The unwritten rules of baseball

On Saturday evening, in an attempt to break up an inning ending double play slid late into second base Chase Utley of the LA Dodgers injured New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada and unfortunately for the Mets, Tejada is likely out for the remainder of the series and season if the Mets advance, with a broken right fibula. The double play was not even turned or attempted and Utley never touched the base. In the moments after the play happened, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly challenged the call claiming that Tejada never touched second base and he won that challenge. There was some confusion because Utley left the field after originally being called out by the second base umpire.

According to MLB rules, on a replay where BOTH the fielder misses the bag/tag AND the runner misses the bag, the runner is ruled safe.

— Dave Hogg (@stareagle) October 11, 2015

Almost immediately after the game, there was reaction on social media.

That was not a slide and that is not how u 'go in hard'!

— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) October 11, 2015

If that was a superstar shortstop we would have a Tulo Rule being enforced tomorrow

— Justin Upton (@JUST_JUP) October 11, 2015

After the game, Joe Torre, former big league manager and current MLB chief baseball officer was asked the question about Upton’s tweet and he responded by saying, “No, I think every player’s important. Because someone’s not an All-Star player, that to me is not part of the circumstance here. God forbid it should ever be.”

For clarity, here is the rule from MLB regarding take out slides.

“If, in the judgment of the umpire, a base runner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead. The umpire shall call the runner out for interference and also call out the batter-runner because of the action of his teammate. In no event may bases be run or runs scored because of such action by a runner.”

This hasn’t been the first time Utley has slid hard into second base vs. the Mets.

MLB.com columnist Anthony Castrovince believes that this episode of sliding late into a base will accelerate MLB’s urgency to institute a rule which would crack down on late slides. In his press conference at Dodger stadium on Saturday night Torre mentioned that when the Arizona fall league gets underway, players will be taught to slide right to the base. Furthermore, the NCAA has similar rules that the Arizona fall league is set to test and they read in part, “On any force play, the runner must slide on the ground (via a headfirst slide or a slide with one leg and buttock on the ground) before the base and in a direct line between the two bases (with his entire body), though it is permissible for his momentum to carry him straight through the base. The runner may deviate from the direct line as a means to avoid making contact or altering the play of the fielder.”

Former MLB outfielder Eric Byrnes offered his take after the game on MLB Network.

Play was unfortunate and ugly. Utley did what base runners are taught to do. Rule needs to be implemented to protect infielders.

— Eric Byrnes (@byrnes22) October 11, 2015

He emphasized a few times that if MLB does not implement a rule, slides like this will continue to happen.

This play could change the complexion of the NLDS but more importantly brings the debate to center stage of what the unwritten rules of baseball are. Of course at a young age and when one is coming up through the minor leagues, you are taught to do everything possible to break up a double play.

At the same time, base runners must exercise proper judgment, i.e. knowing if its worth it to go all in to break up a double play. As a baseball fan in general, I have seen situations in which a base runner misses second base and no outs are recorded but the second base umpire calls the runner and batter out because the runner intentionally slides out of the defined baseline in the opinion of the umpire. Unfortunately I don’t think these calls are made often enough.

Even if MLB were to come up with a rule before tomorrow’s Dodgers Mets game at Citi Field, Tejada is still injured and will be for sometime likely missing part of the 2016 season. At the same time, while I feel that good players play hard but clean, how many more injuries do we need to see before a change is made? Buster Posey was lost for the season back in 2011 after a head on collision at home plate and shortly thereafter, the Buster Posey rule was implemented basically banning collisions at home plate. The main reason why we continue to see at least borderline slides is because the base umpires are not calling runners out enough. I agree 100% with ESPN.com writer David Schoenfield in which he says that the rules on the books are not being enforced.

Utley has played most of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Phillies play the Mets at least 5 series a season and the crowd in Flushing will boo Utley when his name is announced by the Mets public address announcer for the rest of his playing career in all likelihood. Even after this series is over, much of the baseball world will be talking about this play during the off season. This unwritten rule may indeed become a written rule and the fact that MLB has not taken any action is the main reason we are having this discussion. There is a way to keep the tradition of the game intact while enacting measures to keep players safe.

