OT - What's Wrong With Baseball? Could the Game Be Improved?
 

This one is easy for me. All stadiums are to be indoor, no more of this playing baseball outside BS.

I live out in the middle of nowhere. I used to make the 600 mile round trip several times a year to go to games in Minneapolis. Yes the Twins suck but it is by far the closest place to watch games. When they built that insanely stupid outside stadium I quit watching and going to games.

This year is the first time I have enjoyed watching games again so I figured I would go see the Yankees play the Twins recently. It took about 10 minutes to remember why I hated outside stadiums. It was hot, humid and miserable out. The Dome was old but there was going to be a game and it was going to be 70 degrees and beautiful. I am sure many players would agree with me.

Games just take too long. Make the game 7 innings.

I love movies too, but wont go see a movie that is three and a half hours long.

Batters are not allowed to leave the box once they have entered.

5 seconds of dead time is set for batter/coach and pitcher/catcher to relay signs and then play is on. Pitcher then has 5-10 seconds to pitch, pitch out or other.

Each team gets 3 pitchers per 9 innings. 1 additional pitcher for 2 extra innings.

Pete Rose is banned for life and banned for life a second time in case of reincarnation or resurrection.

For the game of baseball...

Bring back collisions and intentional walks.

For the fans...

No cell phone usage during play.

I would reduce the number of teams. This should weed out lesser talent, and increase the level of play, making the game more enjoyable.

Real simple fix to the time of games! Call strikes as they are in the book, if you cant, get some one who can? We have replay for most bad calls, now! Need the strike zone called !

This actually IS a rule...it just never gets enforced! :)

Games take too long now, especially when there are so many calls to the bullpen being made.

To help speed up the pace, they should eliminate the reliever from taking the 8 or so warmup pitches he throws before he faces the batter. Isn't the 5 to 10 minutes he was throwing in the bullpen beforehand enough of a warmup? :confused:

The game has changed for sure, but I still love it just the same.

I remember being a kid in the early 80s and having the old timers tell me how bad the game was now compared to the good old days.

I am sure kids now will do the same when they grow up.

Limit the game day roster to 25.
 

The expansion of the rosters in September is a joke. Limit the number of eligible players each day to 25. Enough of the 40 eligible players. I'm tired of seeing games with 20 total pitchers appearing.

Solution: each manager must submit his 25 player lineup card (out of the expanded rostered players) at the start of the game. Only those 25 are eligible for that game. This will still allow for deeper benches and bullpens since the 4 idle starting pitchers will obviously not be on the card. And resting or dinged players can take a day off and have their spot filled as well.

Pitchers will argue the mounds are different and they need to take a few pitches to get it to their liking.

I second the idea of shooting the designated hitter
 

Shoot the DH's. It will never happen but I'd endorse it.

Alternatively, switch when the DH is used in interleague games. Use the DH in NL parks and make the pitcher swing in AL Stadiums. Let the fans see the other style of play in person.

One small, but not insignificant rule change: All base runners score on a Ground Rule Double. I'm sick of the offense getting screwed, by having to send the runner originally on first base back to third!

For the love of freakin' God, when a pitched ball hits the ground on the way to the plate, leave it in the game. Throw it back to the pitcher and keep using it!!!! Do not immediately take the ball out of play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It hasn't been cut in half. It's not dented. It doesn't suddenly have a killer virus on it. It simply has a speck of dirt on it. That's it. What the hell is wrong with the MLB????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

No domes. Open-air ballparks only.
No artificial turf. Real grass only.
No tediously long commercial breaks. One minute maximum between each half-inning except the 7th.
No Major League teams in Florida or Arizona. Those states are for spring training. Support your minor-league team.
No view-obscuring netting around the whole damn ballpark. Get off the cellphone and pay attention to the game.
No DHs. Pitchers learn to hit or get pulled for a PH. Nobody pitches more than three innings at time now anyways.
No extended warm-ups for relief pitchers. Three-pitch warm-up limit after entering game from bullpen.
No yard-wide strike zone. If it ain't over the plate it ain't a strike.
No pajama pants. Sanis and stirrups for everybody.
No gloves bigger than a bushel basket. Ten-inch limit on all gloves and mitts.
No Duck Dynasty beards, no billygoat beardlets, no Wall Street yuppie stubble. Moustaches and sideburns of any size or style okay.
No bat-flipping. Flip a bat after getting a hit and an opponent is allowed to throw a bat at you from ten feet away.
No sushi, champagne, kale, calamari, wine coolers, or any of that trendy crap at the concessions.
Hot dogs, burgers, pizza, beef on weck, nachos, popcorn, pretzels, beer, and cola only, all priced reasonably.

