Teams have their hands full today with the opening of the international signing period, as well as the now-passed deadline for arbitration agreements. While we sift through those financials, here’s the latest on how the pandemic continues to affect the sport…
- MLB hopes to bring back seven-inning doubleheaders and the runner-on-second-base extra-inning rule, writes USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The league is advocating for a continuation of these rules specifically for fear of the coronavirus continuing to affect the schedule. The league also seems to be in favor of keeping the universal DH and expanded playoffs, though those issues are still being discussed. No rule changes are made official, of course, until the league comes to an agreement with the MLBPA. The debate around expanded playoffs seems particularly challenging right now, as a greater playoff field, in some minds, actually de-incentivizes teams from spending in free agency since they have a greater margin for error. Reduced spending on free agents is a hot button issue right now, and it’s going to be the lens through which the players view many of the topics under discussion for 2021. Nightengale notes that there’s at least a chance that MLB ends up with the same rules in 2021 as in 2020, with the exception of roster sizes dropping back down from 29 to 26.
- The Rays are planning to allow roughly 7,000 fans per game in 2021, socially distanced and wearing masks, of course, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Of course, much can change between now and April, but the hope is that greater vaccine rollouts can mitigate the number of breakouts around the country. The Rays plan to re-open part of their upper deck seating to help keep fans appropriately distanced. The Rays are prepping best they can to allow fans in for games, but it will still come down to getting approval from MLB and government authorities. The Rays hope to have more information about ticketing ready before the end of February.
Who are the Rays kidding they don’t get 7,000 fans a game
My thoughts exactly. Lol
I thought Rays fans were a myth. They can save on operating costs and just leave that upper deck tarp on the seats
Home run Tesse!!!
It may actually work creating ticket scarcity.
Perhaps!
Thats about 6000 more than who normally shows up for games
It’s mid July and NL teams still don’t know how to build their rosters.
Manfred is the definition of failure.
It’s mid-July?
Hey, let’s not all bash on a team that just went to the world series, got rid of it’s ace, has it’s best hitter in legal troubles and plays home games in the worst MLB facility.
How’s Covid19 in July? Let those of us in Januray know.
Better yet, what were the winning lottery numbers for next week?
I’d rather have the numbers for tonight and/or tomorrow.
Ha ha. Epic fail on my part.
July is great, by the way. Herd immunity has taken flight in the low risk groups while the high risk groups are immunized. Hospitals will always have Covid patients but they aren’t flowing into hallways and parking lots.
Optimistic! I love it!
Also, the Angels will have a 13 game in the AL west on July 21, 2021.
I’m glad you cleared that up. When I first read your comment I actually thought you were being sarcastic in regards to the commissioner and laughed out loud.
Answer on whether the NL will have a DH will be given at the All Star Break
I’m OK with that as long as it’s before the trade deadline so I don’t have to fret over the BA and SAC ability of any pitcher who might be dealt to an NL team before then. lol
Funny in a way.. Most open state of the 50 with the virus and the Rays normally don’t draw.. Think they “average” like 20k, but that’s influenced by sellouts, or close to with every game they play with both the Sox and NYY. Teams like the O’s and Jays come in and place is a morgue.. Only way know ppl there are the diehard rays ppl and those annoying cow bells.
DeSantis (Gov) won’t be the reason attendance is limited. Local mayors in Pinellas county could be a problem.
I just checked… averaged 14,000+ in 2019. But you are right that number is not a fair representation of actual fans in the stands
I like your “cow bell” take. Perhaps the Rays and the Guv will discover a better COVID-19 argument than their current ‘undying’ belief in herd immunity over common sense? 🙁
Hey!! Not nice, but true.
Beat me to it
They get more than the weekends but hey I have hundreds of $$$s in my Rays account just sitting there waiting to be used. Yes I am one of the few Rays Season Ticket Holders 😉
Visiting teams fans they do
Florida will approve it. But who would want to take those chances?
People who have been vaccinated.
Or ppl who just want to get out and watch a baseball game. Every person has to determine what amount risk they are willing to take.
Or the amount of risk they are willing to take for others. Cause you can’t pass the virus along to anyone else unless you really want to.
