Trying to hit a fastball thrown from 46 feet will be quite impressive.Play it in Williamsport and Cooperstown in alternating years .
Trying to hit a fastball thrown from 46 feet will be quite impressive.Play it in Williamsport and Cooperstown in alternating years .
Move the fences back 100 to 180 feet but that hill would kill Kyle Schwarber's knee forever.Trying to hit a fastball thrown from 46 feet will be quite impressive.
Move to a 1-2-2-1 format with a possible game 7 at the winner of the CCL champion so it would be within driving distance of many SOSHersPlay it in Williamsport and Cooperstown in alternating years .
Nothing changed; that was a bullshit claim to begin with.Didn't we hear for years about how they needed to have more certainty to be able to plan in advance for the World Series games? What changed that's made HFA for team with a better record now possible?
I think that was true back in the day of a single division for each league, and then in the 1970's when a number of stadiums were multiuse for football and baseball.Didn't we hear for years about how they needed to have more certainty to be able to plan in advance for the World Series games? What changed that's made HFA for team with a better record now possible?
That's what I always thought but even before the "ASG decides" rule change it was what was always given as the reason the AL/NL alternated HFA. (As opposed to, say, fairness in which league's rules to use.)Nothing changed; that was a bullshit claim to begin with.
Sure, every league has an unbalanced schedule, but baseball's is SO extreme that its a point worth bringing up. (Its a point for another thread but I've been advocating lessening the number of divisional games for a while. 19 games against each division rival is BORING to the point that I don't care about Sox/Yanks anymore.) Lessen the imbalance and far less people would have an issue with using best record to decide HFA.But isn't 'living in the right neighborhood' pretty much the same as 'being in the league that won an exhibition'? If you want to eliminate voting for All Star teams, abolish one per team minimum and allow the manager the right to choose who he goes to war with - and then play the game as such - sure. I'd be all for that. It would be pretty cool to watch. But complaining about divisional strength seems foolish to me. It fluctuates yearly. The Cubs had a soft division this year. A year or two ago the NL Central was the best in baseball.
That happens in every sport. Every year. If you catch the short end of that stick, it no different than a bad break anywhere else in sports.
Edit: I'll add to reiterate that every major sport has an unbalanced schedule. The Pats have been in a pretty shitty division the last fifteen years or so and no one bitches that that's why they're great. Other than CHB anyway.
It really belongs in a separate thread but there is no way to motivate the players for the ASG the way they were back in the days of (Bobby) Wine and (Pete) Rose(s). The leagues were much more separate entities than they are now with their own league offices and crews of umpires, the absence of interleague play, and with the lack of player movement giving the players a sense of (literally) belonging to their league.I do agree that best record even with the imbalance is better than using an exhibition game to decide HFA. Want to keep the players motivated and have better ratings for the ASG? Find some other way to keep it fresh.
Hey, as long as Atlanta cares to keep sucking I'll be happy to play them.It really belongs in a separate thread but there is no way to motivate the players for the ASG the way they were back in the days of (Bobby) Wine and (Pete) Rose(s). The leagues were much more separate entities than they are now with their own league offices and crews of umpires, the absence of interleague play, and with the lack of player movement giving the players a sense of (literally) belonging to their league.
I'd be fine with scrapping interleague play--nobody really cares about it outside of New York and Chicago--but that would mean realigning the leagues again or expanding to add another team to each league, and neither of those things are happening anytime soon.
Do you mean winning percentage against playoff teams? Because that's my favorite idea so far. It gives everyone a reasonably similar frame of referenceWhat about the best record head-to-head amongst all of the playoff teams? Granted, the game counts won't be the same, but at least it will be just the teams competing for the title.
Yes, winning percentage against the other 9 playoff teams. Should have been clearer. It's a much smaller sample size, but it's probably more relevant.Do you mean winning percentage against playoff teams? Because that's my favorite idea so far. It gives everyone a reasonably similar frame of reference
How do you consider it inevitable when the brand new commissioner, at the infancy of his term, has already publicly stated he's against it?I'm in the "League with the best record in Inter-league play" camp. The only feasible argument against would be the different rule sets. But, IMO the AL is disadvantaged by the no DH rule but still seems to be doing just fine. The adoption of the DH in the NL seems inevitable so even that possible argument will quickly fade. I think the best record argument is seriously flawed due to unbalanced schedules. And the ASG game deciding HFA is beyond stupid.
All that being said - none of this is important.