----------------------------------------

Upon further review (one day later):
Forgot to add three things to our original post -- "No regular-season interleague play," as many others have since said;
and "No extra charge for scorecard and pencil -- both are freebies with purchase of reasonably-priced game programme;"
and we left "Ice cream" off our list of of acceptable concession items, preferably the flavourless little styrofoam-pellet ice cream
served in those little plastic collectible souvenir batting helmets.

Give them 3 pitches. No warm up pitches between innings. Limit time between pitches. No stopping the game to go to mound for players or manager. Manager hits button to change pitchers. Limit number of pitching changes (soccer has limited substitutions, why not baseball?). No throwing the ball around infield after outs. Limit commercial time between innings. There is a 12 second rule between pitches, enforce it. If the pitcher doesn't release the ball in 12 seconds, it's a ball. If the batter isn't in the box, it's a strike. Baseball games used to be under 2 hours, now over 3 hours. They need to speed up play so most games are done in 2 hours.

Get rid of all the noise added to entertain the fans. Used to be you could go to a game with a friend and talk baseball while you watched. Last time I went to Yankee Stadium it was so loud I couldn't hear my friend at all, and at some point just gave up trying to have a conversation.

If the powers that be think that the game itself isn't interesting enough, then something is clearly wrong.

During all even numbered innings batters will run the bases in a clockwise direction, thus negating the current advantage that left handed hitters have being closer to first base. :)

- Make interleague games Spring Training only.
- Eliminate lefty/righty specialists that come in to face one batter.
- ENFORCE the rule that keeps batters in the box
- No more "alternate jerseys." Home whites, road grays only.

I think Butch and Barry hit on all the best points! I would also drop inter-league play, there is just not as much excitement heading into the World Series.

I also love college football but the electronic noise at games drives me crazy! The SEC even has a rule that now prohibits or limits the visiting school from bringing their bands!!! Of course I would also lobby for an addition to football rosters in the programs where they add the players arrest record.

Back to baseball I would also ban anyone from collecting cards or memorabilia that do not know the history of the game or simply collect for investment. Just my two cents.

Now I have to finish getting ready to head to Little Rock for today's SABR meeting.

That would be my first move too. Less teams, better pitching...thus taking care of the length of games,

Off To A Good Start
 

I sort of thought I wasn't alone with ideas to improve the game and appreciate all the suggestions. One topic that hasn't been addressed directly though is the increasing number of strikeouts and the apparent increase in non-PED home runs.

The strike out issue is largely due to the nine man bullpen of 100MPH relievers who can no longer pitch more than one inning.

The home run issue may be related as well to pitch speed, as the 500 foot fungo is as yet unheard of (I think).

Both the strike out and the home run render the fielders superfluous, which raises several possible rule changes.

1. Increase the weight of the ball, which would slow down the pitching, decrease the strikeouts and the home runs. Not sure how much weight to add, but taken to the extreme I can't envision a bowling ball leaving the infield, let alone clearing the fence.

As a corollary I would add decreasing the weight of the ball, which would have the same effect as in Wiffle Ball.

2. Alternatively make the strike out a strategic decision. Every inning or half inning if you will. If a batter strikes out, the team in the field must remove one fielder for the remainder of the inning. Two strike outs and two fielders must sit. And a three strikeout inning would result in the reduction of a fielder for the remainder of the game. (Rules similar to the penalty box and game misconduct in hockey.)

I would like to add the unbalanced schedule.

