What would you do to improve the game?

[SJ24]

I brainstormed this morning and came up with these 6 points so far:

1. Eliminate spring training and add games at the front end of the schedule so the regular season isn't going into October.

2. Eliminate the divisions. Top 8 teams from each league advance to the playoffs.

3. Make the All-Star Game an exhibition again. Home-field advantage in playoffs is determined by best regular season record.

4. Put the DH in the National League.

5. Attract an NL team back to Brooklyn and an AL team to Las Vegas, preferably in a stadium near The Strip.

6. Implement an international draft.

[Russ2dollas]

Change replay. You get 2 challenges per game. You have 30 seconds to throw your challenge. Ups have 5 min tops. If you win both you get a third.

Replay should be to fix things that are obvious, not nit pick.

I'd go robot umps for balls and strikes.

[50PoundHead]

(1) 26-man roster with 13 pitcher maximum.
(2) Home team option for DH.
(3) Do replay like the NFL. Have "booth" ump.

[sturg33]

1. Do away with divisions

2. Do away with inter-league play

3. Fix replay... manager must throw challenge before next pitch

4. Force relief pitchers to throw to two batters

5. Eliminate mound visits from coaches and players... a mound visit = pitcher is removed

6. Eliminate the DH... this isn't softball

[Preacher]

Far and away I put the DH in both leagues.

Pitchers hitting is the most useless thing in baseball.

[bravesfanMatt]

Allow the Braves to select 1 player from every organization. Each team can protect 10 guys within their organization.

That would improve the game in my opinion..

[weso1]

Do away with leadoffs and pickoffs.
No throwing pitches during IBB.
No more pitching coach visits to mound.
Catcher can only visit mound once per pitcher.
Relief pitcher must face three batters.
Pitcher must make a pitch by a certain time.
Shrink strike zone a bit.
No more mound visits. Manager indicates to homeplate ump that he wants pitching change.

In other words get rid of the most boring elements.

[DirkPiggler]

1. Fix the salary structure. Implement both a salary cap and a salary floor. The cap I propose would be a soft cap though. Homegrown players (players who spent at least one full season in your minor league system or who were drafted by your team and never played in another org) would not count against the cap. This would both put in a control on escalating salaries and would help keep players with the same team longer. The floor would prevent Jeffrey Loria and his ilk from going with 15 league minimum players and pocketing an unfair share of revenue. Cap would be set based on three year average of revenue, with the cap figure set 10% higher than the percentage of revenue players currently get, and the floor set 10% below it. Owners who violate the cap more than twice in ten years are forced to sell their team back to MLB at fair market value.

2. Give teams some protection against bad free agent deals. If a player finishes in the bottom 5% of baseball at his position in WAR (don't care which version - pick one and make it the standard) for consecutive years the team would have the right to buy out the player for 1/2 of any remaining money owed. The player would then be immediately eligible to sign with another team at whatever contract rate he could negotiate. Call it the Upton Rule (or Uggla Rule - either applies). As compensation to the union for this rule, significantly increase minimum salary for players on the active roster (start at $1 million).

3. Standardize the DH rules between AL and NL. Either do away with it altogether (my preference) or make it universal. If you do away with it, add an additional roster spot to placate the union.

4. Automate strike zone.

5. Sentence Sam Holbrook to life in prison without parole.

[Enscheff]

1. DH in the NL
2. Automated strike zone
3. Revamp the QO system: no penalty for signing FAs, teams losing FAs can offer a 1 year deal to get a late 2nd round pick or a 3 year deal to get a late 1st round pick
4. I would like to get rid of the 1 game WC play-in game somehow because it is insanely unfair to have a 95 win team bounced by an 85 win team in one game, but I also like the idea of 3 divisions per league. I think it's good for the game to have more teams fighting for playoff spots late in the season rather than half the league playing meaningless games in August/September, so 10 total playoff spots is a pretty good number. I don't really have a good solution to offer, unfortunately.

[Horsehide Harry]

1. Fix the salary structure. Implement both a salary cap and a salary floor. The cap I propose would be a soft cap though. Homegrown players (players who spent at least one full season in your minor league system or who were drafted by your team and never played in another org) would not count against the cap. This would both put in a control on escalating salaries and would help keep players with the same team longer. The floor would prevent Jeffrey Loria and his ilk from going with 15 league minimum players and pocketing an unfair share of revenue. Cap would be set based on three year average of revenue, with the cap figure set 10% higher than the percentage of revenue players currently get, and the floor set 10% below it. Owners who violate the cap more than twice in ten years are forced to sell their team back to MLB at fair market value.

