What would you change?

The whole free agency structure. Baseball at the highest level was much more endearing when players stayed with the same organization and became the recognizeable faces of the team. Old school.

add 5-6" to my son's height (along with a little "reach the seats" pop)

1. Add about 10 MPH to my son's fastball. I wouldnt have to worry so much about his being recruited. But then he would have the "problem" of deciding between college and going pro. Just teasing with this one, he is what he is and its good enough for me.

2. In MLB, I dont like the fact that foreign born players are able to go to the highest bidder and have huge contracts before ever stepping foot on american soil. If #1 was to happen to my son, he would not have the options that Yu Darvish has right now. (no sense arguing this, not the point of this discussion.)

3. Dont like the DH but if they are going to have it in the majors, I always thought it would be cool to use the visiting teams rules during interleague play. If the Cardinals are playin at the Red Sox, then have th pitchers hit.

Doubleheaders and day games (more of 'em like the 'old days').

College players to receive full scholarships like football and basketball. They arguably put the same amount of time and effort in their careers.

I liked the game when it was balanced; everyone body that plays in the field, also must hit! The DH rule was a "knee jerk" reaction anyway.

Only one thing?

At almost 50 years of age, I've recently come to the conclusion that the DH needs to go. I've given it a fair shake, but it changes the game too much. From now on, all pitchers shall hit in the MiLB and MLB.

Wood bats at all levels or get rid of the DH.

Easy one for me.
I would shorten the period to the Milb Rule V draft and shorten the time period teams can contractually control the rights of Milb players from the current 6 championship seasons to probably 3, possibly no longer than 4 years, for players selected in the first few rounds and paid more bonus money.
Players like Tyler Bortnick, Erik Davis, Darin Mastroianni, David Kopp, Chris McConnell etc who are high quality and performing at a very high level could become free agents earlier, move to organizations where the opportunities could be better, and they would make far more money, which they earn but do not get paid during the 1st 6 years in Milb.

I come down on the other side. Put the DH in the national league. Make NL pitchers face 27 hitters. 11% of National League outs are automatic.

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I come down on the other side. Put the DH in the national league. Make NL pitchers face 27 hitters. 11% of National League outs are automatic.

I agree. DH in both leagues..

And bring back Willie Mays. Make him 25 again and put him in CF for the Giants...

No more running over the catcher!

Bring baseball back to broadcast television. It doesn't have to be every game. Just a couple per week. There are old people on fixed incomes who can't afford cable or only need it to watch. If the Phillies can do it there's no reason why other teams can't.

quote:

Originally posted by infielddad:
Easy one for me.
I would shorten the period to the Milb Rule V draft and shorten the time period teams can contractually control the rights of Milb players from the current 6 championship seasons to probably 3, possibly no longer than 4 years, for players selected in the first few rounds and paid more bonus money.
Players like Tyler Bortnick, Erik Davis, Darin Mastroianni, David Kopp, Chris McConnell etc who are high quality and performing at a very high level could become free agents earlier, move to organizations where the opportunities could be better, and they would make far more money, which they earn but do not get paid during the 1st 6 years in Milb.

DH? I'd prefer not to have the DH, but more than that, I would like it to be one way or the other...NL is really the only place left without the DH, so maybe they should just adopt it...

Love the day games and double headers...

Kinda tired of the inequity in the amount of money some teams are able to spend, but don't really like the idea of a salary cap...

Have to agree with the draft vs. signing...I would bet that putting international players into the draft would free up money to make MiLB money a bit better - not saying that would happen, but the money would be available to all vs. some...

quote:

Originally posted by infielddad:
Easy one for me.
I would shorten the period to the Milb Rule V draft and shorten the time period teams can contractually control the rights of Milb players from the current 6 championship seasons to probably 3, possibly no longer than 4 years, for players selected in the first few rounds and paid more bonus money.
Players like Tyler Bortnick, Erik Davis, Darin Mastroianni, David Kopp, Chris McConnell etc who are high quality and performing at a very high level could become free agents earlier, move to organizations where the opportunities could be better, and they would make far more money, which they earn but do not get paid during the 1st 6 years in Milb.

Only one other person commented on this. I think it is because people in general people just don't understand. I know I didn't.
Interesting how parents would like to see baseball change at the college level, but don't have any idea how the system on the next level works, because if they did, they would think twice about their sons playing for peanuts. They would understand why teams get to bid on foreign players and why there is an international draft.
I am not talking about one particular team, but the system, being indentured to one team for 6 years with no free agency. Often times the fit just isn't good just like the college fit isn't good.

Six seasons, a very long time to play the game and get injured, thus ending your career.

Get rid of the the DH, or have both leagues use them.

They do sing "take me out to the ball game" at bb games, however in vogue now is "Sweet Caroline".

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...however in vogue now is "Sweet Caroline". Smile

...much to my youngest daughter Caroline's delight!