MLB top 5?

If the baseball season were to end right now, the Chicago Cubs would finish with more wins than the division leading New York Mets and LA Dodgers but would finish in third place in the NL Central division. Furthermore, the Pittsburgh Pirates could win 100 games in 2015 but that would not guarantee a division championship considering the yellow and black are in the same division as the St. Louis Cardinals are and the red birds are likely to win 100 games before the end of next weekend.

Fortunately for the Cubs it is not 2011 because they would be fighting for their postseason lives as MLB introduced the second wild-card spot in 2012. There is a caveat with the second wild-card spot, the two teams that win the two wild-card spots match up to play essentially a game 163, the tiebreaker and one of those two teams’ seasons will come to an end after just one playoff game.

With that said, there has been discussion of eliminating divisions and seeding teams with the best records overall like the NBA will be doing in the 2015-16 season.

Yahoo Sports MLB writer Jeff Passan argues that MLB should follow the NBA’s lead and eliminate the traditional sense of division winners. Furthermore, he says, MLB should “keep the American and National Leagues intact and throw every team into a pool of 15 fighting for five spots.”

You may ask what are the benefits to such a move? The top 5 teams in both leagues would fight to avoid the presumable shorter wild-card series. Another benefit would be that the rivalries would not be based on geography and fans would see more compelling races in late September.

“There are lot of things out of your control, which is why we play so many games to figure out who’s the best team—and then it whittles down to a one-game playoff,” said Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, who has been part of a one and done wild-card playoff game the last two seasons.

This addition to the game in 2012 was done largely with intent. “When we added the two additional playoff teams for the wild card,” said an MLB spokesman, “we wanted to make sure to preserve the extra incentive for winning the division.”

Several players on the Pirates including Neil Walker suggested that MLB tweak the one game wild-card playoff elimination game by making the series a best out of three games, which is not really a new idea because legendary broadcaster Bob Costas has presented that idea in the past. There is one downfall to that idea and making the wild-card elimination game a best of three would make the postseason drag on, right to the end of October possibly into November.

However, Walker believes the wild-card best of three games idea should be but on the back burner. “I think when you really look at it, black and white, you say, ‘Why not let the best five teams go at it, regardless of division?’” Walker said.

There is no perfect solution and no matter what MLB does, there will be imperfections with MLB’s playoff system. Winning the division doesn’t carry the weight it once did. For example, the Cubs won the NL Central in 2007 and 2008 but were a quick exit from the playoffs those two seasons as the Cubs were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks and LA Dodgers in that order. Passan argues that baseball without divisions or the emphasis of divisions is a better game and concludes his column in August by saying that the simplest solutions are the best ones.

I am inclined to support the idea of having the top 5 teams from both leagues be the representatives in MLB’s postseason. If a team like the Pirates finish with the second best record in the NL but are in the 4th seed in the playoffs, the message to the players and fans of the Pirates and the city of Pittsburgh that all of the hard work could be for nothing if the current playoff system prevails. This is a big reason why the Pirates are going all out to win the NL Central. In the interim, I don’t see MLB dropping divisions but if there is enough public pressure from not just fans but the players, we could see some movement. I completely agree with the discrepancy that prevails in the NL Central but lets see how the 2015 postseason goes and if what we fear plays out, then we should have a much more urgent discussion in the winter. For the meantime, as a Cubs fan, I am excited for what October baseball will bring to baseball fans and the sports universe.

Baseball computerized strike zone

In July an Independent baseball team in Northern California used Pitch f/X video system for two games to call balls and strikes. The San Rafael Pacifics, who are part of the Pacific Association employed Pitch f/X system on July 28 and 29.

The system consists of three cameras forming a triangular effect that judges a pitch’s trajectory and speed as it crosses home plate. Furthermore, the system is used on TV broadcasts to determine the location of a pitch and for umpires to self evaluate. Former major league outfielder Eric Byrnes oversaw the pitch f/X, which was developed by Sportsvision Inc. of Fremont, California. “This is something down the road that will change the game of baseball forever,” Byrnes said.

