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8/24/18

Tom Brennan: BASEBALL RULES I'D LIKE TO SEE CHANGED

Tom Brennan: BASEBALL RULES I'D LIKE TO SEE CHANGED

Baseball is a game designed with genius, and has many rules established to make it a lasting and cherished game to millions.

Some rule changes could make it better, in my opinion.  Here are mine:

1) 40 MAN ROSTER RULE SHOULD BE CHANGED

Jack Reinheimer gets called up, Peter Alonso does not...which of course makes no sense at all, talent-and-performance-wise.  Peter has over 30 homers and leads all of baseball, majors and minors, in RBIs.
We hear that Peter won't be added to the team in September because he'd have to be added to the 40 man roster.  I say he is being discriminated against.  

I say, why not suspend the 40 man roster rule as it pertains to September call ups, allowing a team to increase its September roster to a maximum of, let's say, 35.  That would allow Peter to be called up. 

That would allow a player like Patrick Kivelhan to be called up, too.

Kivlehan gets no ink here, or elsewhere, because he is not on the 40 man roster and is unlikely to be added to it.  Yet, the 28 year old has had 199 major league at bats in 2016 and 2017, hitting just .203, but with 10 homers and 28 RBIs. 
 
In his last 10 AAA games, he is 15 for 38 with 7 homers and 15 RBIs.  Wouldn't it be nice if a guy like this, hitting .304 in 87 games for Las Vegas, could get called up and get another chance to show he is more than a journeyman in September?

Oh, but Peter Alonso would not be called up anyway because that would "start his clock."  So...

2) PLAYER CLOCK RULES SHOULD BE CHANGED

If an Alonso is called up in September, change the rule that it will NOT affect his time on the so-called "clock".  It is another arbitrary hindrance.  

What do you think, if someone went to Alonso and said, "buddy, you have a choice...we can not change the "40 man and clock" rules and leave you in the minors, or change them (as Tom Brennan suggests) and have you come up for September". 

What choice do you think he, or anyone in his shoes, would happily make?

I know the fans would love to see him, fully ready or not.


3) YEARS TO FREE AGENCY RULE

Pitchers like Matt Harvey or Jake deGrom play Russian Roulette every time they pitch - will they stay healthy, or have a career-damaging injury on their next pitch?  

I would advocate that pitchers get to free agency a year earlier for that reason.  Hitters can get hurt too but not, in most cases, as suddenly and impactfully and catastrophically as a pitcher can. 

So I would shorten pitchers up to free agency by a year.

Hurts the teams somewhat, but it is the right thing to do for them.  Jake makes nowhere near as much as his peer, Max Scherzer, because of these rules.  Change it.


4) INCREASE ROSTER TO 26 PLAYERS

Back when I was a teenager in the 1960's, teams had 10 pitchers and 15 position players.  Now, it's 12 and 13.  That's 2 less position players, if 15 minus 13 is tough to calculate in your head - just here to help.

So, hitters like a Kivlehan or a Luis Guillorme get relatively less opportunity to make teams for any meaningful amount of playing time than in days gone by.  One more player on each team would drastically increase a team's in-game versatility. 

For instance, you want to carry 3 catchers?  Go ahead.  I think it would add to the game.


5) DITCH THE SHIFT

Jay Bruce moaned earlier this year about it being a fact that with the shift, almost any hard hit ball to the right side not in the air is an out for him.  Some say, "learn to hit to all fields like a Jeff McNeil then."  

Good for Jeff, not good for a Jay Bruce. I say the shift's thievery robs guys of their strengths - I don't want a Jay Bruce to have to alter his power game just to try to thwart a shift.

Make it so that when Jay is up, the shortstop must remain left of 2nd base until the pitch has reached the hitter.  And when a righty is up, no 3 man shifts on the left side.

I'll bet that will boost teams' major league averages by 10-15 points.  Right now, no team is hitting .270, and only 2 above .260.  That's 2 out of 30 teams above .260.  That stinks. 

Change the rule.

What do you think?  

Do you agree?  

Any others you would want changed?




 

14 comments:

  1. I would like to see a 28 man Major League roster, but only 25 are game 'active'. This is similar to what the NFL does. So yesterday's starting pitcher, a reliever that pitched several innings yesterday, or a player with a minor injury and be left off the 25 man roster each day.

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  2. Not having gone to a major league game since it was implemented, do they show replays on the scoreboard while the umps are debating the call? If not, they should. If players can be humiliated on the field, so too should umpires who make bad calls. We should also track umpire stats to know who is better than whom.

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  3. Reese, if they showed the replays, I sure missed both the passed ball and the strike. I do have attention deficit, though :)

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  4. Rob, a 28 man roster with 25 active would make a whole lot of people happy.