People who don’t live in constant fear
People who aren’t very bright.
See how that works?
People who aren’t brainwashed sheep and are able to form opinions on their own.
See how that works?
Correct Chad. A virus that escapes a level four lab but will be stopped by a piece of cloth. BYW, how is China wide open and no virus? The sheeple in this country is ridiculous
People who have Social Irresponsibility Disorder.
People who are too stupid to understand how disease is transmitted. People who are too stupid to understand that their inability to comprehend science has led to 500,000 deaths in a year. There are people who refused to wear a mask, then contracted this disease without any symptoms and killed family and loved ones without ever knowing it.
You might be one of them… all part of the journey of being an idiot!
Theruns – you probably wear your mask in the car even when you are all by yourself. Lol lol lol
…maybe you will get COVID from your car…… lol
I can’t believe people on both sides of the political spectrum have turned covid into something political. You should all be ashamed of yourselves
247k less deaths in 2020. Somehow Costco and Walmart and big chains stay open, while all the great small business are doa. Yet somehow we all aren’t dead. And before it gets brought up, My wife and I had it. It was just like the flu I got in 2019. Odd.
@Bigdaddyhacks
Stop spreading misinformation. According to USAfacts.org, over 334,000 more people died last year than 2019. That doesn’t even account for some of the October through December deaths that have yet to be accounted for. You have the right to your own opinion as to how to handle this pandemic, but you’re not helping anyone by telling lies
Keep smoking that crack pipe stupid
Florida man …
Florida is a state of millions. im sure of the number that are Rays fans 7,000 would be willing to go
The key is knowing your chances and the chances of those around you. John Hopkins has great online tools to do so.
Your odds will never be 0% again so establish your own fact based comfort level and decide accordingly.
Of course it’ll be approved. Florida’s governor cares about public safety and knows all about sciencey stuff.
If I can go to any public place safely (like now) I can go to a baseball game safely w/ only 7000 fans.
Plenty who actually look at the survival rate and leave their house once in awhile.
The seven inning rule isn’t terrible. But get rid of that garbage extra inning rule.
I hate expanded playoffs but I don’t mind the extra inning rule. Just pick it up in the 12th and not the 10th.
12th – yes. Both the expanded playoffs and runner on second rule ring of watered down NHL approaches. Never follow too closely behind the endlessly appeasing NHL.
The extra inning rule starting in the 12th is exactly how I felt watching the 2020 season. Gives 2 regular extra innings then shorten the game. Hockey regular season has overtime but goes to shootout after if it’s still tied.
How about home run derby if game tied after 9 innings? I’d stay for that.
Agreed. Also runner should be on first and not second base at least to start out. If there has to be a compromise I’d be ok with runner on first in 10th-12th, runner on 2nd in the 13th-15th, and runners on 1st and 3rd 16th and onward. That way you guarantee a full turn of the lineup at each level.
Except that if a runner is placed on 1st to start the inning, there’s the possibility of either the 1st or 2nd batter to hit in to a double play. If that happens, does the pitcher get credit for 2 up & 3 down?
9 inning double headers were regularly scheduled for a hundred years.
For how much strength the modern day athlete has, its amazing just how weak they truly are.
Weak, really? It has a lot more to do with travel scheduling as how many innings the players can handle. Also in the olden days a ticket to a double-header got you in for both end of the bill. The teams are not going to give away twofers again if they can possibly help it.
Travel scheduling isn’t the issue. They could have a 4 game series scheduled & completed in 3 days. Then they could schedule an off day for rest & travel.
I think it has more to do with limiting the amount of time players are in contact due to the coronavirus
It has to do with the fact that most relievers can’t throw more than an inning a day. This rule is here to stay.
Sadler, nine inning games took less that 2 1/2 hours. Now they take 3 1/2.
The first double header I went to, first game 2:13, second game 2:35.
Any word on team Mom and juice box/snack duties after the grueling 7 inning double headers?
Not sure. I did hear that a winning team gets to go to their favorite ice cream parlor for a cone, two scoops for a sweep!
Every team should be able to have fans in the stands because each one can hold over 30k. If you can even fit 5k in each stadium, it is still a win-win for all. The biggest thing is baseball wins.