Or maybe just winning percentage against teams above .500.Yes, winning percentage against the other 9 playoff teams. Should have been clearer. It's a much smaller sample size, but it's probably more relevant.
Yes .. that's his public stance .. but I think there's a pretty good chance that it's merely a bargaining position for the new CBA. The union would love to see the DH in the National League.How do you consider it inevitable when the brand new commissioner, at the infancy of his term, has already publicly stated he's against it?
Home court means something in the NBA Finals, and those two teams play the season under the same rules.That's why a fair method of choosing HFA is important...to get around how unfair it is for one team to have a DH at home and another not.
Then how do you top off the MLBPA pension fund?fuck the All Star Game. Let's not even play it.
Statistically, baseball has about the same HFA as the NFL and NHL and much less than the NBA. https://www.google.com/amp/www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2011/1/19/1940438/home-field-advantage-sports-stats-data?client=ms-android-googleWhat's stupid is a sports league that has 2 completely different sets of rules so that, unlike any other sport, home field in the championship means one or the other team is automatically handicapped.
Oakland is (I think) the only city where the NFL and MLB teams still share a stadium, but there are plenty of cities where the football and baseball stadiums either share parking facilities, or are close enough to one another to make simultaneous or back-to-back games infeasible. The conclusion of the LCS is way too late to begin planning for those scenarios. Knowing at the start of the postseason which league will host the World Series cuts the scenario planning in half -- this year, for example, MLB knew it didn't have to worry about the Cowboys' SNF game conflicting with a possible Rangers' home game. (I'm sure they had plans in case a rainout pushed Game 5 to Monday -- Chicago probably could handle both events simultaneously, but in other cities MLB would either have to play a day game or push the series back a day.)I think that was true back in the day of a single division for each league, and then in the 1970's when a number of stadiums were multiuse for football and baseball.
There is probably some benefit in today's setup in that when the playoffs start, the operators of the 10 ball parks know the potential 3 or 4 World Series dates for their respective parks. But given that rainouts can perturb the best laid plans regardless, I have to believe the planning issue could be worked around with relative ease.
There was some issue with an Orioles playoff game on the same date as a Ravens game IIRC. The stadiums are next to each other and the crowds and traffic would have been too much at once.Oakland is (I think) the only city where the NFL and MLB teams still share a stadium, but there are plenty of cities where the football and baseball stadiums either share parking facilities, or are close enough to one another to make simultaneous or back-to-back games infeasible. The conclusion of the LCS is way too late to begin planning for those scenarios. Knowing at the start of the postseason which league will host the World Series cuts the scenario planning in half -- this year, for example, MLB knew it didn't have to worry about the Cowboys' SNF game conflicting with a possible Rangers' home game. (I'm sure they had plans in case a rainout pushed Game 5 to Monday -- Chicago probably could handle both events simultaneously, but in other cities MLB would either have to play a day game or push the series back a day.)
I'd say the Cubs are pleased to be able to use a certain DH in 3 or 4 games this yearWhat's stupid is a sports league that has 2 completely different sets of rules so that, unlike any other sport, home field in the championship means one or the other team is automatically handicapped.
That's why a fair method of choosing HFA is important...to get around how unfair it is for one team to have a DH at home and another not.
The issue was the defending champion Ravens opening on a Thursday at home when the Orioles had a home game scheduled. The Orioles told the NFL to go pound sand and the Ravens opened at Denver. Ravens fans still cry about about this grave injustice.There was some issue with an Orioles playoff game on the same date as a Ravens game IIRC. The stadiums are next to each other and the crowds and traffic would have been too much at once.
You think that batting last was a bigger deal...but for some reason it isn't.Statistically, baseball has about the same HFA as the NFL and NHL and much less than the NBA. https://www.google.com/amp/www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2011/1/19/1940438/home-field-advantage-sports-stats-data?client=ms-android-google
It'd be interesting to break that out into interleague and see if the rules difference offsets that general trend .
Even better make it an academic game. Even if just baseball historyI think the clear answer is for each League's top seed to compete in a "Battle of the Network Stars"-type event the same day as the play-in games. Feats of strength, obstacle courses, and whatnot.
This is where I was. The fuss about the ASG winner deciding HFA was ridiculous considering what was in place previously. Still, glad to see a common-sense solution prevail at last.I didn't mind the AS game deciding, I don't mind best record deciding.
I HATED ALTERNATING YEARS BEING THE FACTOR.
Until Monday, when he's elected to the HoFFucking finally. You can fuck off finally Selig.