According to the LA Times, pitch f/X is not new to professional baseball. It has been around since 2008 and since that year it has tracked every single pitch thrown at the Major League level. Front office personnel and scouts use the data it generates on a regular basis. The games have progressed smoothly and the technology was well received even from the umpires point of view.

“Since we found out more about it — how it’s going to work, where it’s going to work — I’ve had more positive feedback than I have negative,” Dean Poteet, who worked behind home plate in one of the games, told the Associated Press.

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is a little pessimistic about the idea and predicts that this will not be coming to a MLB park near you. “I think Major League Baseball over the course of the last 15 years has done a much better job of uniforming the strike zone, the parameters that are dictated in the rule book,” Scioscia said. “[With] the sensitivity of the strike zone and a lot of the data coming back, you’re going to have that occasional pitch that an umpire is going to miss. I don’t know if that warrants the need to pursue an electronic strike zone.”

During the MLB All-Star game festivities in Cincinnati, commissioner Rob Manfred, he was against it saying that there would be doubts of how much of a system would adjust to different hitters heights and stances.

Former ESPN commentator Keith Olbermann had an interesting perspective on the topic.

You. Sold. Out. To. The. Robots! RT @byrnes22 Just like replay, the automated strike zone is intended to assist umpires, NOT eliminate them

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) July 28, 2015

Rob Neyer of Fox Sports believes that the umpires have improved and become more consistent with the definition of the strike zone but adds that they are missing two strike strikes, which tends to be psychological and they are not close to being perfect.

Recently Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated wrote in his newsletter in part, “Until recently, there wasn’t much that could be done. Now, with PitchF/X in place, indicting umpires every single day, we have both the data to make the case and the technology to do something better. An automated strike zone will be more fair to all the players, while putting an end to a condition in which virtually invisible movements are as valuable as the acrobatics of a Gold Glove shortstop.”

I can see the argument for an automated strike zone but the human element of baseball is something that in part makes baseball “Americas pastime” at least to some folks. If MLB were to take the next step to implement this, the drama that is created with the human element of the game might as well not exist anymore and the game would likely become more difficult to watch. I don’t believe the tipping point has passed for a change to be in order. Some believe that the commissioner should do everything he can to do what the San Rafael Pacifics did for two games in late July next season but I think making a change that fast is unrealistic and needs to be tested more often in independent league baseball games or even minor league games. I agree with Oblermann that it is not realistic that the game eliminate umpires, the technology is there to assist umpires. Until something drastic changes the makeup of calling balls and strikes, I don’t see a pitch f/X system being employed much further beyond independent league baseball. There are certain traditions of any sport that are hard to change and while many baseball fans like to see the game improved, this could be a situation in which we are trying to fix something that does not need to be fixed.

Greatest individual sports accomplishments

In the world of sports, there has been a debate on the most impressive individual accomplishments by professional athletes that in some cases are more than 50 years old.

In December 2006, Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers scored 81 points in a game vs. the Toronto Raptors. However, while that is impressive, a famous NBA player surpassed that number when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points on March 2, 1962 for the Philadelphia Warriors over the New York Knicks.

In the world of sports today, much more focus is placed on how do I help my team win a game and championships are won with that mentality, not how to necessarily pad my stats in a game that one’s team may lose in a blowout.

I have compiled a list of what I believe are the greatest individual accomplishments in each of the 4 major sports.

In baseball, that is a real difficult one, you have DiMaggio’s 56 game hit streak, Rickey Henderson with 1000 stolen bases and Cal Ripken Jr. who had a streak of 2,652 consecutive games played from May 30, 1982 to September 19, 1998. To me Ripken’s consecutive games played streak wins the title of most impressive individual accomplishment in baseball. The longest consecutive games streak played by one Major League Baseball player in the 2000’s was Miguel Tejada, who played 1,152 consecutive games that covered a 7 year span. It is truly amazing that one player was able to play every single game for a span of more than 15 years and considering that injuries are part of any game. Plus you consider that players on every team go through slumps and it is not uncommon for a manager to sit a struggling hitter for a game or two.