2. Give teams some protection against bad free agent deals. If a player finishes in the bottom 5% of baseball at his position in WAR (don't care which version - pick one and make it the standard) for consecutive years the team would have the right to buy out the player for 1/2 of any remaining money owed. The player would then be immediately eligible to sign with another team at whatever contract rate he could negotiate. Call it the Upton Rule (or Uggla Rule - either applies). As compensation to the union for this rule, significantly increase minimum salary for players on the active roster (start at $1 million).

3. Standardize the DH rules between AL and NL. Either do away with it altogether (my preference) or make it universal. If you do away with it, add an additional roster spot to placate the union.

4. Automate strike zone.

5. Sentence Sam Holbrook to life in prison without parole.

Can't agree with any of this except maybe 3 and 5.

[Horsehide Harry]

1. Eliminate the home field advantage aspect of the All-Star game. It's an exhibition, nothing more.

2. Eliminate ALL drafts. ALL talent that has never signed a professional contract is FA and can sign anywhere. The kicker is that ML clubs can ONLY protect 40 total, including ALL minor leaguers. Teams would sign their players that aren't on the 40 man each year. Players couldn't be signed by another club unless the controlling team terminates their contract, doesn't renew or takes them off the 40 man without some type of injury or other justification. Players have 5 years of minor league control if they are on the 40 man before reaching the ML then they would have 4 years to FA. Eliminate arbitration. Teams could trade talent from their system at any time as long as the players are under contract.

3. Eliminate the trade deadlines.

4. Keep the 3 Divisions per league and the two WC. But, make the WC teams play best of three to be played on three consecutive days with the team with the best record having WC HFA. After that the WC winner plays the team with the best record in the league (best of 7), the other division winners play. Then best of 7, then WS.

5. Raise the active roster to 28. Tell them to quit whining about the 162.

6. Eliminate the competitive balance draft and other BS. Small market teams get an equal share of national marketing revenue, TV, etc. even though they had less to do with it already. Small market owners knew they were buying a small market team when they bought them so whining after the fact doesn't fly.

7. Mandate that all clubs have to pay at least 1/2 the costs to build new stadiums but also put in place minimum standards allowable for stadiums.

[SJ24]

No throwing pitches during IBB.
No more mound visits. Manager indicates to homeplate ump that he wants pitching change.

I can get behind these good ideas I quoted.

I am just so hesitant to interfere with the freedom baseball provides (how many batters a pitcher faces, how many times a catcher can visit the mound, etc.)

[Enscheff]

4. Keep the 3 Divisions per league and the two WC. But, make the WC teams play best of three to be played on three consecutive days with the team with the best record having WC HFA. After that the WC winner plays the team with the best record in the league (best of 7), the other division winners play. Then best of 7, then WS.

This is a pretty solid solution. What if they made the last 2 games a double header, so the whole 3 game series only took 2 days?

[DirkPiggler]

Can't agree with any of this except maybe 3 and 5.

You must be a union worker or sympathizer.

I admit I'm coming more from the perspective of the ownership rather than labor, although I do think the concessions I suggested were fair.

The NFL goes to far in being able to cut players at will in spite of contracts. MLB goes to far the other way - there are way too many players who get paid too much for being absolute crap on the field. Of all the things I posted (which are pie in the sky, I know), #2 is the one that would do the most to improve the game. MLB is pretty much the only industry on earth where you can be paid your full salary to be a detriment to your organization. Even in coaching you rarely see fired coaches get the full amount of their remaining pay. There is almost always a buyout that is lower than the contracted amount.

I have nothing against players being paid fair market value, no matter how high that salary might be. The game would be better if the players earning that kind money were the ones who truly deserved it.

[SJ24]

1. Eliminate the home field advantage aspect of the All-Star game. It's an exhibition, nothing more.

2. Eliminate ALL drafts. ALL talent that has never signed a professional contract is FA and can sign anywhere. The kicker is that ML clubs can ONLY protect 40 total, including ALL minor leaguers. Teams would sign their players that aren't on the 40 man each year. Players couldn't be signed by another club unless the controlling team terminates their contract, doesn't renew or takes them off the 40 man without some type of injury or other justification. Players have 5 years of minor league control if they are on the 40 man before reaching the ML then they would have 4 years to FA. Eliminate arbitration. Teams could trade talent from their system at any time as long as the players are under contract.

