s over, man.”

 

Like anyone associated with baseball, TrackMan prefers sunny skies.

 

A recent Blue Crabs game at High Point (North Carolina) was delayed by rain and lightning, and when it resumed, Cliburn insists the conditions affected the strike zone. “The game ended,” he says, “on a strike that was nowhere close to being a strike. And I think the weather had something to do with it.”

 

And therein lie the bugs. While the strike zone is intended to be uniform, in any stadium, members of the Blue Crabs and Long Island Ducks pointed out parks with obvious variances. High Point likes the high strike. Lancaster (Pennsylvania) was missing the low strike, the true pitcher’s pitch.

 

Overall, the system received high marks for its lateral work, nailing pitches on either edge of the plate. Vertically? Not so much.

 

“If a ball hits that bottom of the box on TrackMan, it’s a strike. But that ball might hit the ground. To me, that doesn’t look good,” says Blue Crabs right-hander Daryl Thompson, a 2003 draftee of the Montreal Expos. “I feel like they need to tweak it a little bit more to get it to adjust to every hitter that gets in the box. If we can’t do that, it’s not going to be any use.”

 

Says Blackstone: “There have been times where the ball hits the ground and they’re calling it a strike. Textbook-wise, it might be a strike. We all would like to not get hosed on a strike three on a ball at our ankles. But you have to adapt.”

 

Or develop a foolproof system.

 

TrackMan is just one of many pitch tracking systems available, though many of the best are on-field devices and not suitable for live game action. Multiple reports indicate MLB will be shifting from TrackMan to the Hawk-Eye tracking system – best known for its work policing tennis serves – for Statcast and other purposes in 2020.

 

“There were a couple games where TrackMan malfunctioned,” says Thompson. “In the middle of the at-bat, the umpire would be like, ‘Hey Stan, this one’s going to be on me. TrackMan’s broke right now.’ That right there to me says this isn’t baseball if we’re going to be doing that.”

 

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred indicated last month that automated ball-strike systems would get an extended look in affiliated minor league ball before any serious consideration was given toward using them in the majors. “We kind of feel it's incumbent to figure out whether we could make it work,” he said, “and that's what we are doing.”

 

And that might put another baseball fixture – the home-plate umpire – on the clock

[Deadpool]

The faster we get rid of umpires calling balls and strikes the better. Next: People who aren't idiots in the replay room in NYC.

[Orgfiller]

I feel like this issue would be resolved a lot easier by just scouring the earth for humans that are better able to judge balls and strikes. If you had open tryouts for umpiring, I'm confident you would find a lot more capable humans just in the general population, than what currently exists in the MLB.

 

Also, I see a lot of missed calls when the umpire sets up too far on one side of the plate. If he's set up inside and the pitch is thrown on the outside, he sees it as a strike because of perspective.

 

The robo zone is anything but foolproof. Just wait until pitchers figure out the optimal pitch that triggers a strike call but is unhittable.

 

I can't tell if this post is sarcasm or not.

[Ex Player]

Umpires will never go away completely though, because umps still have to call runners safe or out.

I doubt a machine can take that over anytime soon

[wilko]

Umpires will never go away completely though, because umps still have to call runners safe or out.

I doubt a machine can take that over anytime soon

 

Camera's at each base, multiple angles. Light turns green if safe, red if out.

[Spanky99]

I can't tell if this post is sarcasm or not.

 

lol... Org, this killed me.