Unless you’re a pitcher, then they don’t matter.
Sounds like wishful thinking. Can the rays get 7000 fans to attend in normal times? What a joke
Bring on the Montreal Rays (vive les Expos!).
Montreal Maple Leaves
Montreal Frenchies
Montreal Quebecs
Montreal 1642s
Montreal La Metropoles
Montreal Concordia Salus
Montreal Triple Peaks
or
Montreal Baseball Team (like the team formerly know as the Indians) lol
The Rays would draw bigger crowds in Montreal!
Maybe, but no new stadium, and it’s not going to happen
Badco – I do not see another team in Montreal either. (Although the Red Sox vs Montreal games would have more Red Sox fans than Montreal).
The potential names are kind of interesting to think about.
7000 fans? That’s more than they usually draw non-COVID……
Where will the Rays find 7000 fans? (jk, I like the Rays)
Other team fans will travel to see a game since they couldn’t last year
I’m fine with the 7 inning doubleheaders, but please don’t bring back the runner on second in extra innings.
Hmm, so the Rays will only draw a few thousand fewer per game than they would in a normal year.
I have an idea. How about instead of the current extra innings rule, we do this: In the top of the 10th, the next team to bat will come up. They get a runner on 2nd base, but they only get one out per side. If that batter gets out, you switch. No commercial breaks. Sudden death. Whoever gets that runner home without recording an out wins.
“So… we go to the top of the 45th here at the ballpark…”
Rays will do great with attendance opening week. They’ve invited all the previous members of the previous administration for free tickets.
Jail sentences with standing of course.
I’m all for getting 162 games in but please don’t make 7-inning double-headers and an extra-innings runner a permanent fixture after this season.
Rays average home attendance in 2019: 14,734
7,000 is much more then 0
Allowing 7,000 means they may get 3,000. But than again that would put some pocket change in Sternberg’s pocket.
Smart play by the Rays.
7-inning games for doubleheaders is fine. Avoid the runner on 2nd extra inning rule. Earn that run the proper way.
I love all the soooooooo original comments about the Rays having 7k fans ohhhh my gosh you guys are so funnyyyyyy ha ha ha. So creative and thoughtful guys bravo…. and if you’re afraid of covid you’re a sheep
I wouldn’t mind a handful of scheduled 7-inning double-headers, if it allowed for more days off during the season. But those should be the only official 7-inning games, with an equal number per team. If teams need to make up other games, those make-up games should remain at 9-innings. At least that’s the way I’d do it.
I also don’t hate the free base runner in extra-innings. A regulation game is 9 innings (or occasionally 7, per the above). Whoever is ahead at the end of those 9 innings, is the winner. I’m not that hung up on the rules for deciding who gets the win when the teams don’t resolve it on their own during regulation. I wouldn’t hate having ties. That being said, my preference would be playing 3 regular extra-innings before allowing the free base runner in the 13th, if necessary, or at least wait until the 11th.
Does dave Wills beg the Tampa fans to show up like he did for the White sox when he worked in Chicago?
Sorry this is off topic but the amazing Ted Leitner the radio voice of the Padres who worked alongside the great Jerry Coleman is stepping down. Sad day in Padres land. He was incredible. Those two made many dismal years in Padres land a must listen. Great guy and going to be missed.
Ted Leitner is amazing. It’s sad to see him go.
Lived in San Diego 35 years. Ted was controversial. You loved him or hated him!
I was in the first group! I learned more about baseball listening to him on radio even while sitting in the stands watching the game! One of the best ever!!
I’m not in favor of the expanded playoffs. It was fine with the 60 game season, but it’s too watered down for a 162 game season. Too much like hockey. One of the things that differentiates MLB is just how important the regular season is. Why go through the grind of such a very long season if darn near half the teams make the postseason?
exactly my thoughts. I’m okay with adding a couple places in playoffs. 12 seems like a good number. But 16 teams is ridiculous
Lol the Rays get 7000 fans normally.
At least the Rays are allowing their fans to attend with no restrictions…
That’s more than they get in 81 games
In before thread lock:
Traditional playoffs, elimination of the DH, 9 inning games, normal extra innings, lots of fans cheering and watching actual baseball.
