Your Most Controversial Baseball Opinion

[Brandon]

To make Baseball more interesting we should implement rule changes that encourages more fighting and playing dirty.  Like spiking a player when sliding into a base.  An elbow to the face, and it should be mandatory that a player charges the mound after getting hit by pitch.  Also you should get suspended if you don’t throw a punch that lands when the benches clear and go on the field to add/ break up a fight.

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

Managers are mostly irrelevant.  They pretty much always have been.  They have a function, but people put WAY too much stock in them.

They're little more than college dorm RAs. 

I used to think this. Then I started tweeting that question to people that were on teams and were not in the media. They all said I was under rating them........

For me? The draft should die, and be replaced by an auction system where the worst teams get the most money (and the best can't bid in the first two "rounds"). Players get some choice in where they go, and teams can choose to go all in on one guy, or spread their allotment around.

[Original_JB]

They need to reduce the weight of the ball by 10%.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Eicemann said:

To shorten game times & accelerate pace of play, foul balls should NOT be UNLIMITED.  Invoke a maximum limit of foul balls after which the pitcher would be credited with a K and the AB ended.

Also, the sacrifice fly should be eliminated.  The batter should be charged with an AB.  Rarely is a batter "sacrificing" their AB on a SF play.  They're trying to hit the ball as far as possible.  That's not even close to the same thing as laying down a bunt to advance a baserunner.

What about making it a BB if the hitter fouls off enough pitches to hit the limit? Get more runners on base to provide more action which is what the game is missing.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

What about making it a BB if the hitter fouls off enough pitches to hit the limit? Get more runners on base to provide more action which is what the game is missing.

I've considered that idea for a few years now....I'm still not sure what I want the answer to be.

[twinssporto]

Eliminate family sections in the ball parks!

1. Kids need to learn curse words at a younger age

2. They also need to learn how to properly berate players from the drunks around them

3. And by all means, learn at a young age how to chug beer before the 7th inning cut off

[4twinsJA]

I hate the unlevel playing field for team- the almost unlimited spenders and the unable to spenders. Hard salary cap and hard minimum cap. 

[Blyleven2011]

I have a new one since I read some of twins daily  articles  ....

DHing Byron Buxton  to keep him from hurting himself ,,, that's the most controversial  argument I could ever possibly discuss  ....

 

We paid the man to play centerfield  , yes if he would stay healthy he would win gold gloves and have votes for mvp  .... he's your centerfielder for several more years , cross your fingers and your toes to double down on him staying healthy  ...

DHing Buxton is a no no ... that is controversial 

[Brandon]

34 minutes ago, 4twinsJA said:

I hate the unlevel playing field for team- the almost unlimited spenders and the unable to spenders. Hard salary cap and hard minimum cap. 

The salary cap and salary floor should be the same number.

 

[tony&rodney]

Wait, I just read through these comments. Did all of you guys get together at a bar and start in after a dozen shots or so? I missed the fun and crazy; these are hilarious.

[Muppet]

1 hour ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Unlike some of the above, this is actually controversial with baseball fans:

Baseball should start aggressively changing its rules and shouldn't stop until the product is as entertaining as it was in the 70s and 80s. And I mean aggressively. The pitch clock should have been here five years ago. The shift should have been banned before 2020 or 2021. At this point, we should be seriously considering moving the mound, changing the spacing between bases, and way more wild stuff than we're talking about right now.

Bring back the cocaine era of baseball! Don't have to worry about slow games. Get more stolen bases, backflips, and hilarious mustaches. 

[Ex-Iowegian]

Kershaw should have completed his chance for a perfect game

[wsnydes]

2 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Get rid of instant replay and bring back arguing and make up calls!!

Or, if you keep instant replay, force the manager to make the call immediately just like the umpire has to.  If the manager thinks the ump is wrong, put his money where is mouth is without the benefit of getting to review it.

[Muppet]

5 minutes ago, Brandon said:

The salary cap and salary floor should be the same number.

 

How about a literal unlevel playing field? Have the outfield wall sit at 20 feet above home plate? That would sure make things a bit more interesting. 

[lukeduke1980]

Balance the schedule and reduce interleague play.  No more play the  Royals 19 times but the Yankees 6.  Interleague is a home and away against a regional rival and thats it.

[Mike Sixel]

Every team in the second season. Yup, every team in the playoffs. The worst teams do one or two game series for a couple days to whittle it down, etc.......TV ratings would be thru the roof (and, reduce the first season to 148 or 140 games or so). The end of the season would be filled with games that matter! Going from no bye in round 1 to a bye? HUGE. Having to win 2 games in a 2 game series, vs 1? Ouch!

 

edit to add: this is my real opinion, actually. As is the draft one above. 

[Monkeypaws]

26 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Every team in the second season. Yup, every team in the playoffs. The worst teams do one or two game series for a couple days to whittle it down, etc.......TV ratings would be thru the roof (and, reduce the first season to 148 or 140 games or so). The end of the season would be filled with games that matter! Going from no bye in round 1 to a bye? HUGE. Having to win 2 games in a 2 game series, vs 1? Ouch!

 

edit to add: this is my real opinion, actually. As is the draft one above. 

Interestingly Mike, I was about to propose gong back to 2 divisions in each league, with the division winners being the only playoff teams: League Championships, then World Series. 

I'd also get rid of interleague play.

I'd like the regular season to mean something, and the playoffs to be a special privilege earned by only the few.

To keep things interesting, each league could have 2 divisions, the Haves and the Have-nots: that way, only one big budget team from each league would make the playoffs.

