MLB 2024 Regular Season Thread

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Unless I miss my guess, your Phillies, (also my favorite team), are the MLB leaders! The Dodgers and Yanks follow, (how are the Yanks doing it, BTW).

Yup, the Phightins are 26-11, followed by the Dodgers at 25-13 and the Yanks at 24-13 in a tie with 23-12 Baltimore atop AL East.

[achilles]

I like the Jays' Davis Schneider. I figure that in the same way a racing stripe makes a car faster according to the laws of physics, his awesome 70s pron mustache puts an automatic 70 points on his batting average.

[achilles]

Card's Wilson Contreras is out after a batter hit his forearm with the bat, breaking it. Ouch. They really ought to put a line back there behind home plate beyond which catchers can't pass. I've seen way to many catcher's interference calls this season. And yes, poor Wilson was called on that. Yes, the batter was broken up by it. Time for MLB to step in.

[achilles]

Yup, the Phightins are 26-11, followed by the Dodgers at 25-13 and the Yanks at 24-13 in a tie with 23-12 Baltimore atop AL East.

I have really liked the Phillies for years now, despite living no where near the state, much less the city. I love their competitiveness. They seem to WANT to win every game, not something I can say for example of the Angels. I like their players...yes, I know that's irrational----I've never even met any of them and likely never will, but I do like them and I stand by that. I just think they're a great team.

[achilles]

As for the Dodgers. Walker B is back and...better than I expected for a guy who hasn't pitched in two years. His velocity is okay, and his placement isn't terrible. He did get hit a bit, but actually watching him showed he wasn't that bad. And lets face it, with the Dodgers, not too bad is all that was needed. Meanwhile, Kersh is coming along well, apparently. He'll likely be back sometime around the All-Star break. And Yamamoto is going great, looking to be another ace for the Dodgers, along with Glasnow, who has been outstanding. And Gavin Lux, the guy they moved Mookie to second for because Lux can't play short, finally got a hit, in this case a HR. Still, he's batting in the one hundreds, and needs to pick it up. James Outman is fine in the outfield, but batting, he's still living up to his name, a sure out. He's also in the hundreds. Taylor....is also in that range. I don't know how much longer the Dodgers can stick with any of them before sending them down to work on their swings.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Card's Wilson Contreras is out after a batter hit his forearm with the bat, breaking it. Ouch. They really ought to put a line back there behind home plate beyond which catchers can't pass. I've seen way to many catcher's interference calls this season. And yes, poor Wilson was called on that. Yes, the batter was broken up by it. Time for MLB to step in.

Contreras was further forward than normal and the batter looked to be back pretty far in the box as well...

[achilles]

Contreras was further forward than normal and the batter looked to be back pretty far in the box as well...

Like I said, they need to put a line behind home which the catcher can't cross during a pitch.

[MRP]

Like I said, they need to put a line behind home which the catcher can't cross during a pitch.

There already is one-the catcher's box. Just like there is a batter's box in which the batter must remain, but just like batters scuff out the lines so they can stand where they want in the batter's box, catcher's do the same with the catcher's box.

The catcher's box is an area of the playing field located behind home plate in which the catcher must position himself to await a pitch. If a catcher is outside his box when a pitch is thrown, it is a balk. In practice, the box is rectangular and delimited by a chalk outline, like the two batter's boxes.

I don't think I have ever seen a balk called because of it, catcher's interference yes, but not a balk. It's a matter of practical enforcement, which they don't do (just like with batter's boxes and formerly with baselines), so it's not that they need to make a rule, they need to decide to enforce existing rules, but it's one of those rules, as is apparent in this thread, that most fans don't know exist and would likely give the umps more grief about were they to actually enforce it during a game, and I am sure the MLBPA would make a stink if the league suddenly changed the way they are emphasizing certain rules without giving them a notice in the offseason it was going to happen.

-M

[babyblob]

My Reds are on a 6 game skid. I am hoping we can get that turned around tonight. Man being a fan of a subpar team is not as much fun as it would seem.

[Hiromi]

Like I said, they need to put a line behind home which the catcher can't cross during a pitch.

in any case it's on the catcher to know where to set up cause if they set up too far forward not only are they risking injury but also catcher's interference

[achilles]

in any case it's on the catcher to know where to set up cause if they set up too far forward not only are they risking injury but also catcher's interference

Well, at least one player thinks they need an additional line. A line of death, I guess.

[MRP]

The line would get rubbed out by the end of the first inning anyways, but being forward is a benefit to framing pitches. The further the ball travels the more likely it is to look to the umpire to be wide of the plate if it is breaking left or right, or high or low of the strike zone (even if the ball is only travelling a inch or so more, the speed of it and the spin and motion make the perception of movement much more than it is), so players who catch are taught form little league onwards to be as far up in the catcher's box as possible and to extend the glove forward when receiving pitches. A line isn't going to change a lifetime of coaching and practice. Any real change to where a catcher positions himself is also going to need to address issues of accurately calling balls and strikes which exist in the game, and that's a hot button issue that won't be solved by a single league decree even it they site player safety as a rationale.

-M

[Deathstroke]

Sean Burroughs, who first struck baseball fame as the star player for the 2-time Little League World Series champion Long Beach team before going onto win an Olympic gold medal in baseball and a 7 year pro career, has passed away.

[Jimbi]

Did anyone else watch Paul Skenes make his big league debut for the Pirates? Man, can he throw a ball! He might be one of the few bright spots on what is probably going to be another gloomy seasons for the Bucs.

[Deathstroke]

Khris Davis, who played for the Brewers and A's, has officially announced his retirement.