The player’s don’t want this to stop anymore than the owner’s.
MLB Offseason 2023-24: The $700 Million Man
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The player’s don’t want this to stop anymore than the owner’s.
No doubt. "Show me the money".
It gives the "haves" even more of an advantage that just being big market teams. It's been going on for a long time (Bobby Bonilla day has nothing on Shohei Ohtani day), but this is the most glaring example.
There is a gap between what the big market teams and smaller market teams can spend, but how big of a gap is it really? Oakland, Miami and Pittsburgh are penny pinchers who pocket the profits. Tampa Bay will get a new stadium but you know they won't increase payroll. Higher up the spending list, Seattle made a fortune in 2023, have a small window to compete with their young pitching still under first contracts, and are cutting payroll for 2024 while their fans are rioting.
"Small market" teams isn't really a reality in Major League Baseball. The entire financial picture changed when part of the resolution to the 1994 - 1995 strike was the league accepting revenue sharing in exchange for the union (stupidly) accepting a study into what eventually became the competitive balance tax, which is a salary cap in everything but name.
When teams want to be cheap, they'll be cheap, revenue and profit be damned. Again, the Cubs cried poverty for years despite the Ricketts family being in the black before a single attendee walked through the ticket stands at Wrigley on gameday.
...meh.
Rays P Tyler Glasnow traded to the Dodgers.
Tyler Glasnow trade grades: Both Dodgers, Rays get 'A' for hitting respective goals with four-player swap - CBSSports.com
Tyler Glasnow trade grades: Both Dodgers, Rays get 'A' for hitting respective goals with four-player swap - CBSSports.com
This one I truly don't get. Glasnow is a known property at this point. He gives you 80 innings of video game numbers, and then his elbow explodes and he’s on the shelf until next spring.
I can sort of understand why they're not releasing the 2023 WS on bluray - I guess the last few didn't sell well. I mean, I'm pissed about it (once next season starts I can't stream the 2023 WS anymore, since MLB.TV only does the current season), but I get it.
But they're not even making a WS highlight film? Man, that sucks.
But they're not even making a WS highlight film? Man, that sucks.
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That does suck.
No closer to hearing where Yamamoto's going, I take it?
No closer to hearing where Yamamoto's going, I take it?
There are rumors that the Giants and Red Sox have both made $300 million+ offers to him, but who knows what's real.
Yankees acquire an infielder from the Nats organization...
Jeter Downs.
Jeter Downs.
Why is MLB Free Agency so hard to get through. I mean in all the other sports, you have Frenzy days and usually the free agents are off the board in the first day or maybe even a week. In Baseball, we have this song and dance about where players will go and it makes for a somewhat boring offseason. I wish MLB would address this.
Yankees acquire an infielder from the Nats organization...
Jeter Downs.
Sweet, that means "past a diving Jeter" can be a thing once more.
What, exactly, would you like MLB to do to "address this?"
The highest-profile player, by far, is off the board, and teams are actively negotiating with the second-highest (Yamamoto). A lot of teams are in a holding pattern while they wait to see what Yamamoto does, because if he signs with them, then that significantly impacts their budget for next year. If he goes elsewhere, then that's a lot of money freed up.
But this is not a stacked free-agent class. After Ohtani, the highest-profile bat on the market is Cody Bellinger, and he's just as likely to turn back into a pumpkin as he is to repeat this year's numbers.
Changes for 2024:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39161682/mlb-competition-committee-tinkering-pitch-runners-lanes
• With men on base, pitchers will have 18 seconds instead of 20 to begin their motion to home. However, there won't be any changes to the clock when the bases are empty. Hurlers will still have 15 seconds to begin their delivery in those situations. According to the league, pitchers began their deliveries with an average of 7.3 seconds remaining on the 20-second timer in 2023.
• Barring an injury, a pitcher who begins to warm up at the start of an inning will now be required to face at least one batter. Previously, they could be replaced during or after warmups. The league said there were 24 instances last season where the pitcher that warmed up between innings was replaced before throwing a pitch -- adding approximately three minutes of dead time.
• Mound visits will be reduced from five to four per game as the league said they rank among fans' least favorite events in baseball. Teams averaged only 2.3 mound visits per game in 2023 while, according to league data, 98% of games last season would not have exceeded a limit of four visits.
Umpires will permit defensive players to signal for a mound visit without actually visiting the mound to help improve pace of game there, as well. Teams will still be awarded an extra mound visit for the ninth inning if they've used four after eight innings.
• The pitch timer will now reset after a dead ball as soon as the pitcher is given a new one and play is set to resume. He no longer has to be on the mound for the clock to reset, preventing the pitcher's ability to delay a restart by walking around the edges of it.
• During pitching changes, if the clock is under two minutes as the reliever exits the bullpen and onto the warning track, it will reset back to 2:00 rather than 2:15 as it did last year.
• The league withdrew a proposal to reset the pitch clock as soon as a batter calls a timeout. Umpires will continue to use their judgment as to when the clock starts up again.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39161682/mlb-competition-committee-tinkering-pitch-runners-lanes
• With men on base, pitchers will have 18 seconds instead of 20 to begin their motion to home. However, there won't be any changes to the clock when the bases are empty. Hurlers will still have 15 seconds to begin their delivery in those situations. According to the league, pitchers began their deliveries with an average of 7.3 seconds remaining on the 20-second timer in 2023.
• Barring an injury, a pitcher who begins to warm up at the start of an inning will now be required to face at least one batter. Previously, they could be replaced during or after warmups. The league said there were 24 instances last season where the pitcher that warmed up between innings was replaced before throwing a pitch -- adding approximately three minutes of dead time.
• Mound visits will be reduced from five to four per game as the league said they rank among fans' least favorite events in baseball. Teams averaged only 2.3 mound visits per game in 2023 while, according to league data, 98% of games last season would not have exceeded a limit of four visits.
Umpires will permit defensive players to signal for a mound visit without actually visiting the mound to help improve pace of game there, as well. Teams will still be awarded an extra mound visit for the ninth inning if they've used four after eight innings.
• The pitch timer will now reset after a dead ball as soon as the pitcher is given a new one and play is set to resume. He no longer has to be on the mound for the clock to reset, preventing the pitcher's ability to delay a restart by walking around the edges of it.
• During pitching changes, if the clock is under two minutes as the reliever exits the bullpen and onto the warning track, it will reset back to 2:00 rather than 2:15 as it did last year.
• The league withdrew a proposal to reset the pitch clock as soon as a batter calls a timeout. Umpires will continue to use their judgment as to when the clock starts up again.
It's worth noting that the MLBPA voted against all of these rule changes ... but because the competition committee is stacked in the league's favor (six owners, four players, one umpire), the league is free to essentially unilaterally impose any and all rule changes it wants to.
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