Benjamin Grimm

That article mentions the All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. They should totally write off the All-Star Game this year.

One interesting tidbit that I read somewhere is that the owners prefer playing in their home ballparks because of the advertising revenue. They'll still get money, apparently, from Dunkin Donuts and Budweiser when the ads appear on television. I wonder if those rates will be reduced, and by how much, or if they're primarily intended for the home viewers anyway.

If I was the catcher who was designated to receive a first pitch from this president, I'd step aside as the threw it and just let the ball roll to a stop, untouched. And I'd walk away without even looking at it.

Latest news is that the thirty owners have approved the plan outlined above. Tomorrow begins the effort to get the players to accept the proposal. It includes owners splitting revenues 50-50 with the players.

Amid coronavirus pandemic, MLB owners will vote on historic revenue-sharing plan Bob Nightengale USA TODAY Major League Baseball owners, with an abundance of optimism that baseball will be played this year, are scheduled to vote on a plan Monday that will require teams to share at least 48% of their revenue with the Major League Baseball Players Association this season, two people with direct knowledge of the proposal told USA TODAY Sports. The people, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because they were unauthorized to discuss details, said the historic revenue-sharing plan is integral to diminish revenue losses with games potentially being played without fans beginning in July. MLB officials say that teams are expected to lose about 40% of their gross revenue from ticket sales, concessions and parking. This would be the first time in history that MLB clubs would be willing to share their revenue with players, although it's common in other sports. In the NFL, players get 48% of revenue, and NBA players receive between 49% and 51% based on expected income. The proposal was initially shared with owners Thursday, revised Friday with owners on their executive committee and will be submitted for a vote on their noon ET conference call Monday, according to the two people. The proposal is expected to be submitted to the union Monday evening. The union has balked at the idea that players should take a further pay cut since they already will lose about half of their annual salary with the season being reduced to 82 regular-season games. They agreed to be paid on a pro-rated basis in their previous agreement on March 26, which granted players a full year of service time if no season is played. MLB is trying its best to get back on the field and start the 2020 season. But there's still plenty to be decided. The owners' proposal also outlines details on scheduling, which will include the postponement of the All-Star Game, which was scheduled for July 14 at Dodger Stadium, the two people told USA TODAY Sports. Training camps, as previously reported by USA TODAY Sports, will begin in June with an opening day set July 1-4. Teams will have the option of hosting spring training 2.0 at their home facilities or at their spring-training complexes in Arizona and Florida, with the hope that all teams can stage games at their own home ballparks during the season. According to the two people, the traditional two-league- six-division structure will remain, but teams will only play opponents in their division and the corresponding geographical division from the other league. So a team such as the New York Yankees would play only against their AL East opponents and the NL East, while a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, who weren't scheduled to play the Houston Astros, now would play them at least six times. They will also vote on whether to implement a universal DH, which likely will be necessary considering that interleague play will constitute about 40% of games. The active rosters are expected to be inflated from 26 players to 30, with a 20-man taxi squad consisting mostly of an organization's top minor-league players being available all season. If teams are unable to play in their home ballparks, at least at the outset of the season, they could choose to share a major-league facility with another team or play at their own spring-training complex. Yet, the preference by all owners is that the games, even with no fans, are staged at their own ballparks. MLB initially considered extending the season through Thanksgiving weekend, playing regular-season games through most of October, but with a fear of a second wave of COVID-19 in the fall, believe it would be safer finish the season no later than the first week of November. MLB cautions that their plan remains fluid with the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring the approval of health experts and governmental officials. So the Mets regular season would be entirely against the Braves, Nationals, Phillies, Marlins, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rays, and Orioles. And if they were to be one of the seven NL teams (three division champs and four wild cards?) to advance to the post-season, their postseason would be against other NL teams, including those in the Central and West, until the World Series.

I remember recording the first two games of the NLDS on my VCR and getting up early in the morning to watch the games, fast-forwarding through commercial breaks, before going to work. I seem to recall Edgardo Alfonzo hitting a grand slam off Randy Johnson

I don't recall what my opinion was at the time, but now I'm going with Loy here. Great idea for a poll! I had forgotten all about the Inquiring Photographer!

I think a lot of minor league teams will never return. They were talking about reducing the number of teams even before this happened. Now it becomes much more likely to happen. I suspect Kingsport is doomed. The fan experience will eventually get back to normal. It may not be until we're all vaccinated, but it will happen. There will be a lot of young players whose careers end in 2020 who will spend the rest of their lives wondering if the virus prevented them from becoming a big leaguer. And they'll never know the answer.

