SB Nation’s MLB writers from across the league discuss the pageantry of Opening Day and how they feel about rule changes, mega-deals, and the season ahead.
The surest sign of spring each and every year is the return of Major League Baseball. Baseball’s offseason had a little of everything – record-breaking contracts, concern about the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, rule changes, Mike Trout getting half a billion dollars – but all of that is now secondary to the season starting fresh.
For fans of some teams, Opening Day is a day in the sun before what will inevitably be a long season. It can also just be the beginning of a dream season for teams that manage to exceed all expectations. Whichever side of the fence the results ultimately fall, everyone can believe for at least one day.
I asked representatives from our baseball team sites a few questions about why Opening Day feels so special to baseball fans, what they think of the mega-deals and rule changes we saw this offseason, and what they are most looking forward to in baseball this year.
Here’s what they had to say.
What’s the best thing about Opening Day?
Max Rieper (Royals Review): My friends and I have made it an annual event each year for over a decade now. We tailgate with a shrimp boil, which came in handy last year to warm us up when Opening Day was about 32 degrees!
Wick Terrell (Red Reporter): Opening Day not only means the end of the long off-season, it also means the Cincinnati Reds aren’t in last place anymore. Which is a specific way of saying every single optimistic outcome of the 162 game slog is still at least semi-realistic on Opening Day.
Bryan Joiner (Over The Monster): The best part about Opening Day is the dopamine hit I get when the fantasy stats start spinning.
Maggie Wiggin (Amazin’ Avenue): As a bit of a stat head, I just love seeing all those blank leaderboards. Everyone starts out from the same place, all neat and tidy. The chaos that follows is a whole different kind of fun, but there’s something really special and hopeful about all those zeros.
Jessica DeLine (Halos Heaven): It’s a bit of a rush. I think it should be a personal holiday. This year I’m taking the day off to the Padres Opening Day because the Angels aren’t at home
Al Yellon (Bleed Cubbie Blue): Opening Day is renewal. It’s the first sign of spring in northern cities, some of which had brutal winters this year, but when baseball returns, it’s the time to start fresh. While some teams might be “rebuilding” and thus not looking forward to competing for a pennant, it’s also the time when everyone starts at 0-0, many teams having the hope of possibly winning the World Series. In a time when weather begins to warm and flowers and trees bloom, so too does hope in baseball.
Steven Burt (AZ Snake Pit): Being from Arizona, I usually coincide Opening Day with Spring Training so I’m usually out there skipping work with a couple buddies.
Jake Devin (Pinstripe Alley): My favorite thing about it is how that first day resembles something that’s going on right this second; the first day of March Madness. Everything feels fresh, exciting, new, and there’s constantly new games starting and ending throughout the day. That level of excitement and constant action isn’t really replicated at any other point in the season
Check out Pinstripe Alley’s five-part season preview here.
Eric Garcia McKinley (Purple Row): Following Maggie, I also like looking at Baseball Reference and seeing the new year added as a search option
You can read Eric’s season preview of the Rockies here.
Rob Rogacki (Bless You Boys): They should do 24 hours of baseball, like they do with college basketball.
Luis Davila (Fish Stripes): I love being in the MLB stadium atmosphere for the first time in the year along with the smell of the fresh grass and concession foods.
Check out the Marlins season preview from Fish Stripes here.
Adam Morris (Lone Star Ball): The best part of Opening Day is finally seeing really baseball that counts, really. A basic answer, maybe, but after a long offseason, then the excitement of spring training, then the spring training excitement dying down because it’s just spring games that don’t mean anything, finally pulling the trigger on six months of baseball on pretty much a daily basis is a scintillating feeling.
Matt Lyons (Let’s Go Tribe): That feeling that it’s finally over. As backwards as it sounds, the best thing about Opening Day isn’t just that baseball is finally starting, it’s that life without baseball is ending. No more countless nights wasted finding things to do that aren’t watching baseball. No more picking apart the smallest details of a player’s contract or projections just to find any morsel of sport to discuss.
Bryan Murphy (McCovey Chronicles): It’s the 90% familiar, 10% different formula. The look and feel of the game, the familiar uniforms and faces, but that extra 10% of “Ooh, hey, new guy in left field” or maybe there’s a new broadcaster, or just going in knowing that there’s something just a little bit different about this thing you’ve come to love in a very specific way over the years. Also, a bunch of games are on TV at the same time.
