MLB work stoppage almost certain on Dec. 2

[monkeyman576]

The DH is officially leaguewide btw.

from MLB.com:
"The new five-year CBA includes increased minimum salaries, a new pre-arbitration bonus pool to reward the top young players in the game, a raise in competitive balance tax thresholds, the introduction of a universal designated hitter,"

[dsvitak]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/sport...spt/index.html

[nutt]

Did anybody catch Manfred's press conference?

Manfred said something about returning to a balanced schedule. Wonder how that works with interleague play?

[low]

Four notable changes:

- Doubleheaders return to 9 innings.
- No base runners to begin extra innings.
- Universal DH
- 12-team playoffs.

All good except for that last one. Boo.

[Izz]

Best of all, imo, we get a full season...

[cephasjames]

Not a fan of ads on uniforms and helmets though.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Not a fan of ads on uniforms and helmets though.

I'm curious how that works. Will they be required for every team, and how is the money distributed? Is the ad revenue shared across the league? Obviously advertisements on certain teams' jerseys (Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs) is going to be more valuable than others.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

[swoboda]

Originally Posted by low

Four notable changes:

- Doubleheaders return to 9 innings.
- No base runners to begin extra innings.
- Universal DH
- 12-team playoffs.

All good except for that last one. Boo.

Yes!
Yes!
Nooooooo !
Nooooooooooo!

[Izz]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Not a fan of ads on uniforms and helmets though.

Nascar it up!

[monkeyman576]

I'm happy to have an expanded playoffs if it means the Mariners have a better chance of ending their 20 year drought.

I'm assuming with a 12 team playoff there will be 6 teams per league, with 2 getting first round byes, and 4 faces off in a wild card round. then the second round being 4 teams per league, the 3rd round(LCS) being 2 teams per league and then the world series.

[ThatSeventiesGuy]

Originally Posted by low

Four notable changes:

- Doubleheaders return to 9 innings.
- No base runners to begin extra innings.
- Universal DH
- 12-team playoffs.

All good except for that last one. Boo.

1. Meh. Nice of 'em to throw a bone to the traditionalists, but I've seen enough minor league games over the years that the 7 inning thing was never that big of a deal to me.
2. AT LAST, THERE IS A GOD. THE EVIL HAS BEEN DEFEATED.
3. Meh. I'd rather it stay the "best of both worlds" way it was, but it's not a deal breaker.
4. Ugh. Cynical cash grab says what?

[Déjà Bru]

This was also included:

• Improved benefits for former players

A nice touch among the pig trough feeding process this has been.

[David Watts]

Was anything said about whether the league will continue to shape the outcomes of games and races by assigning which type of ball is used?

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

I'm happy to have an expanded playoffs if it means the Mariners have a better chance of ending their 20 year drought.

I'm assuming with a 12 team playoff there will be 6 teams per league, with 2 getting first round byes, and 4 faces off in a wild card round. then the second round being 4 teams per league, the 3rd round(LCS) being 2 teams per league and then the world series.

The bold is my assumption as well, but baseball is such a game of rhythm I wonder if having a bye from an entire series will throw off those first-place teams. We've seen teams sweep a series only to have to wait for their competitor to play all seven games. Then the team that had to wait was cold and out of rhythm while the other team, despite having to play seven games to win a series, be hot and on a roll.

[cephasjames]

Here's the playoff format, according to this article:

There will be 12 teams in the playoffs in 2022, up from 10. Three division winners and three wild cards will qualify from each league.

Here’s the format: The two division winners with the best record will receive byes. The other four teams will be seeded and play a best-of-three series. The higher seed will host all three games.

In the next round -- the Division Series -- there will be no re-seeding. The No. 1 seed will play the winner of the 4-5 series and the No. 2 seed will play the winner of the 3-6 games.

The league also said that there will no longer be tiebreaker games (Game 163) after the conclusion of the regular system. Ties will be broken as in the NFL, with a long list of potential deciding factors.

[low]

I'm cool with game 163 no longer being a thing but I hate the new playoffs. In another 10 years it'll be 14 teams, then 16... all for the sake of the $.

[kq76]

Originally Posted by low

I'm cool with game 163 no longer being a thing but I hate the new playoffs. In another 10 years it'll be 14 teams, then 16... all for the sake of the $.

I'm not so sure about that. The union made an interesting point that I hadn't considered before. The more teams that will make the playoffs, the less teams feel the need to spend to get to the playoffs (as there's a good chance they'll make them anyway) and once you get there many feel it's a roll of the dice the rest of the way anyway. And thereby the less big contracts given out.

We've already seen some pretty mediocre teams make the playoffs (and win!) with only 10 making them. We're really going to see some now with 12. I think we'll see enough push back once we see more that maybe they'll wait longer than you might think to bring in 14. I know it hasn't been talked about much, but I think we might actually see expansion before more playoff teams.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by low

Four notable changes:

- Doubleheaders return to 9 innings.
- No base runners to begin extra innings.
- Universal DH
- 12-team playoffs.

All good except for that last one. Boo.

1. I prefer 9 inning doubleheaders, but not a big deal.
2. That's great!
3. Biggest bummer of the deal, IMO. But we all knew this was coming.
4. I'm ok with expanded playoffs. Don't have a strong opinion on it. I'll watch most playoff games (or at least have them on in the background, paying close attention to certain games/teams, and close finishes)...

I think the removal of the one-game tiebreaker sucks. It would be a shame, IMO, for a team to play 162 games and tie for a playoff spot, only be eliminated because of some number in column (although I realize that's how most sports do it). It's one thing (not as bad) if a team is removed because it loses a head-to-head series. But if were to get down to run differential or something similar, that would suck.

In my OOTP historicals, I never get past the 1990's, so the universal DH won't be an issue. And while I'm generally fine with expanded playoffs, I'll stick with the traditional formats, along with a 3-game tiebreaker series prior to 1969.

[rudel.dietrich]

I was actually hoping to see a mini play in style tournament like the NBA.
Tanking in the NBA still happens, but it has gone from 8-10 teams tanking, to now about only about 4-5 teams per year thinking they have no chance at the playoffs.

The cream still rises to the top and top seeded teams still tend to win the championship. But giving more teams a shot at just making the playoffs has made front offices more prone to 'going for it' and owners have set more 'playoff mandates'
It is a small sample size as we are just year 3 of the play in idea. But IMO so far, it is has led to a better product and less teams sitting players out with mysterious injuries or packing it in starting in November.

MLB is a bit different since 'worse' teams on paper do have a better shot at winning it all.
But I am of the opinion that expanded playoffs could lead to less tanking.

It is indeed a money grab and may dilute the playoffs, but there are pros and con to everything

[andyhdz]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Here's the playoff format, according to this article:

There will be 12 teams in the playoffs in 2022, up from 10. Three division winners and three wild cards will qualify from each league.

Here’s the format: The two division winners with the best record will receive byes. The other four teams will be seeded and play a best-of-three series. The higher seed will host all three games.

In the next round -- the Division Series -- there will be no re-seeding. The No. 1 seed will play the winner of the 4-5 series and the No. 2 seed will play the winner of the 3-6 games.

The league also said that there will no longer be tiebreaker games (Game 163) after the conclusion of the regular system. Ties will be broken as in the NFL, with a long list of potential deciding factors.

no more tiebreaker games???? wow I'm at the opposite end of a traditionalist but wow that sucks actually. And no re-seeding? How long will we have to wait until everyone complains that a #1 seed has to play the #4 seed while the #2 seeds gets to play a losing record #6 seed because they lucked out in a short series 1st round?