I think Little League is more "pure" than MLB. Enough 25 man rosters. You get 15. Thats right, it means your pitchers are also positional players and batters.

Pitchers must face at Least 6 batters except for the case of injury. If a picther leaves early because of injury and doesnt face 6 batters, automatic 10 day DL

1. Get rid of DH
2. AL & NL will play by the same rules
3. No more inter league play. The only time the AL will play the NL is during the All Star games and the World Series.
4. Players can not wear earrings or gold chains during a game.
5. Any player who gets hit by a pitch cannot charge the mound. Take it like a man.
6. Place a cap on salaries.

Expand the DH to the national league!

Some interesting ideas gentlemen, but a lot of them are not going to happen with Player and Umpire unions involved. I mean, can you imagine the argument over player service time and whether or not being on the 40 man roster vs being on a 25 man eligible to play in a game roster counted towards free agency?
Bud Selig tried a few things, some worked and some did not. Having the all star game winning team have home field advantage during the WS did not, but having the wildcard, in my mind, made for a much more exciting pennant race especially this year when a couple of division races are all but done.
With all that said, the game is just too long these days, and people don't have the time or patience to watch the whole thing. Limit the amount of times a batter can leave the box, limit the time between pitches, and limit the amount of throws to each base by the pitcher...maybe 3 over to first. That would make it more strategic rather than boring.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH BASEBALL

Most of what I will said has already been said:

1.) Reduce the number of teams - start with the Florida teams.
(the state of Florida should go back to spring training only)
...as others have already stated, reducing the number of teams will also solve the 'too many pitchers pitching' issue and there bye remove the very worst hurlers from the bigs - plus, by not having so many pitchers available, there will be far less pitching changes...which, IMHO, is the biggest thing dragging out game times.

2.) Get rid of interleague games if for no other reason than what it does to certain statistics: For example, is the American League Batting Champion legit if he hits .400 in interleague games while the second place batter hits only .200? Box scores showing a players home run total or a pitchers win-loss record is separated if the player is traded from one league to another, but the same adjustment isn't made for interleague games they may have played.

By getting rid of the interleague games, the 'purity' will return of whatever world series matchup results -IE you won't have two teams who have faced each other for home-and-home series already. It used to be fun to try to figure out how different teams would do against each other.

3.) For the playoffs, never again have a one-game play-in. Teams in each league should be seeded according to overall Win-Loss record. Additionally, the team with the best overall record should host the World Series. This will make the long schedule carry weight again...and every game will again be important.

4.) Suspensions for failed drug test should START with a full season suspension.

5.) Instead of reducing the number of games from 162 to whatever, start having at least one double-header per team per week. That will allow for more off days...and we won't have to worry about the 'Popovich Effect' coming to Baseball.

6.) Chewing tobacco needs to be banned from the Big Leagues - Call it The Tony Gwynn Initiative.

I agree and forgot to mention in my post that I HATE interleague play. A WS with two teams that have already met during the season is just wrong.

I agree with this 100%. How much time is being spent (a) throwing balls to the dugouts (rather than back to the pitcher); (b) the umpire signaling for more baseballs; (c) the bat boy running out to the umpire; (d) the umpire giving the ball to the catcher to throw out to the pitcher; (e) pitcher rubs the new ball; etc. When I was a kid we used the same ball for multiple seasons. Does anyone know how many baseballs are used by all 30 teams in a single season?

1.26 million, that includes batting/fielding practice and games. That is the estimate I found.

+1 At least MLB hasn't gone as far as the NBA with allowing artificial noise to be pumped in during play...yet.

+1

Ben, that's only 42,000 balls per team. Are you sure?

Hell, today the balls are replaced before the "spit" dries.

Ironically 25 man rosters are compromising, since the introduction of the 8-9 man bullpen of one inning (one batter) pitchers. Rarely is a bench player available in extra inning games as a result.