You can read McCovey Chronicles’ complete season preview here.
Alex Hall (Athletics Nation): I like all the firsts. The first pitch of the first game of the season. Who will get the first hit, drive in the first run, hit the first homer. The first win, or loss. There are 162 games but there’s only one that’s the first.
Tyler Gorsegner (Twinkie Town): The best thing about opening day, hands down, is that it is our surest sign of good weather. As opening day approaches, the days warm up, the sun shines later, and we survived another winter. It’s less to do with baseball, and more to do with life. Baseball is just such a perfect accompaniment to summer time, warm weather, sunglasses, a cold beer, and the little things that make life worth living. That has always been the magic of baseball to me, and the magic of Opening Day is that summer is here.
John Trupin (Lookout Landing): There haven’t been many days where the stadium is packed and there’s a great shot that the Mariners will win. For the past decade or so, with King Félix on the mound, it’s been a rare shot at seeing the entire crowd abuzz, packed, and excited.
Tom Dakers (Bluebird Banter): The best thing about it is seeing rookies get their first at bat or throw their first pitch. It is all new and full of potential. Or it means 3 weeks until we see Vlad Jr.
Patrick Reddington (Federal Baseball): The end of Spring Training games and having to listen to games via radio feeds more often than not is big. Also getting back to the ballpark for the first time after a long winter, and getting to see fellow fans I haven’t seen all winter since I live outside of the city.
William Metzger (The Crawfish Boxes): There’s a unique tension in the air. Forget the projections, now it’s for real. Almost always a premier pitching matchup in front of a packed house of excited fans.
Danny Russell (DRaysBay): Opening Day is the blessed assurance that somewhere out there, retired people are enjoying real and meaningful baseball! Not me, of course, who must continue working my desk job at 4:00 local on a Thursday, but according to the radio broadcast I’m sneaking into my ears, there are most definitely people out there enjoying baseball, and after so many months away, I think that’s great.
Kris Willis (Talking Chop): The best thing about Opening Day is that it does not matter how your offseason went or what your projections for the season say. For at least that day, baseball is back and it feels like everyone has a chance and the only thing that matters is what is happening on the field. It is a special relationship in a lot of ways and it is really hard to describe it but if you are a fan, then you understand what I am talking about.
Blake Harris (True Blue LA): The best part is the fact that it feels like a national holiday. Waking up in the morning, excited for a brand new season to begin. I absolutely love the festivities, the pregame fly over and having all the players line up along each foul line. Knowing that it’s a brand new season, and every team has a chance to compete is the best feeling in the world.
How does everyone feel about a unified Opening Day?
Rob Rogacki: Unified Opening Day is the best. It’s basically drinking from a firehose, but it’s awesome.
Bryan Murphy: The unified Opening Day is good. If dead presidents get a national holiday, then so should Major League Baseball.
Max Rieper: I miss the pageantry and tradition of Cincinnati opening things up.
Matt Provenzano (Beyond the Box Score): I would guess that everyone in this room wants it, but I would imagine your average fan only cares about their teams’ specific Opening Day, so I think the effect as far as league-wide attention goes is a little more minimal
Maggie Wiggin: I love that fans come together across leagues, across teams, to share in the excitement together. As a resident of a two-team city, it’s sometimes the only time we’re all on the same wavelength.
Alex Hall: Baseball is a long-term sport, and there aren’t a lot of individual must-watch games outside of the playoffs or maybe a last-day showdown. But Opening Day is that must-watch. You know it’s coming months in advance, and the anticipation has built throughout that time. Everyone is relevant, even the teams who know they won’t win this year, because the slate is blank for now and we all have 0-0 records. It’s the one day that every fan of every team knows will be a big day, every year, no matter what.
Steven Burt: For one day, baseball has the spotlight and all is right in the world.
Josey Curtis (Viva El Birdos): It’s such a rush trying to follow all of the games! It’s hard to beat.
Rob Rogacki: Cincinnati should play at like 11 am to open the season, like the Nats do on the Fourth of July
Wick Terrell: There’s absolutely a sliver of resentment among old Reds fans that Opening Day isn’t ‘theirs’ anymore, but I do think that’s just curmudgeonly in many ways. Cincinnati still goes absolutely bonkers for it, and that’s truly what matters.
A few players sign some absolute mega-deals this offseason. Which other players might be in line for that level of payday soon?