    While my article mentioned 26, my real # would be 27 optimally - don't ask me why. Just a gut. But I figured I'd go with 26, as 27 would be two more salaries for cheapskate billionaire owners to cough up, making any such larger increase unlikely.

    Heck, Vlad Guerrero Jr is hitting .390/.446/.645 between AA and AAA - do you think he's not ready? His delay is all rationalizations.

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  5. Disagree with all of those I'm afraid, Thomas.

    you have a 40-man suad, 25 of whom are active. There's a limit to how often you can de-activate (option) a major league player and there's a window to "use or "loose" the talent you have under contract. Those constraints are a negotiated balance between player & owner interests & not a fan's prerogative.

    What wouldI change? Was not a fan Replay Review, but it's here so; 10 sec window for reuest for review and electronic strik/balle calling.

    Make i so.

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  6. Tom
    You make some valid points...
    First the one 1 i disagree with... No to shorting the years to Free agency... I have to admit I am not one for the players... Yes do i believe Jake is underpaid but who says you need are owed hundreds of Millions... Why was he not better younger... then he would have been up sooner... I dont know why but he lost his younger years in the minors so there went your earning potentials... But this isnt about Jake... Most contact go badly anyway so since I am more of a mets fan than any player individually and I know there is a budget (as most small markets do) no to a shorter free agent span.

    Yes to increase roster to 26 But i bet it will still be extra pitchers... thats where the DH ruined it...

    yes to removing the 40 man rule... the 40 man should only apply to the off season for protection to the rule 5... after that I should be able to bring up anyone i want... it my organization and if they are in my system i should be able to use anyone...

    yes to removing the shift... infielders should have to stay in the infield but its so sad that hitter cannot go the other way...

    I am not sure how i feel about the players clock but I really hate the Super 2 or extra year of service rules... this prevents rookies from starting the season from spring training.

    they should have some formula that I have to admit I cannot come up with in this short time but guys like Khris bryant starting in may because of super 2 or a extra year of service makes no sense.

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  7. I think the biggest issue, as it pertains to Reinheimer getting placed on the 40-man over Alonso, is that Reinheimer can simply be designated for assignment at the end of the year. The Mets are obviously not going to do that with Alonso.

    The main problem that limits roster flexibility is that injured players have to be activated from the 60 day DL, clogging up roster space. A simple fix to this issue would be for MLB to let teams place guys like Wright and Cespedes on the DL before the season (they would have to miss the first 2 months), thus freeing up valuable spots for guys like Alonso and rule 5 guys.

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  8. Ditch the shift? no, let the so called ML caliber players bunt and get 4 easy hits. The teams will stop shifting very quickly I would think.
    How do players make it to this level without that skill?

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  9. Well to you point why can we not put Wright, bruce, cespedes on waivers...
    if they are claimed...Bye they are someone else problem...but if not they come back as non 40 man rosters until they are activated to the majors...

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  10. Eddie-

    1.- You can't waive someone on the DL.
    2.- DFAing (& releasing if not claimed) is not the same thing as waiving, which I.m sure they will be once off the DL.
    3.- Other option rles for veterans

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  11. Lots of good points.

    Viper, that is surely an alternative, LEARNING TO BUNT. Not having Plawecki bunt when it was 2-1, first and second and none out is a sad statement. Back in the 1960's and 1970's, you bet your bottom $$ Plawecki bunts there.

    Eddie, Jake's career was shortened by a long period out due to Tommy John...it is a new reality for pitchers - back some decades ago, Mark Fidrych was a very unusual case of a great pitcher being sandbagged by a major injury - great pitchers have to fear the Tommy John and Rotator Cuff Grim Reapers far more than most hitters have to worry about similarly debilitating injuries. Being a great AND durable pitcher like Max is almost like hitting Lotto these days.

    Hobie, I am all in with shorter replay.

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  12. BillyM, your suggestion would be a clear step in the right direction.

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  13. Hobbie
    I know you can't currently... do that... this articles are rules we want to change...

    SO why not waive someone on the DL? contracts are guaranteed so they dont lose anything...

    and yes I understand the difference, waiving mean the other team takes the salary if claimed. other wise they come back or become a free agent... I say if they are in contract we can keep them but remove them off the 40 man roster... we would not DfA them because then we would lose the insurance rights...

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  14. I agree about the 27 or 28 player roster with 25 active, bc yesterdays starting pitcher is just a dead spot on a roster, cant pitch and shoudnt hit or field.

    On shifts, i dont think they she be outlawed, i think its incumbent on the players to beat them. if you hit the ball down the line 95% of the time, they are going to move the corner to the line. Its adjust of persish in my book.

    I think service time sound be reduced by 1 year for pitchers. No reason pitchers and hitters should be alike.

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