3. Eliminate the trade deadlines.

4. Keep the 3 Divisions per league and the two WC. But, make the WC teams play best of three to be played on three consecutive days with the team with the best record having WC HFA. After that the WC winner plays the team with the best record in the league (best of 7), the other division winners play. Then best of 7, then WS.

5. Raise the active roster to 28. Tell them to quit whining about the 162.

6. Eliminate the competitive balance draft and other BS. Small market teams get an equal share of national marketing revenue, TV, etc. even though they had less to do with it already. Small market owners knew they were buying a small market team when they bought them so whining after the fact doesn't fly.

7. Mandate that all clubs have to pay at least 1/2 the costs to build new stadiums but also put in place minimum standards allowable for stadiums.

1. Agreed. Wipe the game clean of any and all Bud Selig remnants.

2. Probably the most interesting idea I've encountered yet. Drafts are pretty antithetical to American values, I will admit.

3. Disagree. I like the deadline because it gives us a big week of newsworthy items and it makes it tougher for teams to decide to buy or sell.

4. Disagree. I am anti-division.

5. I would have no issue with it. Heck, just raise the active roster to 40 for the entire year.

6. Agree.

Don't agree with 7. If a city wants to pay for a new stadium, they should be able to.

[VirginiaBrave]

1 Do away with the DH altogether. There is no reasons why pitchers should not be able to hit. The cauddling of pitchers has to stop. Its getting almost to the point that it gives fuel to the argument you can't call then athletes as they only do one thing.

2 Get rid of interleague play, Put special back in the WS. Find a team willing to jump leagues to make it work.

3. Put three DH's on every teams schedule. One game and done is stupid. Make first round 3 of 5.

[Bravesfannchar]

1) Definitely implement a salary cap and floor... That's one of my biggest problems with the game... That way, when some moron signs an atrocious TV deal, it won't matter as much...

2) Also, only allow ump at home call safe and out calls... Find away to use best available technology for an umpire in the box to use and call balls/strikes...

[Millwood1Hitter]

1) Go to 4 divisions and 4 wildcards....wildcards are based on total win-loss record and not division

2) Balanced scheduling within a division. Yes this will cause some recourse based on the changes in 1 as some might have it tougher than others depending on divisions but life is not fair. One interdivisional set of interleague series mid season. For instance, all NL East teams get a matchup with all AL East teams.

3) No off days in postseason series with the exception of the first travel day. The problem with the Braves during their run is they often had the best team and best overall rotation, but off days allowed teams that had 1 or 2 pitchers that we're aces and could carry a club in October because of the off days. There's no getting around this totally, as some series may go longer than other's and those teams that win their series first will get more rest, but essentially they get a reward for finishing the deal early and it also allows more incentive to have a better overall record in the regular season to get a better matchup.

4) Implement a salary structure for players. Basically no hard cap or floor for teams, with some penalties including draft picks and luxury taxes for those that exceed or fail to meet those rules. Depending on total revenue based off of all teams, players maximum salaries are set according to %'s of revenue. Team that drafts or develops (calls-up player) gets 6 years of service time, and if that player reaches free agency, that team retains it's bird rights or franchise rights and has the ability to offer player more money than any other team can all the while not counting against the salary cap. Essentially this allows teams to be able to keep their homegrown talent, especially if they develop a lot of homegrown talent. This would promote teams to be more diligent in scouting and developing instead of focusing on free agency or outlandish spending to sway the trade markets. For instance a team like the Braves in the 90's could have retained Smoltz, Glavine, Chipper and sign them to max deals without going against the cap. Others like Javy or Klesko could have been signed to deals without counting against the cap. Also the Braves could have signed Heyward for more money than anyone could have on the open market once he hit free agency.

5) Ban Chip Carey

[VirginiaBrave]

One other point get rid of replay. No point in having it. NY doesn't have the ***** to call the plays correctly.

[Horsehide Harry]

This is a pretty solid solution. What if they made the last 2 games a double header, so the whole 3 game series only took 2 days?

I could get behind that. I just think the WC teams should have a much tougher road that they have now.