Today is the 25th Anniversary of Pete Rose's lifetime ban. Should he be reinstated?

[Wes]

If you think Selig wasn't an overwhelming success you don't understand what the job of the Commissioner is. It's to make money for the owners. Baseball is in better financial shape than ever.

 

[jbhofmann]

If you think Selig wasn't an overwhelming success you don't understand what the job of the Commissioner is. It's to make money for the owners. Baseball is in better financial shape than ever.

You replace Selig with a bag of sand and a folding chair and the owners are still counting their Monopoly money.

 

[glewis22]

It seems that most Rose haters are more against his brash personality, autograph signings, living in Vegas, previous denial and perception of an insincere apology, than what he actually did.

Nah, actually, its what he did.

 

[Super Mario]

People are sheep.

 

[r2d2]

Labor peace? Of course, billions of increased revenues spread across the players tends to ease the peace.

While attendance has indeed increased, it's directly related to growth in the areas...and has actually leveled off

Adding a Wild Card is a solid...but necessary once the league broke into 3 divisions. Adding two wild cards is a dumb. A big, double dumb.

Globalization? Come now. Baseball is no more popular in any foreign country other than perhaps Israel. The World Baseball Classic is neat for every country other than the US and serves as little more than a major scouting showcase. The NBA and NFL have definitely globalized, but not baseball.

New stadiums...often tied to cash-strapped municipalities who fear losing the team due to strong-arm leverage.

Competitive balance...there was more balance decades ago rather than now. We think there's more competitive balance because a third of the teams make the playoffs or wild card.

MLB advanced media? MLB is so far out of the loop that their technology has little reach. It's the age old, "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise?"

PED testing...that all other doping agencies mock. I'm not even convinced that this testing policy is better than no testing policy. With this testing policy we have a false sense of function...but it doesn't actually work. Braun? ARod? Was that a result of testing or a disgruntled employee selling documents that the Feds were looking for? At the end of the day, the players can and will get whatever they want when it comes to PEDs.

Ok, we get it, for some reason you hate Bud even though everyone that has worked near him know the great contribution that he was to the game and will soon be in the HOF.
It is obvious you are biased towards the negative:

You nullify labor peace because players are getting paid? For decades owners pocketed all the revenue and did what they wanted to the players. Now that the players are happy and we are fans are happy as there are no work stoppages, you complain, great.

Well, you think the WC is dumb. But guess who asked for it and love it? The players. The most important actor in baseball. I guess they should ask your opinion next time they are debating changing something in the game.

Ok, so creating an international tournament and having 4 Opening Days in Japan, 1 in Australia, regular season games in Puerto Rico and Mexico is not globalization, we get it.

I do not think that there's more competitive balance right now because a third of the teams make the playoffs. That's still the hardest big US sport to make the playoffs. I am talking about 28 out of 30 teams, making the playoff since 2001.

Yeah, MLB is so far out of the loop in technology that it is cataloged as the best in sports and just last year generated over 700 million dollars.

And finally, your big finale, you would have prefer having no testing. Continue doing what everyone did for years, just turn the blind eye. Great citizen you must be.

 

[MansGame]

THANKS TOPPS

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

Ok, we get it, for some reason you hate Bud even though everyone that has worked near him know the great contribution that he was to the game and will soon be in the HOF.
It is obvious you are biased towards the negative:

You nullify labor peace because players are getting paid? For decades owners pocketed all the revenue and did what they wanted to the players. Now that the players are happy and we are fans are happy as there are no work stoppages, you complain, great.

Well, you think the WC is dumb. But guess who asked for it and love it? The players. The most important actor in baseball. I guess they should ask your opinion next time they are debating changing something in the game.

Ok, so creating an international tournament and having 4 Opening Days in Japan, 1 in Australia, regular season games in Puerto Rico and Mexico is not globalization, we get it.

I do not think that there's more competitive balance right now because a third of the teams make the playoffs. That's still the hardest big US sport to make the playoffs. I am talking about 28 out of 30 teams, making the playoff since 2001.

Yeah, MLB is so far out of the loop in technology that it is cataloged as the best in sports and just last year generated over 700 million dollars.

And finally, your big finale, you would have prefer having no testing. Continue doing what everyone did for years, just turn the blind eye. Great citizen you must be.

I'm absolutely biased towards the negatives when it comes to Selig. Some rational, some irrational...but it's tiresome hearing about things that Selig get credit for when it either existed beforehand, or would have happened without him.

To me, it's like giving Bill Clinton all of the credit for the booming economy in the 90s, and blaming Bush for the economic failures of the late 90s.

That said, I'll pass on a point by point rebuttal so as not to be a dick.

 

[SINFULONE]

You forgot to mention that he was the "de facto" Commish for the only cancelled WS in history. Not entirely his fault, as the unrest had built up for years (when he was a powerful owner), but still under his "watch".

And I think attendance has gone down two straight years and there are several spots where good teams draw no fans. It is mostly out of his control, but so is revenue coming in so he must be judged by both IMO...

I have never understood why the work stoppage took place in the middle of the damn year that season.At least other leagues are smart enough to have their work stoppages after the season so the playoffs aren't canceled.For some executive, Selig or someone else, to have a labor peace stoppage during the season was incredibly stupid in my mind.

 

[Wes]

I have never understood why the work stoppage took place in the middle of the damn year that season.At least other leagues are smart enough to have their work stoppages after the season so the playoffs aren't canceled.For some executive, Selig or someone else, to have a labor peace stoppage during the season was incredibly stupid in my mind.

When does a player's strike have more impact than in the middle of a season?

 

[joey12508]

I voted no, his stat's are amazing but you cant bet on the game. I am old school and less tolerant than most.

 

[SINFULONE]

When does a player's strike have more impact than in the middle of a season?

Seems counter productive when both sides lost a lot of money.Wait until offseason, work out differences before season, no one loses any money.

 

[jbhofmann]

That strike still hurts.

We were robbed of possibly Griffey's greatest season ever.

 

[Nate Colbert 17]

RE: the strike of 1994

Gwynn makes a run at .400.

 

[Wes]

Seems counter productive when both sides lost a lot of money.Wait until offseason, work out differences before season, no one loses any money.

Certainly not arguing for the strike, just explaining why it happened during the season. Leverage is only leverage if it's actually believably usable.

 

[Wes]

RE: the strike of 1994

Gwynn makes a run at .400.

Would have been extremely unlikely - Ben and Sam discuss on the Effectively Wild podcast recently but he would have needed to hit for some crazy high average over a stretch that he had never sustained before or after in his career.

 

[SINFULONE]

That strike still hurts.

We were robbed of possibly Griffey's greatest season ever.

And Gwynn may have hit .400 too.Would the Expos still be in Montreal?

 

[SINFULONE]

Certainly not arguing for the strike, just explaining why it happened during the season. Leverage is only leverage if it's actually believably usable.

I suppose.Wonder why other leagues don't use that ploy then?

 

[TNP777]

And Gwynn may have hit .400 too.Would the Expos still be in Montreal?

That's the first thing I thought of as well. The Expos were loaded that year. Good possibility they would have stayed if they win the WS.

 

[SINFULONE]

That's the first thing I thought of as well. The Expos were loaded that year. Good possibility they would have stayed if they win the WS.

What a shame that was.Yankees were dominant that year, Mattingly may have won a World Series too.Rangers were in first place with a losing record too.