What does that get you that the $129 full-season all teams package doesn’t?
@RickJay - thanks! It kind of matches my thinking that it wasn’t that Jordan was a better player overall, but that he was the first to try it, WAY more famous, had more previous good-will built up, and WAY more famous.
I do think Tebow has fundamental issues that would have prevented him from ever being good enough. One of the knocks on him as a football player was his slow release (that he was apparently unable to improve despite a significant effort) - assuming that translates, he would never have had the “quick bat” required of a top tier hitter. He’s a great athlete when compared to the vast majority of the world, just not when compared to the top 1% of the top 1% in either of his chosen sports.
That’s entirely possible. Without seeing actual numbers on his bat speed I don’t know. Throwing is a different skill from swinging a bat, of course, and many pitchers who throw 95 MPH don’t swing bats even as well as Tim Tebow does… but then you’re not talking about bat SPEED, you’re talking about QUICKNESS, which is different. Tebow, I actually just noticed, also has an incredibly bad groundball/flyball ratio; it got a bit better in 2019 but prior to that was much worse than two to one, which is really alarming and suggests fundamental swing problems.
It’s interesting to also note he is supposed to be really fast, but his minor league statistics are consistent with a slow player, not a fast one.
I have good friends who played up into major college ball and have met (in social occasions where ‘shop’ was talked) several major leaguers. I know quick vs. speed.
When you say fast, do you mean foot speed? Tebow was fast for a football quarterback, not baseball fast.
And anything can happen in a playoff series as well. LA is loaded, no doubt, but the Padres are also going for it and the NL east will be brutal (with one exception)
Let’s hope we get a normal season and don’t have endless canceled games and 7 inning double headers
We’re back with that stupid runner on second to start extra innings rule. This one needs to go. I’m okay with 7 inning doubleheaders but this sucks. You could pitch 9 perfect innings, give up 2 sac flies in the 10th and still lose.
I don’t really mind the extra runner rule, but MLB needs to stop half-assing their “pace of play” changes. Get a pitch clock and enforce it, and make batters stay in the damn box.
And no pitching changes during an inning (except for injuries.) Also they should replace mascot races with mascot fights. Edged weapons only.
I actually found this less obnoxious than I expected to beforehand. I hate extra-inning games with a passion, especially if they go past 12 innings. I would, however, prefer to accept ties in the regular season if the game is still tied after 12 innings. Seven inning double-headers also weren’t that bad.
I don’t mind changing pitchers mid-inning, but they needn’t have all those warm ups from the mound. Give them 2 or 3 tosses and get on with it. They’ve got to do something about all this stepping up and redoing their gloves every pitch. Get in the box and stay there.
I love doubleheaders, and if the 7-inning rule means more of them, then I’m all for it.
We’re going to have a real issue this year with getting pitchers through a full season of innings, I think. It will be interesting to see how teams manage their pens, call-ups, etc. to deal with it. Getting the universal DH implemented is essential, IMO - the fewer chances for idiotic fluke injuries, the better. I’d even be happy with the “you get the DH until you pull the starting pitcher” idea that’s been floating around. I think they’d have to reword it to “you get the DH until you pull a pitcher after the 5th inning” to allow for openers and such, but whatever. Seems like a decent compromise for those who think watching pitchers bat is somehow interesting, or that the double-switch is some monumental feat of Gordian-like strategy.
Once the first pitch has been delivered, the pitcher may throw subsequent pitches whenever he wants. If the batter fails to connect that’s a ball or a strike just like now. Problem solved.
I’d definitely take 7 inning doubleheaders as a way to start the season later. Starting April 15 would help some teams not get behind the 8 ball with weather cancellations when the season starts in late March or very early April.
