The Problems with Baseball- Contest entry

**andrewhoya** · 08-19-2011, 01:29 PM

Disclaimer: Some of my views may seem crazy and I guarantee I will have views that you do not agree with. We all have opinions on topics. I will respect your opinion and ask that you do the same in return.

I love baseball. Watching, playing, coaching, cards, anything that has the word “baseball” in it. However, there are countless problems, whether small or large, that burden the game. For the sake of time, I am not going to go into every problem that I have with the MLB. But I may write a Volume 2 .

1. The Designated Hitter

Possibly the worst rule in baseball is the designated hitter rule. I am glad that it is only in the AL, however it would be much better if they removed it. I recently started a thread about this on the forum, and the poll on whether to keep it or not was pretty much even. Then came the perfect post by Stl_Cardinals_ Fan:
“You guys are missing the simplest point of all. For those of you defending the DH, do you believe the NL should adopt it?

The simple fact is, for those who want to keep it as it is...what makes you think that your AL pitchers deserve to be exempt from batting while NL pitchers have to do it? It's quite simple. For those who want to leave it the way it is, answer that. What makes your pitchers so much better than the NL pitchers that they shouldn't have to swing the bat like EVERYONE ELSE on the team.

I realize that if the DH goes away some guys who have no talent on the field (Ortiz comes to mind) but can still swing would be out of a job, but honestly if you can't field the ball you shouldn't be on the team. Every baseball player should be capable of doing basic baseball fundamentals:

1 - Field the ball. If you can't field the ball, you shouldn't be on the team. There's a reason players who make 30 errors a season don't stick around long - especially in the NL - if you can't defend, you don't play. Baseball, as has been said, is offense and defense and you have to be able to contribute to both. There's no "designated thrower" who only goes out to play defense and then sits when it's his turn in the lineup. Everyone has to do everything. Though I suppose AL pitchers are sorta like "DTs" in that sense but they aren't just put on the field to defend...

2 - Run. You have to be able to run. This goes along with fielding the ball. To whoever said pitchers aren't supposed to run...are they supposed to stand on the mound and make no move to the ball? What about to cover first? Or back up Home on a wild pitch. If the pitcher is capable of running to and fro then he can run on the basepaths (assuming he even gets a hit).

3 - Hitting. Again, everyone has to do it, so why not the pitcher too? There are many pitchers who are very good hitters: Zambrano, Wainwright, Owings, Marquis, just to name a few. Again, you don't pay someone just to field a ball, so why pay someone just to try and hit. Pitchers are quite capable hitters and many are even turned into slugging position players (Jack Clark and Rick Ankiel both come to mind) so it's obvious that the notion "pitchers aren't born to hit" is wrong...

For those of you arguing "oh well, it's too dangerous to put a pitcher in the path of a ball where he might get hurt and wreck his career." Guess what, pitchers have the same odds of being hit as any other player on the team, and any other player's career on the team is just as important. Are you saying Albert Pujols or A-Rod's careers are less important than say Chris Carpenter or Cliff Lee because they don't pitch. I think you'd lose an argument on that one...

And everyone seems to be forgetting that the DH wasn't even invented until 1973...it seems to me that all the great pitchers (Bob Gibson, Hoyt Wilhelm, Dizzy Dean, Babe Ruth, etc...) had no problems hitting for themselves. They also had no trouble going the distance. Pitchers now a days are so soft that people feel they need to be protected with "pitch counts" and "designated hitters"...why I guarantee you if you tried to take Bob Gibson out after he hit say 90 pitches he'd push you back into the dugout...and I guarantee you if you had brought up the notion back in the 50s to let the pitchers avoid hitting, you'd have been laughed at.

It's simple. Everyone on the team is held to the same rules of conduct because they're all playing the same game...they should have to hit the ball just like the rest of their teammates.”

Wow. You can’t argue anything there. In fact, a previous member who posted who was in favor of the DH replied with “…great points in your post and hard to argue with.”

One of the main problems that people had with the NL is boredom of seeing a sacrifice be laid down by pitchers. It’s part of the game. Even WITH the DH, bunts are laid down. Pitchers aren’t the only ones to bunt. Bunts are strategy, just like double switches, hit-and-runs, and more. Are those boring, too?

People were also worried about pitchers getting hurt batting or running. Stl_Cardinals_Fan laid down everything about running. As for batting, if you aren’t fit enough to swing a bat, you shouldn’t be pitching. Anyways, pitchers get hurt more on the mound than batting (http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=18159983)
Pitchers should have to hit. It needs to be part of the game.

2. Salaries

Salaries are a killer in my mind. Do they really need to be making $20 million a year? Not at all. They don’t even have one of the toughest jobs on earth and yet they make more in one year than most Americans do in a lifetime. Granted, many players donate a chunk of their salary, but many do not. I have this problem with every sport, not just baseball. What is the point of having millions of dollars just sitting in the bank? You don’t need it.

3. Instant Replay

Replay is needed for foul balls and safe/out calls. It just is. People complain all of the time about missed calls, yet they complain about the threat of replay in baseball. Kind of contradicting yourself, aren’t you? For those who say it will make the game too long, no it won’t. There are plenty of ways to reduce gametime, whether it is getting the players to hustle on/off the field (like they do in little league!), not adjusting batting gloves every two seconds, glaring at the batter before you pitch it (Jonathan Papelbon), and relievers not throwing 10 pitches on the mound after they already warmed up in the bullpen. Fans want the correct calls made- so why not add what every other sport already has?

4. Suspensions that fit the crime

Suspensions are all over the place, and some players seem like they are always let off easy. A player gets the same suspension for touching an umpire as a guy who starts a brawl? C’mon now. It seems like the suspension workers pick a number out of a hat, and that is the number of games a player will get suspended for. Which brings me to another problem.

5. Appeals

Really? This actually may be the worst rule, close to the DH. Appeals need to go. Now. You did the crime, do the time. I hate how players automatically appeal and get a game or two off. Just accept the darn penalty!! You deserved it! Well, most of them at least.

6. Eliminate divisions, expand playoffs

I hate divisions. There really is no point of them. If 3 teams in a division are better than a division leader, why should one be shorted? Also, the more teams in the playoffs=more fans that are happy, as well as more money for the teams and MLB.

7. Egos

Enough said. Kids look up to these guys.

I could go on and on, but these are the seven major problems in baseball.