Bryan Joiner: Over the Monster presents its challenger Mookie Betts.
Luis Davila: Betts and Lindor come to mind
Jessica DeLine: Mookie may get more money than Mike Trout, only because I think Trout took less than he could have earned to stay with the same team.
Mark Brown (Camden Chat): People who end up being as young and good as the Manny Machados of the world are extremely rare. Unless there are changes to the CBA, a player basically needs to be 19 or 20 when he debuts to have a chance at a gigantic payday. Then he has to be good and healthy enough to get the big bucks. The next guy who might get some big money is probably Mookie Betts, and after him you’re probably waiting to see if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. put it all together and get paid.
William Metzger: Aaron Judge
Bryan Joiner: I’m really interested in what happens with Vlad, whenever it does.
Kris Willis: Now that Mike Trout and Nolan Arenado have signed, I don’t know that we will see those numbers eclipsed. Mookie Betts comes to mind as a guy who is positioned well for a big pay day down the road and there are a lot of young players like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto who could join that group a few years down the road.
Al Yellon: When you see players like Nolan Arenado and Mike Trout sign long-term extensions with their clubs, my thoughts immediately went to Kris Bryant, who is certainly in the top echelon of ballplayers, a former league MVP. He’s been quoted as saying “Everyone in this clubhouse would like to play his entire career here.” I find myself hoping the Cubs will find the money to extend Bryant, and also Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez.
Matt Provenzano: If anyone beats Trout’s number, it’s because the CBA restructured free agency to have it come earlier.
Maggie Wiggin: Prices went as high as they did, I think, in part because of the relatively young players involved. I think the best bet for another $300M+, besides Betts, would be someone like Soto or Acuna who will hit free agency right in their prime.
Brett Ballantini (South Side Sox): What’s fascinating is that if spending were more “true,” if there weren’t some elements of collusion involved in this offseason (Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox sitting out), the numbers should have been bigger. The SB Nation offseason simulation (Max Rieper) had Harper in the low 500 millions, Machado past 400. As big as they are, these numbers should be even bigger.
Luis Davila: This offseason showed that even the guys right up there with Trout are still miles away from his performance and value
Wick Terrell: What stood out to me about these record mega-deals is that they were each doled out to position players. Even Clayton Kershaw, while inking a super lucrative extension, didn’t get anything close the four gigantic deals/extensions.
Josey Curtis: I would say Betts is the next big one. Lindor, as mentioned, could be in line, too. I’m interested to see what the Braves do with Albies and Acuna
John Trupin: To Wick’s point, I wonder if we’ll see more deals like Greinke’s, where the Annual Value is extremely high but the years are much shorter, similar to what the Dodgers offered Harper.
Adam Morris: I don’t think you’ll see anyone surpass the Mike Trout extension anytime soon. Mookie Betts and Francisco Lindor are the two guys who come to mind who could challenge the Machado, Harper and Arenado deals. Betts will be 29 when he hits the open market, meaning he will be leaving his peak years rather than entering them.
Jessica DeLine: Wick raised a great point. I don’t think we will see as many mega-deals on pitchers. Teams seems to be less willing because of the long term risk.
Jake Devin: I’m not sure if they will be topped, but I sure hope that Betts/Lindor/etc find a way to do it. These mega-deals look impressive from a raw perspective, but any sort of adjustment for inflation or exploding revenues leaves these deals far behind the ones from yesteryear (both of A-Rod’s contracts spring to mind)
Wick Terrell: I’m wondering if the next CBA will see a different sliding arbitration scale for pitchers vs. position players.
Luis Davila: Age is the biggest factor, it’s so hard to be that good, for that long, every single year, by that young of an age
Wick Terrell: Xander Bogaerts will be just 27 this winter. If he lucks into a really, really good 2019 season, he should be in line for a massive payday, too, although it’s not one that will approach what we saw this offseason.
The White Sox just locked up a player before he ever played a big league game. Is that something you think other teams will start doing more often?
Bryan Joiner: They’re not the first, and yes! I suspect if Vlad hadn’t gotten hurt he might have been the next.
Max Rieper: Absolutely. So far most of those deals have worked out handsomely for clubs. If you see a few players begin to bust, that could turn the tide. But it presents a lot of cost certainty for teams, and a nice early payday for the player.
