BBTV Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 How about this - what if MLB adopted the spike ball, but only random balls had the spikes, and the spikes came out upon contact with the bat? So you may go a whole game without it happening (but I think they'd rig it so there would be at least one per game). Some balls are used for literally only one pitch that hits the dirt and gets tossed out, so it may not be a factor at all. But if a batter hits one that happens to be spike loaded, the fielders would have to decide if they wanted to make a play on it or get the hell out of the way. You'd see outfielders running the ball back into the infield because they wouldn't want to throw the spiked ball at a teammate (and probably couldn't throw it far anyway) and line-drives back to the pitcher would likely be fatal. If a spiked ball is fouled off, then the crowd needs to get the hell out of the way. If a batter fouls the ball off his foot, he's probably going to have a hole in his foot. Another alternative would be if instead of random balls, a manager could choose when a spiked ball is used - and would get one per game. So maybe there's two outs and a runner on third and the manager of the hitting team wants to ensure that a fly ball doesn't get caught, he'd call for the spiked ball. "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infrared41 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 58 minutes ago, OnWis97 said: Also, Cleveland vs. Texas in the 1980s at Municipal Stadium. That must have been one tough ticket to get... You haven't lived until you've attended a Friday doubleheader between the Indians and Rangers in August at the old stadium. It reminds me of the old joke - a guy calls Municipal and asks "what time is the game between the Indians and Rangers tonight? and the ticket rep says "what time can you be here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infrared41 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 19 minutes ago, BBTV said: I don't know how many balls go into the stands, but I'd wager that your actual chance of being killed by the spikey ball is less than your chance of getting hit by a car, dying from illness, or dying of boredom from watching the game itself. Now that I think about it, I think that if at least one fan isn't killed by the spike ball, then there should be extra time added until one is. Soccer has silly timekeeping system anyway, so this should be very easy to implement. Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and nominate you for World Commissioner of Soccer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 4 minutes ago, infrared41 said: Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and nominate you for World Commissioner of Soccer. Need to figure out a good way to integrate gorillas into the game. It's not as straight forward and obvious as it is with American football. "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infrared41 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 1 minute ago, BBTV said: Need to figure out a good way to integrate gorillas into the game. It's not as straight forward and obvious as it is with American football. You figure that out and there's a decent chance soccer becomes a "big four" sport here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAD! Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 10 minutes ago, infrared41 said: You haven't lived until you've attended a Friday doubleheader between the Indians and Rangers in August at the old stadium. It reminds me of the old joke - a guy calls Municipal and asks "what time is the game between the Indians and Rangers tonight? and the ticket rep says "what time can you be here? When I think of Texas-Cleveland at Municipal Stadium... I saw, I came, I left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnice Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 Maybe the Braves can honor Aaron and Niekro a little better... I guess someone posted that their numbers would be on the back of the caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 1 hour ago, infrared41 said: Exactly. And I'll add this. When I was a kid, hell until the Braves popped up on TBS in the 80's when I was in my early 20's, the NL may as well have been playing on Mars. We got the occasional glimpse of NL players in the ASG or on NBC's Game of the Week, but other than that, players like Hank Aaron, Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente, Johnny Bench, etc., were just pictures on baseball cards or in SI and Baseball Digest. I'm probably more on the "traditionalist" side with baseball, but no one was more excited about interleague play than I was. You're right, it was finally correcting a "wrong" I'd grown up with. Great point. What baseball "FAN" would want a system that means you only see half of the sports' players come through your town? Not a very big baseball fan if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infrared41 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 3 minutes ago, Sport said: Great point. What baseball "FAN" would want a system that means you only see half of the sports' players come through your town? Not a very big baseball fan if you ask me. As I said earlier, I definitely lean towards "traditionalist", but the idea that we should keep the A's from playing the Giants or the Clevelands from playing the Reds because "it's tradition" is just...well...dumb. Why would a true baseball fan not want to see Mike Trout hit against Clayton Kershaw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnPheitseog Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 I dont mind it, but wish it could be contained to June/juneish like it used to be. Formerly known as DiePerske Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA_Angels Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 My