Eliminate commercial breaks when a pitching change occurs during an inning. If the manager walks out of the dugout and signals, the pitcher can jog in within less than 15 seconds. I can throw 8 warm up pitches (to get used to the mound) in less than 30 seconds. 45 seconds should be enough time. Next time you are at a game, watch how much time gets killed by the pitcher waiting for the commercial break to end after a pitching change. These pitching change commercials run about 1 min 50 sec each. Eliminate five during the inning pitching change commercials in a single game and that would save 5 or so extra minutes per game.

Obviously the lost revenue would be a concern for MLB/the teams. Easy, on air announcers already promote products/services during the telecast (for a cost), let that occur during pitching changes. Also, on mlb.tv, on most of my devices, there is no commercial playing(some devices there are though)....why not sell more commercial time on mlb.tv to compensate for the "lost" revenue from not showing commercials during pitching changes.

Of course, if both pitchers are throwing great games or all of the pitching changes occur between innings, there is no revenue from this commercial time anyway. Then again, games with few if any pitching changes are the quick games.

The NUMBER ONE easiest way to make an afternoon watching baseball more enjoyable?
Turn the channel to hockey. :D

Ok, you go to games in the new "wussy fans and teams" league, and I'll keep going to Fenway in the also new "weather? who cares" league. OUR world series will be against the winner of the "it's a nice day to play two" league hopefully against Chicago. ;) :D

We might even move our league to play in months with snow or sleet and see if we can't give the NFL some competition for winter TV money.


Steve B

Make all outfield fences 600 feet from home plate. That would make all hitters earn their hits. You'd see some amazing catches too. For those that have to see home runs go over fences, create a parallel home run derby league.

Make the players run in all of their extra protection gear. If you can't run in it don't wear it.

Get rid of the new colision at home plate rule and go back to what it was.

Get rid of interleague play. Watching mets vs seattle isnt just boarimg but it means nothing.

Go back to how the ball was made a few years ago. This new ball isnt good for anyone. Having everyone hitting 20 or more hr is silly.

The 10day dl is dumb, 14 day dl is better. Makes a team think more before putting a player on it

If interleague is kept- i like what another poster said about dh. Having a dh in nl parks and pitchers hit in al ones.

All star game voting must change. Me being able to vote 30x for a player on line for each ip address i have is crazy.

Allow only 2 relievers and starting pitchers must pitch at least 6 innings. What happened to the days when Nolan Ryan or Mike Scott would pitch all 9 innings and then start again 3 days later?

Keep the replay but stop the open communication to your own replay booth. If the managers, coaches and players on the field can't decide to ask for a replay...then you don't need a replay.

1. Go back to a 154 game schedule.

2. Limit mound visits by catchers, pitching coaches, and managers, and reduce the number of warm up pitches by a reliever to one. (Why does the manager need to go to the mound for a pitching change? Save it for Little League.)

4. To reduce strikeouts, change the definition of a check swing back to the 60's when a batter had much more leeway. (Watch an old game on you tube and you'll see the difference.)

5. Remove pitch counts from the graphics presented on TV, and fine any announcer who mentions the specific number of pitches thrown by a pitcher. (The obsession with pitch counts borders on the insane.)

6. No female announcers. (Oh my god, what a bigot! :D)

7. Make every fan who wants indoor baseball attend a game at Fenway Park.

8. Somehow better reward the team with the best record in each league when it comes time for the playoffs - more home games or a bye for an entire round - something more substantial. I want it extremely difficult for a wild card team to win the World Series.

Homeruns!!! We need more homeruns!! Shorten the fences to 300ft at all parks so we get more Homeruns! Every at bat should be a homerun or strikeout, I think we are all tired if those pesky singles!
Why not more Jerry Jones style Jumbotrons? Suspend them right over 2nd base so we can see the advertisments a little more clearly! Baseball needs more advertisers for a capital infusion, players are just not making enough money so they are not really trying to hit homeruns!
Hell, if a player hits the Dennys Jumbotron, HOMERUN!

As one of those wussies that would love to see all stadiums become indoor, attending a game at Fenway Park is on my bucket list. Sitting on the green monster is a dream seat to me.:)

The problem with this is that it would take many records out of context. My counterproposal, if we're really worried about it is to make the count of two strikes and three balls the standard. While strikeouts as a historical measure would become less relevant, the 3000 strikeout plateau is no longer hallowed ground.

