Kolek planning to go pro
Is there a league that hates its own sport more than MLB?
They are doing it mid-season for one basic reason. The CBA. They want the union fighting amongst themselves. The NBA and NFL market their stars. MLB has never done that.
They've always been that way, but Manfred makes it so much worse. I don't think he's ever said or done anything that makes it look like he loves the game.
I'm always mildly amused by how much everyone seems to HATE Manfred. And here we have him ascending to some special tier of awful commissioners as though everyone doesn't loathe Goodell, to say nothing of Bettman. I'm pretty sure the entire nation of Canada pooled their maple syrup to put out a hit on Bettman during the work stoppage.
Depends on the "cheating". What most of them are complaining about is removing of EVERYTHING sans rosin.Technically everything beyond that was "cheating" by definition but no one even the hitters considered mixing in things like sunscreen as bad. It's all about the advanced enhancers like Spider Track. But MLB decided to just go over the top.Even the hitters want guys to have a solid grip, safer for everyone involved.
The rules ban the application of any substance to the ball. So, applying any substance to the ball is cheating. Not "technically cheating" ... just cheating. I sympathize with the pitchers in that MLB is going to strictly enforce this with virtually no warning and after taking a lax approach for years and years. But the actual rule is black and white.
So, it’s another “unwritten rule” of baseball?
No, it's an actual written rule.https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/atcjzj9j7wrgvsm8wnjq.pdf(c) Pitching ProhibitionsThe pitcher shall not:(1) While in the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher’s plate, touch the ball after touching his mouth or lips, or touch his mouth or lips while he is in contact with the pitcher’s plate. The pitcher must clearly wipe the fingers of his pitching hand dry before touching the ball or the pitcher’s plate.EXCEPTION: Provided it is agreed to by both managers, the umpire prior to the start of a game played in cold weather, may permit the pitcher to blow on his handPENALTY: For violation of this part of this rule the umpires shall immediately remove the ball from play and issue a warning to the pitcher. Any subsequent violation shall be called a ball. However, if the pitch is made and a batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a hit batsman or otherwise, and no other runner is put out before advancing at least one base, the play shall proceed without reference to the violation. Repeat offenders shall be subject to a fine by the Office of the Commissioner.(2) expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove;(3) rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing;(4) apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball(5) deface the ball in any manner; or(6) deliver a ball altered in a manner prescribed by Rule 6.02(c)(2) through (5) or what is called the “shine” ball, “spit” ball, “mud” ball or “emery” ball. The pitcher is allowed to rub the ball between his bare hands.(7)Have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance.
So, the “unwritten rule” is to ignore the written rule, like sign stealing, throwing at a batter, hollowing out your bat, center field videographers.
It seems like Manfred would love to be the commissioner of baseball if it werent for that whole baseball thing.
Again, like how? I just don't understand this statement.
Just off the top of my head, ….. calling the World Series trophy a hunk of metal is showing about as much disdain for MLB as is humanly possible.
That's a bit much. It's certainly tone deaf, but "as much disdain for MLB as is humanly possible?" Apparently you have paid precious little attention to how humans usually show disdain.I'm not a Manfred stan by any stretch btw, and it fees odd sorta defending him here, but this is sort of what I was talking about. Abject HATE for the dude.
No respect for the ultimate trophy in the game. Talking about future World Series to be played at neutral sites. So no respect for the traditions or fans. Now, a team’s fans can attend WSGames. He would make it for rich, corporate types only.
He literally said fans are the reason he'd be opposed to neutral sites.The big weight on the scale in favor of our traditional format, the thing that really matters at the end of the day, are fans in home markets.https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2020/11/3/21546657/neutral-site-world-series-is-actually-a-negative-mlb-rob-manfredI think it would be a terrible idea, but I also don't believe the NFL has disdain for its fans for its neutral site Super Bowl, or the NCAA has disdain for fans because of neutral site playoffs and tournaments.
No respect for the ultimate trophy in the game. Talking about future World Series to be played at neutral sites. So no respect for the traditions or fans. Now, a team’s fans can attend WSGames. He would make it for rich, corporate types only. He doesn’t care about the game other than as a vehicle to make money and shows disdain for a team’s loyal fans.
I'm not a Manfred stan by any stretch.
Yeah, I mean I not not a Manfred hater by any means, but even I could come up with a couple of things (7 inning double headers, man on second to start the 10th) that are a lot worse than calling the WS trophy a piece of metal. Really though he is in a tough spot. It's a sport with an aging fanbase and an abysmal following with the next generation of fans. He's dealing with years of neglect in that respect.
Yet he is still considering it.The comparison to the NFL makes no sense. They play 16 games as opposed to 162. The number of unique fans who attend NFL games and MLB is not even remotely comparable. The NCAA has almost always played at a neutral site. It would be hard to book arenas ahead of time when it is unknown if or when a team would play. Basically, they would have to book well over 100 sites and make sure they were all done at a time when there were no other big events happening that would take up most of the hotel space in each city. On weekends.
I don't know why I'm doing this because you're clearly in 100% Pathos territory, but...Why shouldn't he consider options? Isn't that his job? From the sounds of it they idea was considered *and rejected*, so... why are you still mad about it? Even the decisions that have been made, like the 7 inning doubleheaders or free runner on 2nd in extras or the foreign substance ban, do you think he's just sitting in an office in New York, being struck by mad euphoric inspiration, and dashing off commandments based exclusively on his whims? He's the public face (and whipping boy) for decisions that are being made on a league-wide basis.To the extent that you have gripes, man, I think they're probably better directed at some committee of owners and GMs, not some dastardly greedy commissioner trying to bleed money out of the sport without a care for the long term health of the game.