If the Rays were smart they’d make it a 7,000 fans minimum
7,000? So the Rays are planning on increasing attendance?
1) The 7-inning double headers suck, but it’s probably necessary.
2) The runner on second in extra innings thing is awful. That’s not baseball.
3) I’m not necessarily a fan of the universal DH, but at this point I can’t wait until they just do it and have it over so we can stop hearing about baseball’s stupidest controversy.
4) What with the owners crying poverty because they can’t have in person fans the expended playoffs make some sense for the duration of the pandemic. Trouble is, if they do it a second time they’re almost certainly not going to abandon it when the pandemic is over. We’re going to be stuck with this sixteen team nightmare, which for a sport that up until very recently only allowed eight teams, is horrifying. It damages the regular season by allowing bad teams a shot they don’t deserve, and it damages the first round of the playoffs because what you’re mostly going to have is really good teams beating the daylights out of teams that often won’t even have a winning record. Or worse yet, you’re going to get some 80-win team that gets hot at exactly the right moment sneaking in and lucking their way to a championship they didn’t earn. Major League Baseball isn’t the NBA, where the regular season never matters much because we know at the outset that the only real contenders are the five or six teams with the best superstars, and everybody else is going to be an also ran. At the outset of the MLB season two thirds or three quarters of the teams are supposed to have a legitimate shot and it’s supposed to be the regular season that weeds out not just the bad teams but the so-so teams too, so that once you get to the playoffs, hopefully all you have are not just the teams that have a shot, but the teams that DESERVE a shot. Of course, that’s not how it always works but that’s at least what you’re trying for. The people who created this sport and made it into the national pastime–which it no longer is thanks to the very same kind of fools who’re making these decisions–would he horrified to think that 81-81 (or worse) teams will regularly be limping into October. Ten teams was great. But that was enough.
5) Who are the Rays kidding? They just want to bring 7000 fans in so they can, for the first time ever, claim to have sellout crowds. And it’s still not going to work.
Are they 5 yrs old?? Enough with the stupid rules already
Do not bring back that extra inning rule. I don’t care what other rules they bring back in 2021. I’ve heard little to no fan support for it.
I mean, I like yelling obscenities at the TV and all but the extra inning rule was too much
I’m a strong proponent for the universal DH. I’m less enamored with too much playoff expansion in terms of teams but am also in favor of eliminating the older one-and-done wild card round. I would also prefer no best-of-three or best-of-5 playoff rounds. Of course, adopting a best-of-seven for all rounds would be difficult to achieve without more teams involved in the postseason or without a significant reduction in playoff eligible ones, With less playoff teams involved, the best-seven for all rounds would be feasible and not result in a longer postseason schedule. I’m guessing MLB does not want to go down that path anytime soon. Expansion to 32 teams or a shorter regular season (154?) would help make to make my proposals more realistic but that isn’t happening anytime soon either.
I’m not a fan of the other two rule changes. The notion of 7-inning double headers might not be needed with active rosters already increased to 26 teams and with the availability of a 27th man in most instances under the present rule. If the pandemic is still a major concern, MLB and the MLBPA could always negotiate for further expanded active rosters like last season which would suit the players just fine and potentially be a nice bridge to their expected contentious labor negotiations ahead of the current CBA which expires on December 1st. As for the runner-on-second-base extra-inning rule, that would be a big NO under any circumstances and should forever be forgotten!
The only rule change that makes sense to keep around is the universal DH. The rest of the changes are asinine
No runner on second in extra innings and no seven inning double hitters. The only rule change needed is banning the DH. Not a fan of overspecialization as in the DH (can’t field, but can hit), bringing in the specialist to face one batter, etc.
Okay, I know the DH will not be banned, too many of you like it. So how about this rule change: only one minute between half innings? Speed games up by about twenty minutes. Oh, yea, fewer commercials., can’t have that. Guess I’ll continue to watch less MLB with each passing season as it gets less interesting.
Rays are actually making attendance mandatory. The details are actually quite fascinating. If they don’t have 7000 in the stands by the top of the 2nd, they start plucking random men, women, children, creatures to be in the studio audience. Sort of like jury duty or the Price is Right.