MLBPA Rejects Universal DH and Expanded Playoff Proposal

[TheHurl]

It's pretty sad that nobody gives a f*** what the fans think.

 

I think it's sad that they give a s*** at all about what the most entitled of the stakeholders thinks.

[saskjayfan]

I think all of this is true. Personally, I can live with most of the potential changes but I don’t really like any of them.

 

One thing I absolutely don’t want to see is playoff expansion. Good teams should make the postseason. Not average or crappy ones. I think the 2012-2019 playoff format worked well. Not that Manfred or the owners or anyone else cares about what a random hardcore fan thinks.

 

couldn't disagree more. Love expanded playoffs. There are have an have not teams. Fewer teams just benefits the have teams.

[Grant77]

Dude we have gone through this before. No one gives a f*** if baseball fans enjoy the long games. TV loses money, players get hurt, owners lose money. Union has no real need for this as a bargaining chip. It's going to happen and the game is better for it.

 

I am not disputing your reasoning. You are mostly right from a financial perspective.

 

That being said, it creates a far worse viewing experience for in person fans as well as television viewers and I want to bitch about it so that's what I'm going to do. The league should care about what fans think, at least to a certain extent.

[saskjayfan]

I guess I just have zero interest in seeing a 79-83 team sneak into the postseason and potentially luck their way to a World Series. I’m probably in the minority because every other league has lots of teams in their playoffs so I’m sure MLB will too. Hooray for garbage!

 

Yes, but it's hard to see a 93 win team like Cleveland miss the playoffs being in 6th place or the Mariners missing by one game after winning 89 games. Once in a blue moon that 6th team might be a sub .500 team, but the races those year will involve multiple teams and be very entertaining. While 8 might be a couple too many, I feel like 5 is one too few. For the most part that 6th place team out of 15 teams is going to several games above .500.

[Jimcanuck]

IIRC, there were several times from 1993 to 2013 that the Jays were the 3rd best team in the AL and did not make the playoffs. The problem of being in the ALE powerhouse division.

[Deadpool]

IIRC, there were several times from 1993 to 2013 that the Jays were the 3rd best team in the AL and did not make the playoffs. The problem of being in the ALE powerhouse division.

 

We won more games than the eventual world series winners in 2006. We had a record of 87-75, the Cards had a record of 83-78.

[Krylian]

The catchers' union might have a complaint about it, idk.

 

Defensive catchers won't be nearly as important. Framing is irrelevant unless you're able to fool the robot too. Games are pretty much called from the dugout now anyway...

 

Can you catch? Can you throw? OK. You're the catcher.

[Brownie19]

Defensive catchers won't be nearly as important. Framing is irrelevant unless you're able to fool the robot too. Games are pretty much called from the dugout now anyway...

 

Can you catch? Can you throw? OK. You're the catcher.

 

I'm good with that. The art of fooling an umpire is a pretty s***** component of the game anyway. If implemented, it will emphasize the need to call a good game, block the ball well and control the running game. Seems fine to me.

[THANOS]

I'm good with that. The art of fooling an umpire is a pretty s***** component of the game anyway. If implemented, it will emphasize the need to call a good game, block the ball well and control the running game. Seems fine to me.

 

100% agree. Catcher WAR will probably be adjusted lower after that as well. Isn't framing a part of fWAR currently?

[max silver]

I'm good with that. The art of fooling an umpire is a pretty s***** component of the game anyway. If implemented, it will emphasize the need to call a good game, block the ball well and control the running game. Seems fine to me.

 

I'm totally done with the s***** umpires that have the single handed ability to ruin games. Giving less rein for asshats like Vic Carapazza and Angel Hernandez to directly affect the outcome of games is an absolute necessity.

[Laika]

I do worry a bit that robo-umps will make the game more boring. The pitcher-catcher nuance can be pretty good and blown calls are at least an emotional event.

 

I'm also wondering what they will do with the current discrepancy between the textbook strike zone and the actual called strike zone. These are not the same. If the robotic zone is just the textbook zone, it will change the game quite a bit, perhaps.

[max silver]

I do worry a bit that robo-umps will make the game more boring. The pitcher-catcher nuance can be pretty good and blown calls are at least an emotional event.

 

I'm also wondering what they will do with the current discrepancy between the textbook strike zone and the actual called strike zone. These are not the same. If the robotic zone is just the textbook zone, it will change the game quite a bit, perhaps.

 

It should be relatively straightforward to tune the strike zone over time once an automatic system is utilized for awhile. I recall in independent league games where automatic umpires were utilized there was a definite adjustment period for the hitters with the system in place. One of the biggest adjustments seemed to be with breaking pitches that dove down into the upper regions of the strike zone, pitches like those are almost never called strikes by human umpires but technically fall into the textbook definition of the strike zone.

[Jimcanuck]

It should be relatively straightforward to tune the strike zone over time once an automatic system is utilized for awhile. I recall in independent league games where automatic umpires were utilized there was a definite adjustment period for the hitters with the system in place. One of the biggest adjustments seemed to be with breaking pitches that dove down into the upper regions of the strike zone, pitches like those are almost never called strikes by human umpires but technically fall into the textbook definition of the strike zone.

 

I thought the issue was breaking balls falling through the front bottom of the textbook zone, being caught in the dirt, and robo-deemed a strike. Drove Brujan nuts at the AFL in 2019

 

Probably any pitch sneaking through the extreme edges is called a robo-strike, but not an ump-strike.

[Laika]

The called zone tends to be rounded and wider than the textbook zone, but it tends not to include the very corners of the textbook zone.

 

And yes, there are pitches that have movement characteristics that impact whether or not a human will call them a strike. The robot would ignore these movement characteristics.

 

[Brownie19]

I do worry a bit that robo-umps will make the game more boring. The pitcher-catcher nuance can be pretty good and blown calls are at least an emotional event.

 

I'm also wondering what they will do with the current discrepancy between the textbook strike zone and the actual called strike zone. These are not the same. If the robotic zone is just the textbook zone, it will change the game quite a bit, perhaps.

 

I agree with those concerns, but I must say I don't miss the 'emotional event' of a base umpire blowing a call. I much prefer getting the call right (even if that hurts my team).

[Terminator]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG351wYB6mc&ab_channel=BestSportsClips

 

If we move to robo umps pitches like this seem like they'd become pretty effective.

[Dick_Pole]

Hell, they should just give a participation point for each team that makes it to the 9th then end the game with a home run derby. That'll fix up the problem of having 79-83 teams making the playoffs too because those teams will be 79-73-10 instead. Works great for the NHL!

[AdamGreenwood]

The players don’t like the idea of introducing automated strike zones in Spring Training imo

 

That's surprising. With all the bitching they do about the umpires, you would think they would be delighted to have automated strike zones.

[Maahfaace]

Not why the players would be against it when they're the ones who argue and get upset at Umpires all the time. Everyone but the MLB umpire association should be for it.

 

Polling the players I'm sure they are in favor of both robo-umps and expanded playoffs by a considerable majority. The problem is the cancerous idea of unions (which historically had value but is no longer the case) and the need for the them get something significant in return for any change regardless of their memebers stance on the issue.