prediction is Texas will take the all star game. If this is true I really hope they don’t shoehorn in powder blue into the visual identity as they did with their uniforms in.... 2019 was it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Cesarano Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 3 hours ago, OnWis97 said: However, that same reason is part of why I am anti-DH. Bartolo Colon's home run. While I like the DH, I will reiterate that I am opposed to its use in the National League, for the reason you mentioned. For me the quintessential example of the surprise blast is Rick Camp's late-night home run against the Mets in 1985. A pitcher's home run that was a key part of history was Rick Sutcliffe's mammoth shot out of Wrigley Field in game 1 of the 1984 NLCS. While younger people looking back tend to consider the eventual World Champion Tigers to have been the only story of 1984, the reality is that the huge lead that that tesm had on the rest of the A.L. East by virtue of their outrageous 35-5 start made the Tigers not much of an ongoing story during most of the season. Those of us who were around then know that the season's biggest story was the Cubs' race with the Mets in the N.L. East, and that the Cubs were the team that was considered that year's "team of destiny". Sutcliffe's home run only strengthened this perception, which persisted right until the Padres completed one of the all-time upsets by defeating the unbeatable Sutcliffe (who had gone 16-1 in the regular season for the Cubs) in the NLCS's deciding fifth game. (Another interesting side point about that season is that the Cubs' divisional title was considered at the time to have broken the 1945 curse, a state of affairs which illustrates how important the divisional championships were before these titles were diminished by the introduction of the wild card. The 1969-1993 period was a time when a divisional championship meant nearly as much as a pennant, hence the 1983 White Sox and the 1985 Blue Jays being remembered as champions.) So you may rest assured that I fully understand the coolness of pitchers hitting, as liking the DH does not equate to wanting to eradicate pitchers hitting. We should have both versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 1 minute ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said: So you may rest assured you that I fully understand the coolness of pitchers hitting, as liking the DH does not equate to wanting to eradicate pitchers hitting. We should have both versions. But fans don't get both versions. We're stuck with one or the other based on what team we're a fan of. "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Cesarano Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 6 minutes ago, BBTV said: 9 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said: So you may rest assured you that I fully understand the coolness of pitchers hitting, as liking the DH does not equate to wanting to eradicate pitchers hitting. We should have both versions. But fans don't get both versions. We're stuck with one or the other based on what team we're a fan of. I have heard of this new thing called "television" that I think has a real chance to catch on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAD! Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 I have also about this new thing called the internet... *sends pigeon* I saw, I came, I left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 2 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said: I have heard of this new thing called "television" that I think has a real chance to catch on. Yes, I use television to watch my team when I can't make it to the game. Doesn't change the fact that I have to watch pitchers bat. "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlins93 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 14 hours ago, selgy said: What is everyones take on their ticker/in game boxscore? I hate it. It looks like it was designed in 1998 at the beginning of the technology. There is no point in having a score ticker throughout the entire game. That might have made sense in 1998, but it's not needed at all in the smartphone era. One has to imagine that the decision to have one mostly has to do with Ballys trying to entice people to gamble. That has to be the reason and it's disgusting that MLB has allowed this to happen to their product. Aesthetically it's a mess for the reasons that you mention. Too much wasted space. I sense that cameras even have to zoom back further just so they can get the advertisements stenciled on the mound in frame. Another recently adopted sellout abomination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalieboy82 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 24 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said: I have heard of this new thing called "television" that I think has a real chance to catch on. so long and thanks for all the fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalieboy82 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 10 minutes ago, goalieboy82 said: even Carl Stalling sez, it will never work. always love seeing newspaper in films and cartoons trying to catch some kind of inside joke. so long and thanks for all the fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSU151 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 1 hour ago, LA_Angels said: My prediction is Texas will take the all star game. If this is true I really hope they don’t shoehorn in powder blue into the visual identity as they did with their uniforms in.... 2019 was it??? The Rangers' brought back powder blue in 2020...the unveiling seems like forever ago Smart is believing half of what you hear. Genius is knowing which half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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