Membership in either division would be fluid, depending on the previous season's revenue.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

1 hour ago, wsnydes said:

Or, if you keep instant reply, force the manager to make the call immediately just like the umpire has to.  If the manager thinks the ump is wrong, put his money where is mouth is without the benefit of getting to review it.

Exactly what I am getting at - thanks! Remove the 30-second carve out at a minimum. Replay was supposed to be for the egregious missed calls like the Armando Galarrago perfect game. 

[Unwinder]

I have some that I know will be controversial with people in this very thread:

1. Ghost runners in extra innings are fine. They penalize teams for being bad at contact play.

2. Pace of play will keep existing fans happy but it won't attract new fans. When non-fans complain about slow games, they're not comparing it to the faster baseball of the past, they're comparing it to basketball and hockey and football, which baseball is not capable of matching for sheer action. (Pace of play should still be improved, it just isn't the key to attracting new viewers).

3. In fact, decreased quality of the game on the field has little to do with diminishing interest in the sport. Inability to watch in-market games without cable TV bears at least 75% of the blame. If there's a crisis, that's where it is.

4. It's fun to have one or two three-true-outcomes guys in the lineup.

5. Position players pitching are fun and should not be discouraged.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

3 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

What about making it a BB if the hitter fouls off enough pitches to hit the limit? Get more runners on base to provide more action which is what the game is missing.

Agreed with the need for more plays, not sure the BB adds plays, just runners. I don’t think it gets that done, and it potentially lengthens the game.

what if fouls in excess of the limit that doesn’t reach the seats, it’s considered “in play”? Goes to the backstop, into the nets, or down the foul line, it’s in-play.

edit to add: if the foul in excess of limit reaches the seats or inside the dugout, strike 3.

[Brandon]

2 hours ago, Ex-Iowegian said:

Kershaw should have completed his chance for a perfect game

Like Johan Santana

[TheLeviathan]

4 hours ago, Muppet said:

Oooh. Another unpopular opinion. Baseball is NOT too slow. If you are bored, leave the game. Nobody will think less of you. 

What do you think of  a fan who wants 2022 baseball to be played at the speed of 1992 baseball?

I have no problem with baseball being way, way less fast paced than hockey.  Or less engaging between each "play" like football.  I have a problem with the game looking nothing like it did when I became a fan.  And since it moved in the direction of "slower, more boring"...I'm not a fan.

[nicksaviking]

The White Sox should get demoted and forced to play in a rec league in Laos.

[Road trip]

Controversial opinion:  Fastpitch softball is actually the superior bat and ball game.  Faster pace, more strategy, and you can ride one or two pitchers for an entire weekend of games.  It's a shame that the amateur men's game has largely died, but some of us remember it well.

[se7799]

Batting average, hits and rbi count....like alot.  So undervalued.  As you can see with our current counting stats and record.  Please stop undervaluing these numbers.  Exit velocity and hard ball rates are meaningless if nobody is on base or hit right at somebody.

[TwinsDr2021]

Allow a 25 year old to pitch between 90 - 115 pitches.

[se7799]

Take down the darn nets.  If you have children don't sit in the first row while on your cell phone.  Actually, no nets and no cell phones.

[se7799]

3 hours ago, twinssporto said:

Eliminate family sections in the ball parks!

1. Kids need to learn curse words at a younger age

2. They also need to learn how to properly berate players from the drunks around them

3. And by all means, learn at a young age how to chug beer before the 7th inning cut off

Yes!

[Craig Arko]

9 hours ago, Sconnie said:

Oooh…. Them’s fightin’ words!

please elaborate

The site just ate my reply, bless its little heart. I’ll write it offline and try pasting it in later.

[Cap'n Piranha]

A plethora of mine, some of which are the same or similar to others posted here (I'll acknowledge those if I can remember who said it).  Some of my ideas contradict other ones, so this is not a slate, but more like a menu.

• All 30 teams make the playoffs every year (credit Mike Sixel)--if you lose in the first round, you get a pick between 9-16 in the upcoming draft; tanking immediately ends.
• MLB pays off 20 MiLB franchises and shutters them.  10 teams are added to the "MLB" tier (I'd say Portland, LV, Nashville, Charlotte, San Antonio, Vancouver are for sures), which splits into two leagues, the Gold League and the Silver League. Each league plays 7 Each year, 2 teams are promoted from the Silver League to the Gold, and two relegated from Gold to Silver.  Teams promoted cannot be relegated unless they've completed three seasons since their relegation, and teams relegated cannot be promoted unless they've completed two seasons since their relegation.
• Players are no longer paid by MLB team, but by the MLBPA, which receives a set % of total MLB revenue.  The MLBPA can choose to play players by any metrics they choose, and each team is bound by limits (there would still be team control at the beginning of a player's career, and only so many individuals/contract years can be held by one team at a time)
• The rules change to make the game last 8 innings, and there are only 8 fielders and 8 hitters in the lineup.  Once all 8 spots have batted 4 times, that team no longer gets to bat, regardless of what inning it is (but they do get a bonus run for every inning they did not finish; for example, the team's 32nd PA ends with 2 outs in the 6th--that team gets 3 bonus runs for the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings.  Conversely, a team gets a bonus run for every PA under 32 that doesn't happen for the opponent; for example, a team gets through 8 innings and only faces 29 opposing hitters to get those 24 outs.  They get 3 bonus runs for the 30th, 31st, and 32nd hitters that did not appear.