Bryan Joiner: The White Sox have a lot of chances to repeat it, too, but with teams like the Padres et al so prospect heavy I suspect it’s gonna happen more and more.
Jake Devin: If teams are going to shy away from free agent spending, then it’s easy to envision that incentivizing more and more young players to take the guaranteed money now, even if they sacrifice some earning power at the back end
Maggie Wiggin: I think they’ll pick up for a while, but if the trend doesn’t pay off for teams, it might not last long. It’s a really uncertain market for both teams and players, and that added certainty could be worth a lot to everyone.
Luis Davila: Yes but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best move. It’s easy to forget the risk a prospect carries even if they’re ripping up the minor leagues. With most prospects you’re better off paying them their league minimum until they show you they can play to any degree in the major leagues
Bryan Joiner: Also I suspect young players wanna get some money now, in case there’s a strike.
Maggie Wiggin: Agree with Bryan that the looming CBA situation is making everyone a little nervous.
Steven Burt: There is very little downside to agreeing to these pre-MLB deals for teams that I think it’ll become the norm sooner rather than later. Who knows, maybe the league will even adopt the policy and actually pay their young players
John Trupin: I do think we’re seeing player dev advancements to the point where teams are able to be more confident in the success of top prospects, and the first $10 million matters more to most players (understandably) than the 10th $10 million.
Matt Provenzano: True, and the degree of confidence allows a team to, say, swing and miss on Jon Singleton, but an extension to a George Springer collectively would have worked out. You may see them come in all stripes, hoping they’ll win on the aggregate.
Wick Terrell: I think the MLBPA’s consistent stance of trying to sign the biggest contracts possible so that ‘the next player up’ gets that chance, too, might finally be caving to the idea of making sure more players get something. At least, it sure seems like there’s finally more public pressure on that focus.
Luis Davila: I think [Scott] Kingery last season was a prime example as to why teams should be reluctant. And I think this is separate from the living wage discussion, cause these kids work hard everyday regardless if they’re elite or not and should be paid accordingly.
Matt Provenzano: A Kingery may not work out, but if you dole out $100 million in early extensions and you would have collectively doled out $125-150 million in arbitration, you’re not going to care if $25 of that $100 million is a sunk cost
Bryan Joiner: Maggie can speak to this, but the Mets did it with Wright and Reyes on the same day years ago, I believe.
Maggie Wiggin: Close! Just a few days apart, if I recall correctly. And that was a totally magical moment in the middle of a magical season that felt like it was the start of a real dynasty. And both of those extensions paid off quite well for the team, though the dynasty didn’t make it. Still, it meant so much to fans that wanted to build a personal relationship with a team.
We’re seeing all these big deals but players like Craig Kimbrel are still unsigned. Do the big deals hurt the guys who are just under the level of the Machados and Harpers?
Matt Provenzano: Well, some of them, for sure. But I doubt Machado or Harper stopped anyone from giving more than a minor league offer to, say, Gio Gonzalez, and I think they’re hurt by something more nefarious than just those players getting paid.
Jessica DeLine: It baffles me that Kimbrel is still unsigned and I wonder if it’s because he’s asking for too much. I’m not sure that the big deals are hurting him but more so that GMs think they can get bullpen value for less. Bullpen arms can be fickle at times.
Adam Morris: The top players command the top money. The Dallas Keuchels and the Craig Kimbrels are the types of players who would get contracts in the past that teams tended to regret, and teams seem to be adjusting their valuation of those guys.
Bryan Joiner: I think the big deals are themselves sold short, and those are the players who get the best deals at all -- so yeah, I think it’s much worse at the low end. And I think it’s a strike that fixes it, at least before the new CBA. Because only one side acknowledges that anything’s even broken
Wick Terrell: Jayson Stark and Dan Szymborski were talking about this on twitter, and they emphasized a point that’s pretty pertinent. Teams have absolutely reached a point where they aren’t doling out $/WAR as if it’s a linear arrangement anymore. Players on the very, very top tier than can provide that extra potential marginal win each year are getting paid handsomely, but teams just aren’t willing to fill the middle of their roster with decent-sized contracts anymore when they think there’s any feasible chance that a young player - or rotation young players with active roster management - can duplicate that production.
Bryan Murphy: ”I’d rather keep the money than buy the performance certainty with Dallas Keuchel or Craig Kimbrel” is a really troubling mode of thinking in that it’s inherently anti-competitive. We don’t really know what their asks have been, but it sure seems like their reps asked for dollars and years that were once considered the “going rate” for players of their ilk and almost literally overnight, the entire industry’s thinking on “going rate” changed.