Good. I only want someone with "many billions of dollars"

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29144297/mlb-return-play-proposal-expected-week-sources-sayMLB return-to-play proposal expected within week, sources say This is a wrinkle that I've been wondering about too: Multiple players have reached out to the union asking what would happen if they opted not to play in 2020 out of fear for their health or a desire to remain with their families during the pandemic, sources told ESPN. I think it makes sense to allow individual players to opt out, if they're willing to forego their salaries, except for the 4% that they'd have gotten if the season was canceled entirely. Zack Wheeler doesn't want to play? Then the Phillies do without him, save on his salary, and Wheeler gets to stay home. And if he later changes his mind, he gets a pro-rated portion of his salary. It seems like the fair thing to do.

I saw it once from outside when I was a kid and my parents took us to Disneyland.

There's no point in watching that team's games, because the outcome is already known. Nobody Beats the Wiz.

If any member of a team tests positive for the coronavirus at any point of the season, the league will be shut down for at least three weeks. I understand abundance of caution, but that does seem drastic. It's bound to happen, isn't it? You'd think they would test and quarantine everyone the individual player had contact with, but shutting down the entire league? I think the KBO may have to settle for something like a fifteen-game season.

I think they'll play this year. Voted July 1 but suspect it will be closer to the middle of the month.

Pick the date closet to when you think we'll see regular-season baseball. This poll will run for a week.

https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-1969-world-series-sny-1.44356774SNY to air entire 1969 World Series, including Mets' Game 1 loss to Orioles

SCHAEFER METS PLAYERS OF THE MONTH, APRIL 2020 http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/Nobody1972.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/Nobody1979.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/Nobody1975.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/JordanyValdespin1978.jpg> APRIL 2020 Player of the Month: NOBODY Pitcher of the Month: NOBODY Reliever of the Month: NOBODY Bench Player of the Month: JORDANY VALDESPIN (There may have been some kind of tallying error. The auditing department in Stockholm is looking into this.)

I disagree. Bonds was not great for the game. He was an absolute disgrace.

It's certainly not because of a lack of talent that Shoeless Joe Jackson and Peter Edward Rose are not in the Hall of Fame. The statistics of Pete Rose and Barry Bonds etc. are not being expunged. Their accomplishments are part of the permanent historical record, as they should be. But Shame negates Fame, and those who have tarnished the game, as Bonds and Clemens etc. have done, don't deserve to be honored. Frankly, I'd rather see Rose in the Hall than Bonds (not that I'm saying Rose should be in) because Bonds did more harm to the game. Rose's all-time base hit record is legitimate. Bonds' home run record is a travesty.

The statistics show how good they were, but that alone doesn't make them worthy of being honored.

Above everything else, I'd ban "EVERYBODY CLAP YOUR HANDS!" because it bugs the crap out of me. It's funnier and more enjoyable if, as Fboy and I do, you change it to "EVERYBODY CRAP YOUR PANTS" and then commence clapping. Yeah, but what if everyone in the stadium follows your advice? It would turn a day at the ballpark into a miserable experience. Have you ever considered that?

I'm willing to accept a great deal of nuttiness in the 2020 season as long as there actually is a 2020 season. 40-man rosters. 7-inning games. Three ten-team leagues. Expanded playoffs. A December World Series. Tie games. Even the DH, if it's absolutely necessary. The only ideas I've seen that I really object to are starting an inning with designated base runners and, even worse, a Home Run Derby tie breaker.

Dayn Perry (whoever he is) is optimistic: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-could-start-2020-season-with-opening-day-by-fourth-of-july-report-says/MLB could start 2020 season with Opening Day by Fourth of July, report says The "report" that he sites is from Ken Rosenthal in The Atlantic, and here's the part of Rosenthal's report that Perry quotes: Ken Rosenthal wrote: "The most realistic time range for Opening Day — somewhere between mid-June and July 4, in the view of most officials — would allow for an 80- to 100-game regular season, with the schedule running through October. An expanded postseason at neutral sites might follow, with the World Series ending in late November or early December."

The virus isn't the only obstacle to having a baseball season. Money, of course, is the other. This article from the Boston Herald spells it out pretty well: https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/04/27/mlb-wont-be-back-until-it-makes-dollars-and-sense-for-owners-and-players/MLB won't be back until it makes dollars and sense for owners and players I wonder if it would be possible to leave it up to individual players? Those who are willing to play for a reduced salary can play and those who are not would sit out and get their 4%, which is all they would get if the season was canceled entirely. So those who have expressed objections, like Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, and Zack Wheeler, can sit out and those who say "I wanna play!" can play. It would just be one more element of weirdness on a very weird season.

They may be trying to determine if it's better to have no baseball at all than to play in empty ballparks. That too, though, would be driven more by what's financially viable than by fan input.