In basketball, there is a competition for rights to the most impressive individual stat. The Chicago Bulls won 3 consecutive titles twice in the 1990’s and the LA Lakers won 3 consecutive titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. This is an exceptional stat because one of the most difficult accomplishments in any sport is to repeat as champions. I’ve seen it many times, the season after a team in whatever sport wins a title, the feeling of we can repeat often does not exist because the rest of the league has it sights set on defeating the reigning champs and tends to bring their A game more often than not. Having said that, the Boston Celtics won 8 consecutive NBA championships from 1959-1966. While the Bulls and Lakers records were impressive, that comes no where close to beating the Celtics record and considering the 21st Century NBA lives in a salary cap era, that record is safe.

In football, this one is not as difficult considering how dangerous the sport is. The accomplishment is kicker and quarterback George Blanda, who played for the Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Colts and the Houston Oilers, he holds the record of seasons played, that being a whopping 26. I’ve mentioned that the NFL has seen players like Terrell Davis, who played for the Denver Broncos retire at the age of 29. The problems for football players often do not end after they retire. The average life expectancy of a retired NFL player is just 55 years. One other factor to take into consideration is the fact that despite making millions during one’s playing career, a good chunk of that money is gone after a career is over to treat injuries like concussions. These two factors are starting to make more people who would want to play football otherwise to think twice.

Lastly, comes hockey where I think the most impressive individual accomplishment is when Wayne Gretzky when he scored 215 points in one season while playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980’s. Since 2000, the highest point total by one player was Joe Thornton in the 2005-2006 season for the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins. In today’s NHL, there is lots of emphasis on defense and shot blockers, thus that tends to cut down on the amount of goals scored. Another factor that doesn’t get as much attention is goalies and how much of the net that many tend to take up such as Anders Lindback of the Arizona Coyotes, he stands at 6’6 and 210 lbs.

What does this list have in common? It is very unlikely that these accomplishments will ever be broken partly because while we see many great athletes in every sport, they pale in comparison to the likes of Gretzky.

The most overrated statistics in sports

In every sport, fans are reminded of stats that may mean something to some but not others. There has always been and always will be a debate on whether stats like saves in baseball or time of possession in football tell the entire story or just part of it. While the list of most overrated stats may seem to never end, I have compiled what I feel is the most overrated stat in each of the 4 major sports.

Back in early May, Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said that he believes that Home runs are overrated. “It’s a statistic [on which you get] judged because you took 25 good swings a year that happened to [hit the ball] over the fence? As long as you do the little things, get on base, get runners over.”

Of course fans love to see baseball’s best sluggers hit 425 foot home runs but when there are three men on base, the bases are now cleared when the next batter steps to the plate. Another factor to take into consideration is when a situation like this is happening in a 10 run game, the team who gives up the grand slam is leading, the lead is usually still comfortable. Then you add if the team who is leading gets the third out without any more damage done, what is the value of the home run if it happens late in the game and the trailing team doesn’t muster more than just a grand slam the rest of the game.

When it comes to the most overrated stat in football, I had a hard time for a while because there are many stats that I do not believe tell the entire story of a team/game/season. After watching many football games, high school, college and the NFL, I have to say that the most overrated stat in football is time of possession.

I understand that in a league that has Quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees that one of the main goals for the opposing team is to keep those guys off the field. However, it does not mean much if your defense forces a turnover or three and out and your offense comes back on the field for a five minute possession that ends in a punt.

The 2012 Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens ranked 29th in TOP and the New York Giants finished 23rd in that category the previous season and they won the Super Bowl.

RICHARD SHIRO/Associated Press

According to ESPN stats, in the 2014-15 NBA season, stars like James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant were near the top in average turnovers per game. In fact among those who played enough games to qualify, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder led the pack in turnover per game at 4.4. This stat to me is a slam dunk because basketball is such a competitive game and the 10 players on the court at a given time are running back and forth with no whistles for more than a minute on occasion.