Bryan Joiner: I suspect we might see Kimbrel parachute onto a team mid-year, and as long as this is what’s happening with pitchers you might see more of it.
Max Rieper: I think baseball needs to embrace incentive-laden deals. Teams are tired of being burned by players who crater in performance. Right now performance incentives are pretty much banned - the only incentives are for playing time. Allow a base salary, allow some flexibility so that good players are rewarded but teams aren’t burned. Of course, the same should be done for pre-free agent players - allow them to reap more benefits from being very good.
John Trupin: Expanding on Wick’s point, the trouble is that even if you feel teams are being cheap by not going out and paying for veterans who would probably improve them, there’s a reasonable case to make that you can replicate that with cheaper alternatives. That can be fixed to a degree by altering pay structures for young guys...
Jake Devin: If there’s a simple fix, it’s finding a way to tie revenue/profit to winning baseball games, but that, of course, is not itself simple
Bryan Joiner: Instead of paying top dollar for pitchers, teams will pay what they have to and increase that only when they have to, provided there’s a pool waiting. And there is.
Rob Rogacki: Raising the salary floor and paying younger players more money earlier on seems like the fix here.
William Metzger: Some mid-level guys are doing fine. Eovaldi for example. Keuchel and Kimbrel are questionable as to their future performance, that’s why they are still out there. They want to get paid for their past performances. The teams want to pay for their best estimate of future performance. Reason to doubt both.
Eric Garcia McKinley: A fix is to get rid of salary cap for guys in their first three years of service time and do away with arbitration. If big paydays at the front of a career become normalized, over time there will be less of an expectation to get a big paycheck based on what a player has already done
Max Rieper: Jake, a salary floor is long overdue.
Wick Terrell: I do also wonder if there truly is a pervasive hubris among front office folks who simply don’t want to be ‘wrong’ on big contracts.
John Trupin: But what you ultimately need is more spots, and for that you need expansion, and playoff expansion commensurately.
Maggie Wiggin: I think the greater issue for most players in the non-superstar tier is the lack of competition for so many teams. When practically half the league has opted out of winning, the market for talented players becomes artificially small.
Luis Davila: A salary floor would be a good fix for competitive balance and trying to prevent tanking but I don’t think it’d change much for 30+ year old free agents. Teams will just pay their younger guys and commit to them.
Steven Burt: Kimbrel and these guys just overvalued themselves and teams signed replacements within their budgets. Guys like Britton, Familia, and Ottavino had no problem signing in the present FA world.
Bryan Joiner: Even if Keuchel and Kimbrel are being “unrealistic,” the market is more out of whack than their demands, in my opinion.
Wick Terrell: We kicked around the idea in Red Reporter Slack that expansion might be the one thing that could solve the mid-market collapse.
John Trupin: I think that goes back to the point Wick made though that teams are (not inaccurately) seeing the possibility of getting 80% of the production at 5% of the cost as a worthwhile bet.
Luis Davila: It’s not a popular way to look at it but the guys not signed or that have taken below “estimated” deals haven’t been playing the best ball of their careers
Danny Russell: I’m not sure who the Collective Bargaining Agreement was bargained for. The vast majority of value comes from players making the bare minimum. The system is fed by players making at the highest 10 grand, and at the lowest hundreds of dollars. For every nine figure contract, how many hundreds of players are making a fraction of a percentage in comparison? The CBA insults everyone who is not in the furthermost standard deviation to the right. Of course there will be players left out in the cold.
Bryan Murphy: Anyway, the “business of baseball” has really gone so mainstream that it makes the game a little less fun than it used to be. It sure seems like we’re five years away from the GM being on billboards outside of stadiums.
Wick Terrell: Teams wanting to be ‘right’ more than they want to make absolutely sure they ‘win’ is a big fat bummer, yes.
Bryan Joiner: Increasingly I take baseball players at their word when they say they get paid “enough” to play, and if there’s a discrepancy between revenue and payouts, the only solution is to tax the owners until the ratio is good again. Theoretically we have that power! Practically... less easy
Alex Hall: The incentives thing would also allow smaller-market teams to compete more often. Taking away some of the big-dollar risk means they can gamble on more stars, and the playing field can be leveled somewhat financially. Right now the big budget teams have the huge advantage of being able to spend wildly knowing they can absorb a big mistake or two, whereas other clubs have to back off because they can’t afford for a mega-deal to go wrong.