1. Start the season on Memorial day, start the playoffs Labor day.
2. Terminate the DH with extreme prejudice.
3. One "timeout" per team per inning.
4. Make the batter stay in the box once entered unless contact is made with the
ball, make the pitcher stay on the mound until the batter makes contact with ball.

................................
 

No commercial interruptions for any televised game (which is most these days). Play it like soccer, you put a sponsor logo in the corner of the screen and move on, you never break away from the action. "The first inning is being brought to you by snickers"....etc, etc....... just my 2 (worthless) cents. Im not in a hurry to get the game over, i just dont want the game being delayed by commercials. PS, i absolutely detest any and all commercials pertaining to any TV viewing.

No divisions, just two leagues, top 6 teams make the playoffs

No interleague play

154 game schedule (each team plays every other team in league 11 times)


Three game tie-breaker series if tie for last spot

Seven game series. 1-6; 2-5, 3-4

Seven game series. Winner of 2-5 vs winner of 3-4

That winner plays winner of 1-6 in seven game series

That winner plays other league winner in NINE game series


Bye, bye DH

Return of 4 pitch intentional walk

#1. to make the games faster, I would limit the roster to 22 players. This means starters would try to go 9, which means FEWER pitching changes and more incentive to pitch to contact.

#2. re-establish NL and AL umpire crews. Give the leagues some character and dignity.

#3. of course, no DH. Maybe on Tuesdays bw AL teams.

#4. Because the rosters have been trimmed, the players union will go crazy. Ergo we will need to add 2 new teams to compensate for cutting the number of players. They would be in Mexico City and somewhere else.

#5. world series games begin 5 p.m. eastern on weekends and at least once at 5 pm during the week.

Some good points here-within...don't get me wrong. But, every time I see this thread title, I say in my head...I did't know anything was wrong with Baseball.

People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come...

I consider this a valid point. Perhaps

"How would you improve the game of baseball?"

would have been a better choice.;)

Move the Tampa Bay Rays to Montreal, provided Montreal can build a better stadium than Tropicana Field.

As much as I am a capitalist I think there should be a cap on salaries. That would help a lot of things imo.... And the games are too long. Somehow they need to take less time to play. How about only 1-2 relief pitchers a game and no DH rule. Everyone bats, it's baseball. A good hitting pitcher would be a strategy too.

One small, but not insignificant rule change: All base runners score on a Ground Rule Double. I'm sick of the offense getting screwed, by having to send the runner originally on first base back to third!

Good idea. Seriously....

Games too long with bad pace. I would put a 14-second clock on the pitcher, that is, from the time the pitcher gets the ball back he has 14 seconds to start his windup and the batter has to be ready. I would limit visits to the mound by everyone total to two per game. And I would limit the number of pitchers a roster can have to 11 as having 12 and sometimes even 13 pitchers make for more pitching changes which slow down the game. I am tempted to say limit the pitchers to 10 per roster even, as pitching changes are way out of hand and pitchers are so babied that they cant ever pitch more than one inning.

I would get rid of revenue sharing, luxoury tax, etc, its time to stop penalizing success. Also i would find a way to reward the top ten teams in the game during the draft so that again they are not penalized year after year for being successful. Dynasties are good for all sports, it gives fans all over the country teams to love and teams to hate, but no matter whether they love or hate the dynasties it creates interest.

And no Pepsi allowed at games, Coca Cola only. This is of high importance for enjoyment!!!!

I'd love to see them do away with all of the extra padding/protection for the batter. I never thought it was fair to see Barry Bonds crowd the plate so much that he was almost standing on it.....with zero fear because he had plastic protection on his bicep, on his forearm, on his shin, etc.

Cheerleaders!

(They actually have them in S. Korean baseball.)

Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk

Perhaps this helps explain the popularity of beisbol in the Dominican Republic as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4zolhzKxHg

Dominican lurkers on this forum are no doubt perplexed by our concerns about the length of commercial breaks and the game itself.