Turnovers need to be put into context, how did a player like Westbrook turn the ball over to the other team because there is more than one way to have a turnover go against you. For instance when a star like Westbrook turns the ball over, it does not guarantee the other team scoring at the other end. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to see team A turn the ball over to team B and B gives it right back to team A.

This is another debatable one but I think that shooting percentage is the most overrated stat in the game of hockey. Shooting percentage is a big driver of goals and there are goaltenders in the NHL like Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning who are big and take up a good part of the net and crease area. If you look closer and add 1.5% to Sidney Crosby’s shooting percentage, we could be looking at 5-6 more goals.

If there is a surprise player who is near the top of the league in goals, the reason for that is often because of having an anomalously high shooting percentage, but it is common to see a big drop-off as the season progresses. Add a couple other factors to that and even the likes of Crosby will not get as much on his shot as he would like to, which often makes it easier for the goaltender to stop the puck. The next factor that I notice is that when anyone on the ice lines up to take a 100 mph slap-shot and there is no screen in front of the net, it is often easier for the goaltender to stop the puck.

The main takeaway from all of these ‘overrated’ stats is that every sport especially at the highest level is extremely competitive and even the best of athletes are prone to have bad games. Too much emphasis tends to be placed on two or three stats when they do not always tell the entire story. Announcers often mention in baseball, “it won’t be reflective in the box score, but can make a big difference at the end of the day.” When a batter has a 13 pitch at-bat and walks, that could lead to a big inning in which a team scores a few runs that ends up deciding the result of that days game. From time to time, the most accurate stat predictors are those that are not as easily seen when the game summary has been written.

MLB Trade Deadline

Since becoming baseball’s commissioner in January, Rob Manfred has been willing to test anything and this time it is to move back the trade deadline past July 31.

“I think that the July 31 Deadline is something that we may want to revisit in the context of the revised playoff format,” Manfred said to the Associated Press on Wednesday in Newark, N.J. “Obviously when you have two additional opportunities to be in the playoffs, you have more teams in the hunt and they may want to wait a little longer before they make decisions.”

Until 1986, the trade deadline was June 15. Just because the trade deadline is July 31, does not mean that teams can not make any trades. However, once August 1 comes, players must clear waivers and in order to be on the postseason roster, that player must be on the roster by August 31 at the latest.

Some will point to the fact that MLB now has two wild-card spots as of the 2012 season.

Does the second wild card ruin the trade deadline? Probably. http://t.co/SJOtyThooJ pic.twitter.com/C7b1UCgJeq

— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) July 21, 2015

Grant Brisbee of SB Nation mentions some criteria that put teams around .500 in a rock and a hard place.

• The team couldn’t be within four games of its division
• They weren’t currently leading a wild card race
• They had to be within five games of the second wild card

The 2013 Kansas City Royals were 2 games above .500 and 4.5 games out of the second wild-card spot. The Orioles traded for Bud Norris that year but was under team control and helped them make the playoffs. In that same year, the Yankees acquired veteran outfielder Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs for a young pitcher.

What does this mean? Small deals to improve a team’s playoff hopes usually do not have consequences attached.

“Eventually one of these teams will really eat it and deal away the wrong prospect, but eventually one of them will get just the right veteran to make the postseason,” Brisbee continues.

If the trade deadline were to be moved back, it would not be that long probably in the second week of August at the latest. As any baseball fan will attest to, there is lots that can happen in two weeks, a 6-game losing streak that puts a team out of first place. Brisbee mentions some reasons why it may not be a good idea to extend the non-waiver deadline. Teams may not pay rental players as much for 6-7 weeks, and turning more teams into sellers tends to penalize the truly awful teams that need more help.

I could see an instance where baseball pulls the trigger but I do not believe that moving it back is a good idea mainly because one week can alter the playoff landscape. Since the second wild-card spot was added, there have been less big name trades with teams around .500 thinking they are still in the mix. I contend that it is better that we have more teams thinking they are in contention after July 31 than the other way around.  If I were to be in favor of moving back the trade deadline, it would be on a Saturday or Sunday, which takes us into August this year. This gives teams a couple extra days to assess as to whether they are in contention or not.