How do you feel about baseball’s new rule changes?
Bryan Joiner: Don’t. Move. The. Mound.
John Trupin: Team 3-Batter Minimum assemble!
Bryan Joiner: Outside of the mound moving, I don’t care. Get it out of your system. These things are gonna happen whether we like ‘em or not. But the mound stays!
Maggie Wiggin: Where does team no minimum assemble? It just feels like an obtrusive way to resolve a trend that is already on the decline.
Luis Davila: I like the expansion of the roster. And I’m indifferent about the 3-Batter Minimum. I don’t think it’s the answer for improving the games pace at all and it will make an impact in the playoffs that many people will not like at all.
Blake Harris: I like the idea of having a 26th roster spot and a pitch clock. I hate the idea of a three batter minimum. As a Dodgers fan, it irritates me every time Dave Roberts switches a pitcher after one batter. Although it takes a lot of time, I absolutely love the strategy behind it, and it makes the game more strategic. If they want to speed up pace of play, put a limit on throw overs to first base!!
Matt Lyons: Anything to reduce the number of mound visits and pitching changes is a win in my baseball viewing book. The strategy of matching relievers to batters is fun on paper, but if you break it down to game execution, you realize it’s really just watching the manager walk out to the mound four times in an inning instead of actually watching baseball. Just as Terry Francona.
Mark Brown: I’ve loved baseball for about as long as I’ve been alive. It’s an amazing sport to follow. It’s also really boring most of the time. The boring parts make the exciting bits stand out all the more. Still, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to try to rein in some of the worst stuff. Three pitching changes in one inning is dumb. Pitchers taking 30+ seconds between pitches is dumb. 3-2 games that go nine innings and take over three hours to play are dumb. We’ll see if any of this new wave of changes make any difference or if they end up being about as pointless as auto-intentional walks.
Eric Garcia McKinley: I’m not a fan of playing extra innings with different rules than the first 9. Or the first five months of the season.
Max Rieper: Was really surprised a pitch clock was not included considering the minors already use it and they’ve had it in spring training games. Seems like it is inevitable and I think it would be the best way to improve pace of play. The three-batter minimum seems like a heavy-handed approach with minimal impact.
Jessica DeLine: I HATE the new rules around roster construction. 26 on the roster is great but 28 in September is not enough. We won’t get to see the prospects play and most teams will just add 2 pitchers. September should be 30-32 guys because 40 was way too many but they went way too extreme with the limit now.
Tyler Gorsegner: I’m going to yell at a cloud a little bit here, but the changes won’t fix the issue. If someone thinks baseball is boring, cutting a few seconds off between pitches won’t change their opinion. The problem is that baseball is a cerebral game. Rather than trying to change the game to cater to non-fans, we need to find ways to make those non-fans into fans.
Luis Davila: The pitch clock is not a bad addition at all. I feel the hate towards it is a bit overblown.
Max Rieper: The September roster limit will possibly keep a lot of minor leaguers from ever reaching the big leagues (and getting covered health care for life)
Wick Terrell: Reducing the September roster size also is another hit to young player salaries, since that’s shrinking the chance of some players to accrue service time.
John Trupin: I think the 3-Batter minimum adds as much strategy as it takes away, as you have to be mindful of utilizing your pitchers in a way they can capably work and not just burn through your specialist when they’re supposed to enter.
Alex Hall: I really like the elimination of August trades. It puts the proper meaning on the July trade deadline.
Maggie Wiggin: I agree that the September limits are too harsh. I can see backing down from 40, but there’s gotta be a happy medium.
Brett Ballantini: Not an official rule, but this crap with putting a guy on second base in spring training is sickening. Just start calling games ties if you don’t want extras. I don’t want a shootout win (shoutout to NHL’s most clown-car rule) counting like a real win in any games, ever. Even meaningless spring training games.
Josey Curtis: The only rule that I like without hesitation is the roster change to 26. Jessica is spot on with how I feel about the September situation
Jake Devin: What I’ve found most interesting about the changes, really, is that baseball is considering changing at all, given it’s been pretty stagnant as an organization throughout its history. I like and dislike different aspects of the changes, but on the whole I think it’s a good thing that the league itself is at least showing some interest in changing.