That's like going to two shows for one! :D

This is an interesting idea.

My biggest problem with the game unfortunately is I assume any player having a stand out year is taking ped's. It sucks and hopefully over time if MLB stays on top of it, I'll begin to get over that.

Did anyone watch the "special limited commercial interruption" telecast of that Colorado-at-St Louis game a week or so ago?
Commercial breaks were linited to one minute between each half-inning. It actually didn't shorten gametime very much,
but oh, how much more satisfying was the pace and flow. Not exactly as much of an improvement as commercial-break-free
Olympic hockey, but a big improvement.
Seriously, have a few more pitching changes really added an hour or more to the length of a nine-inning game of years ago?
Prior to this 21st-century, did batters never step out to "adjust" themselves, did pitchers never step off the mound, did catchers
and managers never visit the mound for a chat?
We're pretty sure they've always done all those things, and the Roger Angell trope of the "ineluctible pastoral timelessness
of baseball" seemed to be a widely-shared ideal that would have repudiated the idea of putting a clock near the field
other than to tell us what time it was outside.
Is it just remotely possible that three-minute-plus commercial breaks every half-inning might be adding fifty minutes or more
to the time it takes to complete nine innings?

Contracts will now come with mutually agreed upon minimum figures. If a player fails to reach the minimum figures outlined in the contract, the team is able to either restructure the contract for the remaining time, or cut said player without financial penalty.

This way we'll get rid of bums like Arod, Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, etc. who are pariahs and impossible to trade.

Good grief. Only got through the first three pages before I'd had enough. What a bunch of grouchy old men. I'll bet nobody's allowed on your lawn, right? Not without getting an earful, at least.

I say those things with a slight grin on my face, 'cause at the ripe ol' age of 50, I'm prone to similar outbursts. I'm also pretty serious, too. It's a bit tiring hearing the older generation kavetch about things: "kids these days have NO RESPECT! They call that MUSIC?? Back in my day we had REAL music.

In my opinion, baseball's just fine the way it is. I hate the DH, but accept it. Bat flipping? Big deal. I like personalities in the game. I like people celebrating a great achievement. LOVED Jose Bautista's bat flip - he hit the 2nd biggest home run in the history of the franchise in a huge moment. Why the hell shouldn't he be pumped? Don't like the way the ump is calling pitches? So what - I'm sure that's been a complaint since the game was invented.

Baseball is a magical game, at least to me. Always has been. Yeah, little things sometimes bug me a little, but shaving a minute here or there (enforcing batters staying in the box, limiting warmup throws, etc) probably don't change much.

I'll tell you what really grinds my gears, though, and it has not a damn thing to do with the product on the field - fans booing the visiting pitcher when he throws to first to keep the runner close. STFU, all you blithering idiots! Oh, and GTFO my lawn!

I got one more rule. During the game they should draw a section number for the daily "Serves Him Right" promotion. Then during the game if someone makes an error or gets picked off, that player is on the hook for one free drink to everyone in that section.

With all of the talk about the DH, here's an idea. Give AL teams a limited number of games in which they can use the DH (pitchers have to bat in all of the other games) during the season. Say they get a total of 30 opportunities to utilize the position and it is up to the manager to decide which games the team is going to use the DH in (maybe these managers could be taught to not end sentences in prepositions :)). Do you save as many of these games as you can for the end of the year when (hopefully) it's crunch time and you have a shot at the playoffs, or do you employ the move when you face tough divisional rivals earlier in the year? Do you use it as a ploy to give your starting pitcher a 'rest' within the game? Perhaps the rule could be written where the home team gets to decide whether or not the opposing team can use the DH during each game of the series (so, in effect, you would generally play the DH only during your home games). Sort of a home field advantage. Would be a cool twist for strategic thinkers.

It's bad enough that the two leagues are not playing the same game with the DH rule.

Now you want two teams playing against each other not playing by the same rules. I think not.

On another subject from a different thread there is one positive change I would cite,

The elimination or reduction of

CONCRETE DONUTS

I would support a standard size for MLB fields.