I understand that many want to see big deals go through but what do you tend to get in exchange? Why do fans tend to watch baseball when the NFL season is in progress? To see a hint of what the playoffs may entail, the roller coaster rides and not necessarily knowing what can happen at a moments notice is why people tune in on the final weeks of the regular season.

Extending the deadline to mid to late August is simply too long and teams should act or not act in close to a moments notice, that is what makes baseball such an enjoyable sport to watch. Why change this aspect of the game? Even though its not as easy after August 1, trades have been made involving prominent players between the 1st and 31st of August.

2nd wild-card spot in MLB

At the beginning of the 2012 season, Major League Baseball added the second wild-card spot but has not gone without any controversy.

Cork Gaines of Business Insider writes that the MLB equivalent of the NCAA basketball tournament that most fans do not consider part of the NCAA tournament.

He continues by saying that the issue with the new playoff format is that 4 teams who fought for the entire regular season to be in the top 5 in their respective leagues, now have their entire season dependent on essentially one game.

A difference between baseball and other sporting tournaments is that baseball devotes an abundant amount of money for a small percentage of their roster to carry their respective teams through a 162 game schedule. In others, teams often depend on a higher percentage of their respective rosters.

Last season, 3 of the 4 wild-card teams had 20% of their payroll unavailable to help them when the season was on the line.

Some of the reasons why adding a 2nd wild-card spot is a plus is that it gives teams the incentive to win their division. Until 1993, only division winners made the postseason but in 1995, that changed when the wild-card came in, thus adding one extra team. This format means more rounds, translating to increased drama but more importantly ratings.

In 1993, the San Francisco Giants won a whopping 103 games but missed the playoffs because the Atlanta Braves won one more game than the Giants, winning the NL West. Since the wild-card was added, there have been 6 times in which teams have won the wild-card and went on to win the world series.

https://twitter.com/bbtn/status/250248449826643968

Legendary broadcaster Bob Costas came out with an alternative idea to the current format just recently. His proposal says that there should be a three-game series played at the ballpark of the team with the better record. Here is the kicker, the first two games of the series would be played as part of day-night doubleheader. Costas defended his proposal for a day-night doubleheader by saying that teams can not play games without compression. Still, the possibility of the wild-card series being over after just one day exists.

Joshua Sadlock of baseball essential says, “By forcing a Wild Card team to start its divisional series matchup with its fourth or fifth starter on the hill, the advantage shifts back to the best team for the first two, crucial games of the series.”

As we approach the trade deadline, we are less inclined to see teams around .500 get rid of some veteran players that can be of value to a contending team.

At the outset, I was neutral towards the idea of having a 2nd wild-card team but overall, it is good for the game because it gives teams a reason to believe they are still in the race. I had never thought of Costas’ idea of having a best of three-games in two days or less but that would stir things up.

Unless there is any controversy in a wild-card game this year or the future, I don’t see the commissioner entertaining this idea. Putting a team in a situation where they are unsure of whether they want to use their number one or five starter in a game when neither team has any room for error will bring up the possibility of a 6-man rotation when rosters expand in September. At the same time, MLB wants to see wild-card teams bring out their ace or number two at worst. That to me is the overriding factor that makes Costas’ idea just an idea and not what MLB adopts unless something very controversial happens.

Is he in or not?

The 2015 All-Star game will be played in the Queen City, Cincinnati, Ohio and former Reds great Pete Rose will be part of the on-field activities prior to the game starting Tuesday evening.

Rose was banned from baseball for life in 1989 after it was found out that he bet on baseball while managing the Reds in the late 1980’s.

Former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, “If you are stupid enough to go out and bet on your own team and bet on baseball, there has got to be something wrong. If my brother did it, I’d say the same thing.”

However, Baltimore Orioles infielder and 2007 Hall of Fame Inductee Cal Ripken Jr. has a different take.