Bryan Joiner: The changes are all for the TV show, not the sport, it seems.
John Trupin: I do think the pitch clock is good, and find the resistance to it from players understandable even though it will ultimately not feel that impactful to them.
Max Rieper: Not all changes are for TV, they shortened commercial breaks by 15 seconds! What will you do with all that free time?
Jessica DeLine: Games will be 2 minutes shorter now. Hooray!!
Alex Hall: I don’t like adding extra rules unless we absolutely have to (like for safety), because every extra rule makes things a little more complicated and makes it that much harder for the casual fan to know what’s going on -- NFL is a great example of this, where you need a novel to explain practically every moment of every play.
Rob Rogacki: I think speeding up the actual pace of the game would be nice. They told players to speed it up a couple years ago and threatened fines, and that seemed to work
Maggie Wiggin: The pace feels more closely tied to the habits of pitchers and batters than to changes, to me anyway. A commercial break means I can grab a snack or check another score, but every time a batter adjusts his gloves, I just want to scream.
John Trupin: The game will always have plenty of pregnant pauses and time to relax relative to most sports, which most people love about baseball, but we can still trim that.
Steven Burt: I’m indifferent to the new rule changes. I’m going to watch the games regardless and my enjoyment will probably stay the same. Very surprised they’re not testing the 3 batter minimum in the minors because from what I’ve heard the pitch clock has been seen as a positive.
What are you looking forward to in baseball this season?
Tom Dakers: VLAD JR.
Bryan Joiner: I was going to say the Red Sox’s very real chance to win it all but I think I’ll go with Vlad Jr. too.
Jessica DeLine: I second that on Vlad Jr.
Patrick Reddington: Phillies fans and their new outfielder invading Nationals Park... oh wait, I’m actually dreading that. Juan Soto and Victor Robles playing every day in the post-Harper outfield in D.C.
Steven Burt: Bat flips and dingers!
John Trupin: Literally the entire National League. The NL East is going to be WILD
Wick Terrell: I’m looking forward to the Reds starting the season better than, say, 3-18 with a fired manager.
Josey Curtis: Seems like Vlad Jr. is a common answer here! I’m also particularly excited to see how the NL Central and NL East division races shape up
Eric Garcia McKinley: I’m looking forward to the Dodgers finishing in second place
Maggie Wiggin: I’m psyched to see a rematch of the NL Cy Young competition. NL East pitching is just getting more and more ridiculous and it’s going to be a wild summer.
Max Rieper: The Royals are going to try to steal over 200 bases this year, and it probably won’t help them win many games, but it will be fun to watch. I feel like there is a new generation of rising stars that are tremendously exciting - Ronald Acuna, Juan Soto, Vlad Guerrero Jr, Fernando Tatis, Jr. - and don’t sleep on our Adalberto Mondesi
Rob Rogacki: I’m looking forward to watching 29 of 30 teams. Unfortunately I have to write about the other one.
Max Rieper: I want to see one of the tanking teams become accidentally good. What will they do then?
Josey Curtis: Like the Reds, maybe
Danny Russell: Like the Royals, Max?
Bryan Murphy: Bruce Bochy’s final season as manager. He’s been a throwback for as long as he’s managed the Giants, and his pending departure represents the Giants crossing the threshold into the 21st century more than anything else they’ve done this past season or figure to do in the coming year.
John Trupin: I’m incredibly excited to watch Dee Gordon and Mallex Smith run wild, and watch grainy video of players in West Virginia and Arkansas play and dream.
Kate Preusser (Lookout Landing): I hope to see MLB take some notes from the Japan Series, or from baseball fans worldwide, and encourage players to show their personalities more (Team Bat Flip here) and get fans more involved and vocal on every pitch. I spoke to one of our prospects from the DR at Spring Training this year who just came stateside and he said the biggest difference here is that baseball feels like a job in the US. He’d love to see ballparks packed full of fans chanting and singing and cheering. I think the Japan Series really showed how much fun baseball can be, and it’s not about messing with the fabric of the game. It’s about getting fans more involved in the experience.
Alex Hall: Agree with Kate. Embrace the personality that is beginning to emerge with this new generation of players, especially the ones who are bringing different cultural styles from other countries. It makes the game more fun and will only help its popularity, especially with the young people they claim to want to attract.
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