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Originally posted by justbaseball:

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...however in vogue now is "Sweet Caroline". Smile

...much to my youngest daughter Caroline's delight!

Just out of curiosity, when was "Sweet Caroline" not in vogue.
Seems to me that it has been at or near the the top of many lists since about 1972 when I saw Neil Diamond perform at the Sacramento Municipal auditorium...or am I dating myself?

1. Eliminate the DH
2. Eliminate 6-umpire mechanics in post season
3. Eliminate inter-league play.

I think fielders should leave their gloves on the field when they go in to hit, just like the old days.

No Re entry in High school. It is time to play real baseball and that includes the DH Tell me I am going to play in the field and somebody hits for me? Are you kidding me?

infielddad/TPM- With the new CBA, the 2/3 arbitration eligibility got bumped up to 22% from 17%, but nothing was changed in relation to what you are both eluding to. I think the rule should be altered to four championship seasons, and then Rule 5 eligibility. This should especially be more pressing for teams with respect to free agent eligibility because of the new earlier signing deadline for the amateur draft...draftees won't sit out an entire 2 months of a season, and therefore the clock would start ticking for both the player and the organization. I also believe MiLB players should be provided more meal money on the road...another issue I don't think is very widely discussed (keeping proper nutrition). Once you're on the 40-man your life is OK but if that doesn't happen and the crapshoot that is the Rule 5 doesn't pan out, you're stuck. From all these perspectives, I couldn't agree more with your sentiments.

Time in between pitches at the pro level

Mandate wood bats at the college and high school levels.

Get rid of DH.
Wood bats for high school and up.
Allow college players to transfer easier.

The commissioner.

make all levels of the game WOOD and puT THE DH IN BOTH MLB LEAgues

The owners of the NY Mets.

Take the ball parks back from corporate America and give them back to the fans.

A family should not have to spend $600 to park there car, attend a ball game enjoy a hot dog and soda and bring home a souvineer.

Here are some:

* Change the intentional base on balls rule. I hate the IBB. Either get rid of it, or make it two bases. If that means teams approach the IBB by "pitching around" a hitter, that's fine - mistakes can be made, and I'd rather see that. There should be some penalty to intentionally avoiding a competitive confrontation.

* Multiple changes to speed up the pace of the game between pitches/plays, or simply strictly enforce the rules already there that can speed up the game. The biggest culprit is TV/commercial time, but I doubt that is ever going away - TV money is driving a lot of the big free agent moves we've seen this year, and the TV people have to be able to make their money back or they'll stop offering that kind of $$.

* Expand instant replay to all safe/out calls, using an NFL-type challenge system. NEVER expand instant replay to balls/strikes.

* It's time to stop bowling over the catcher. The old HS slide and/or avoid rule is something most players have grown up with, and some form of this rule could be put into place. Too many guys get hurt too seriously to not at least consider some changes.

* I strongly agree with infielddad and TPM about shortening the length of time a player has to put in before getting to minor league free agency, the Rule 5 draft, and (as J H notes) time to arbitration eligibility. The only thing I would say is, of these three, the least significant change will be shortening the length of time until Rule 5 eligibility, unless there are other accompanying rule changes (additional MLB big club roster spots, ability to send a Rule 5 draftee to MiLB under certain circumstances without having to offer the player back to his original club). At least I think that's true for the majority of players who aren't situational relievers. Getting to move (minor league free agency) and getting to more money (minor league free agency, and arbitration eligibility) sooner is a bigger deal.

Don't have a strong opinion on the DH, really. I don't mind the leagues having different rules except during interleague play and playoff time (when AL teams that are built to exploit the DH rule are much more hampered than NL teams who suddenly find themselves able to get an extra bat in the game, rather than lose a regular) - I enjoy seeing more offense in the AL and enjoy the double-switches and different strategies employed in the NL game. The disadvantage running much more to one league than another is an issue, though, so I would slightly favor either (a) having both leagues use the DH, or (b) having both leagues use the DH during ALL interleague play and playoff games. The DH has been around for almost 40 years now, and is employed in just about every league above Little League, amateur or pro. It's not going away....

I would also like to see HoF voters stop treating the DH as a second-class player. Value can be measured, and if a DH provides as much value without fielding as another legit HoF candidate (or inductee) then he should get strong consideration and not be dismissed just because he was a DH. It isn't the player's fault that his club chose to employ him as a DH, and as long as that is a defined roster "position" then the best who manned it ought to have their contributions to the game honored, the same as others.

My $0.02. Happy Holidays to all....

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Originally posted by Tooster:
Take the ball parks back from corporate America and give them back to the fans.

A family should not have to spend $600 to park there car, attend a ball game enjoy a hot dog and soda and bring home a souvineer.

Thank free agency for that.
Support minor league games.