Its important to realize that Rose agreed to the ban back in the late 1980’s and it wasn’t handed down by Major League Baseball. He accepted the punishment and in exchange, MLB did not make any formal finding of the gambling allegations. “There is absolutely no deal for reinstatement. That is exactly what we did not agree to in terms of a fixed number of years,” said then-commissioner Bart Giamatti following the ban.

Rose, 74 accumulated 4,256 hits in his 23 year career and is the all-time hits leader in MLB history.

Some will point out that Rose has been barred from the game longer than he played and the time has come that he becomes eligible for the hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York. Furthermore, his actions are not by law a felony or violent crime, and some believe that he would do much more good than harm.

In his playing career, he made it to 17 all-star games, won 3 world series rings, won the MVP award in 1973 and finished with a batting average north of .300.

From the point he was banned from the game, that didn’t stop him from signing autographs on baseballs, which irked MLB. However, in 2004 in an autobiography, he came out clean and admitted to gambling on games.

I did not get a chance to see Rose play but the numbers he put up were phenomenal all the way around, there are stats I haven’t mentioned that I could, but you get the picture.

However, rule 21 is and will always be Pete Rose’s enemy, those rules are clear and should be posted in every clubhouse.

New commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged that the rules could be changed, which would allow Rose to be eligible for the Hall of fame.

Rose has been a polarizing figure ever since he was banned from baseball in 1989 and that will remain the case for sometime even after Rose is no longer living.

Even if he were to be eligible to be on the ballot, there would be tons of resistance from the Baseball writers of America, who make the ultimate decision whether one is in or not. In order to make it, one has to receive at 75% of the vote and can be on the ballot for a maximum for 15 years or receive less than 5% before being removed from the ballot.

If Rose is allowed to get on the ballot for consideration, MLB’s image would be tarnished for years to come and that factor is the reason why Rose will never make the hall despite 4,000+hits.

A 6-man rotation in baseball?

In previous seasons, teams such as the New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves have experimented a 6-man starting rotation.

However, none of the teams listed above who have tried it in the past have done it for an entire season. With that saying, one may think it will hypothetically because a 6-man rotation could reduce injuries and more importantly give a pitcher like Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals an extra day of rest.

Speaking of Strasburg, he had to leave the game once again this afternoon after experiencing tightness in his left side. At the end of the 2010 season Strasburg underwent Tommy John Surgery. There was so much excitement surrounding Strasburg before he debuted in June 2010 at the age of 21 a year after he was drafted. The Nationals would have been better served by letting him work his way through the minor leagues and waited until he was 23 or 24 because many pitchers at age 21 do not have their arm fully developed. The quick rush to the big leagues could be the reason why he has not been able to stay on the mound injury free on a consistent basis.

Starting Pitcher Fastball Velocity, 2008-14

Season	FB%	FBv
2008	59.7	90.3
2009	59.0	90.8
2010	57.3	90.7
2011	56.4	91.0
2012	55.9	91.0
2013	56.4	91.3
2014	58.0	91.1

Stats courtesy of FanGraphs

At the end of the day, I am not confident that teams will fully adopt a 6-man rotation for a full season. At times when any team has one or more of their starting pitchers on the disabled list, we will see a team or two employ this.

“The highest-velocity guys have the highest chances of getting hurt,” Glenn Fleisig, a leading expert at the American Sports Medicine Institute, recently told ESPN the Magazine.

One reason that we are seeing pitchers throw the ball in excess of 95 in many cases is that they do not have to throw as often as in the past.

Why has a MLB starting rotation ever been 6 man rotation with your ace or top 2 still pitching on 4 days rest, inserted in different spots?

— Dan Shell (@DanShellSports) May 31, 2015

Given that the idea would be to prevent injuries, a pitch count would still be in effect. However, with an extra day of rest, starting pitchers could cut loose on their hard stuff even more often.

Adding a 6th pitcher from the bullpen could make a teams bullpen and bench thinner and fans would not see teams number one or two pitchers as often.