The ridiculous porches at Yankee Stadium make me disavow the HR numbers compared to players in adult size stadiums.

In the obverse, Comerica Park here in Detroit is so stupidly huge that the ball can take a mileage deduction on it's taxes if someone goes yard. The fences are silly. There should be a happy median.

I'll never understand this line of reasoning. You ever heard anybody that sits behind home plate say "Man, I wish there was no net here because it just messes up the view"? Of course not. Because it doesn't. I watch 35 games a year from directly behind home and the net "isn't even there". No one even sees it 5 minutes after sitting down.

And the "get off the cellphone" thing? Seriously? As if no one ever got hit by a line drive before cellphones?

We see coaches get hit by line drives on occasion. We see players in the dugouts get hit on occasion. We see pitchers - who are farther away than some fans - hit all the time. It's simply not realistic, nor reasonable, to expect every single fan to have a laser-like focus for every single pitch of a 3-1/2 hour game so that they might see a baseball rocketing toward them at 110mph AND have time to process that and react to it.

Put me in the "netting all the way to the foul poles" crowd. It will have literally zero impact on fan enjoyment and may actually increase it. Believe me, it's nice to not worry that turning your head for half a second could cost you your life.

And if you think we shouldn't have netting because it impacts the view, then remove it behind home plate, too.

NL no hitters are not to be worth as much as AL no hitter

Getting 3 homers and a double is to be more celebrated than hitting for the cycle.

Closers dont belong into the HOF but for maybe Mariono Rivera

How would I change baseball if I were named all-powerful commissioner?

1) First thing I'd do? Give Armando Galarraga his perfect game. Unbelievable that this hasn't been corrected already.

2) Netting all the way to the foul poles (see above).

3) Visits to the mound by the catcher or other players count as an official visit. Pitcher must face at least 2 hitters (including current batter) after an official visit.

4) 4 tosses to 1st base per runner. After that, a throw over gets the runner awarded second base.

5) Pitchers get X number of seconds to enter a game, warm up, and throw their first pitch. Maybe 60. No strict warmup pitch limit. So guys who want more pitches can hustle to the mound faster.

6) Pitching changes from the dugout - no visits.

7) After the previous hitter is retired, the next hitter has 10 seconds to be in the box ready to hit. This is one of the biggest changes over the last several decades. Used to be guys were sitting there waiting to hit while the infield went "around the horn" after a groundout. Now there's a big delay all the time.

8) All pitchers must face at least 2 hitters when brought into the game. I'm flexible on this - could be 3 hitters or some other number.

9) Pitch clock displayed in the ballpark and strictly enforced. First couple times, a ball/strike is awarded. 3rd time, player is ejected.

10) 20-game suspensions for any player leaving his position during a brawl between two other players. 50 games for any player leaving the dugout/bullpen/on-deck. $2m fine for a team, per player, for anybody suspended under these rules.

11) Get rid of the DH.

12) If a batter swings and misses and loses control of his bat, he's automatically out.

13) Get rid of walk-up music for hitters and pitchers.

14) Go back to 2 divisions and ditch the wild card and 1-game play-in.

15) 150-game season.

That's a start.

I would have players have to stay with the same team for a long period of time.

Just scratching the surface, eh?, Chris

I like the netting behind home plate. I personally would never set there again. Have tried it a couple times and looking through the net give me a headache.

Just scratching the surface, eh?, Chris

Man, I do love baseball. I have no problem with most of the developments in the game over the years. I think 75 million tickets sold are a pretty good indication that MLB is doing all right.

That said, I'd be happy to see the following:

-Eliminate instant replay
-Bring back intentional walks
-Bring back the neighborhood play
-Bring back blocking home plate
-Stop trying to shorten the game. It has no clock, it's beautiful.
-Anyone who discusses placing an automatic baserunner on second to begin each inning after the 9th will be automatically fired
-More doubleheaders in exchange for adding one roster spot
-Get rid of single-game playoffs except in the event of a tie in the standings
-Kids get to run the bases at the end of each game
-Players sign autographs for kids before batting practice

That's about all I'd change. Nothing fundamental to the game.

-Al