In a 162 game schedule with a 5-man rotation, each starter could get as many as 32 starts assuming no injuries take place and with a 6-man rotation, that number would go down by 5.

If such a move was to be adopted, the rosters would have to expand from 25 to 26 in all likelihood and without any accommodations from April through August 31, that could cost teams dearly.

The idea of a 6-man rotation sounds real attractive especially when we see pitchers like Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers start his season late but its more of how they are developed as they work their way up. Greg Maddux proved that you don’t have to throw the ball 95 MPH on a consistent basis and make it to Cooperstown. If baseball had more pitchers who were developed like Maddux was, you would see some of these big name pitchers last a few more years with fewer injuries.

Its about time that for those who are responsible for developing a pitcher like Strasburg to look closely at how one progresses through the minors. There has also been pressure from fans to bring up pitchers like Strasburg sooner than when they are actually ready.

Pitching in the minor’s is different than pitching in the major’s and those who are responsible for developing names like Strasburg need to emphasize the major differences that exist pitching in Triple A vs. the big leagues. Until this message gets hammered home, baseball fans will continue to see preventable injuries from the likes of Strasburg, which isn’t all his fault.

Fans voting in MLB All-Star game

In 1947, fans were given the right to vote for who they wanted to represent their teams and leagues in the mid-summer classic. However, in the late 1950’s, Cincinnati Reds fans clogged the ballot boxes and voted for all but one of the team’s position players to the starting 8, the commissioner intervened and removed two Reds players. While it will not be popular to say this, the system by which players are selected to be in the mid-summer classic is flawed and needs to be changed.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

In the aftermath of this, the league did not allow fans to vote for position players until 1970 when the league thought interest in the game was declining. At one point, MLB All-Star starting participants were chosen by managers of their teams and it was based on performance and their strengths.

After the 2002 All-Star game that ended in a tie at Miller Park in Milwaukee, then commissioner Bud Selig made a change that future All-Star games would determine home field advantage in the world series, remember the saying, “This one counts”?

Before the 2015 season, fans, fans were able to vote with a paper ballot at ballparks or online. Now, MLB eliminated the paper ballot and transitioned to an entirely online voting system and the goal was to create more fan participation with more voting.

As of June 10, the Kansas City Royals led with 7 of the 9 position players for the American League team, while the St. Louis Cardinals led with 4 of the 8 spots on the National League team.

An all star game IS NOT a popularity contest…it's for home field advantage (for whatever reason) for the World Series!! Best players play

— David Price (@DAVIDprice24) June 10, 2015

Using the All-Star game to determine home-field advantage in the fall classic is a dumb idea but it looks as if that will not be going away any time soon.

From a baseball fan’s perspective, watching a display of impressive play is the reason fans watch the mid-summer classic.

Fans are able to vote up to 35 times per email and in that is too many. I am not advocating getting rid of the fans opinion but it should not be the only part. Instead, it would be a good idea to have a system in which fans and the manager of their respective league to have equal amount of influence.

I argue that fans should be able to vote 15-20 times per email at most.

There is a rule that says, every team must have at least one representative and this rule ensures that every team in the majors top stars can be seen on the national stage.

In order for this to be fixed, it may take a scenario in which you have a Royals-Cardinals dominated All-Star game.

In previous seasons, it had been common for big name players such as Derek Jeter to be leading the pack in voting even if he missed a decent chunk of the first half of the season. That is a problem I have with the current system, because injuries are part of the game and big name players have been in situations in which they start their season late. This is part of the reason, the All-Star game has been a popularity contest because it sometimes does not come down to who is performing the best right now, but last year or two plus years or more ago.

Just because your name is Albert Pujols does not mean you should automatically get ahead of the pack even if he misses his teams first 35 games of the season.

Late this week, it was reported that more than 60 million votes were thrown out out of fear that there was improper voting.

At the end of the day, name recognition should not automatically determine who plays in the mid-summer classic, it should be who is performing the best on the field right now. The managers should have more of a say than they do because they know the players the best, they tend to be more educated on the game than most fans who vote are.