2007 Winter Meetings aim to settle controversies

Designated fielder, limited tag-ups, intentional walks among hot topix 

2007 was a memorable season, but also at times ultra-intense, and ambiguous/non-existent rule clarifications played a role in calls that often left players seething.

10 BAD ASSes (Commissioners Rob, Leland and Minor along with Tito, Ruben, Joel, Ed, Torance, Skillz, and Tim) gathered at Minor's house to go over a crop of issues. Some old, some new, some recycled, all voted on:

Tag-ups from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, or 1st to 3rd

Often proposed but regularly shot down, BAB soundly rejected the idea of even limited tag-ups on 60-ft. basepaths.

"We already score 20, 30, 40 runs without tag-ups. Why do we need to do anything to help the offense?" -- Rob

Fair/foul balls down the line NEW!

The wrap-around home run call proved to be the most controversial of all in 2007. An interesting idea proposed was to have all HR balls that land over the fence "fair" will be ruled fair, and those that come down on the foul side of the line will be foul, eliminating the need to judge balls that wrap around the imaginary foul pole.

Come 2008, the foul pole will no longer be imaginary, as Rob unveiled a retractable pole that will be attached to the existing short pole, or possibly staked in the ground. Either way, it stands to aid in the ruling of home run balls down the line.

Torance argued that catchers and third basemen do not have a better view of fair/foul balls than left fielders, but his theory recieved little support.

Balls touched by fielder in fair territory that roll past fence in foul territory NEW!

LF Bush's diving attempt on a Torance liner May 20 unleashed a floodgate of drama when it tipped off his glove and rolled well past the fence in foul ground. Neither ump knew how to definitively rule, and arguing soon got out of hand. Such plays became one of the hottest topics to bring up at the Meetings.

BAB decided that in the future, such balls will be ruled as they were that day--as live balls. Some feared that if these balls were ruled as ground-rule doubles, defenses would begin to deliberately kick/swat potential triples or ITPHR past the fence foul. There will be exceptions: fair balls that touch a fielder then roll all the way to the concrete path, or "sidewalk", in foul ground parralel to the LF line. Those will be ruled dead and the batter given a double.

Untouched fair balls that roll past the fence in foul territory will be ruled as ground-rule doubles, as will touched/untouched balls that roll under the fence.

Balls that go through the poles, but beneath the top of the Blue Monster (such as through the wires) will continue to be ground-rule doubles.

Scrubs vs. ABA: Best of 1, 3, or 5?

Skillz alluded to early-season talk that the ABA/Scrubs opening series had lost its luster, and should be reduced to a single exhibition affair similar to the MLB All-Star Game. After a brief discussion of reducing it to a best-of-3, ultimately BAB ruled to keep the status quo (best-of-5).

"I know I won't be there Super Bowl Sunday. That day I do one thing: down as much beer as possible!" -- Tim

Ground-rule triples and intentional walks

Simply put, these ideas were quickly shot down.

"Stoph" catches

Stoph, at least twice in 2007, leapt over fences and made catches before his feet hit the ground on the other side. Technically, according to the current rulebook, this is illegal. However, he was awarded his catches because the rule is interpreted to mean you can do just that--leap at the fence and catch the ball mid-air before landing on the other side.

Ultimately, the league ruled to allow such catches as long as feet/body do not land over the fence before the catch is made, and the Commissioners promised to clarify the book regarding this matter.

Late arrivals NEW!

On June 17, Father's Day, Alvin slept in, incorrectly assuming BAB would take the day off. By the time he was contacted and finally tredged to the park, it was after 11:30. At issue was the fact that even though his team already had 7 players and their opponents were ready to go, the game did not start until Alvin--his team's star player--arrived.

Beginning in 2008, managers will be "on the clock" for 10 minutes. If both teams have enough players to play but one manager is waiting on someone, the opposing manager can warn him that he has 10 minutes and then the game will start---with or without the players being waited on.

Eligibility to vote on, and recieve, season-ending awards

Feeling it unfair to have players who are absent more often than not having a say in season award winners led to the issue of a mandated minimum amount of games played for a player to be eligible to vote.

Rather than set a minimum, it was voted that Leland will continue to select voters at his discretion---if he feels that a certain player was not around enough to cast a meaningful vote, that player's vote will not be sought or tallied at season's end.

ED: I mean, if some guy comes out to 12 games, how's he gonna vote on who's the MVP when he hasn't seen 28 games? He's just gonna go by just  stats.

ROB: Who would you pick MVP in the American League this year?

ED: Alex Rodriguez.

ROB: Based on what?
ED (sheepishly):...stats.

Also at issue was the amount of games a player must play to be eligible for season-ending awards and batting titles.

The former has never had an exact figure and in 2006 someone won MVP playing just 19 of 34 games (56%). Torance wanted a 75% (30 of 40) game minimum, but the majority voted to set it at 50%---pointing out that just because somebody is eligible by league rules to recieve an award, no one is required to vote for him obviously.

The latter has always been at 50% and will not change for the 2008 season. (In 2005, B-Rid won the batting title playing 66% of the games while runner-up Torance played 97%, and Alvin won in 2007 playing 59% while runner-up Ed played 95%.)

The Designated Infielder NEW!

After seeing defenders on the bench going to waste, Ed came up with a proposal---the designated fielder (DI). This player basically assumes the defensive role of pitcher and can cover bases, field his position, etc. as a standard pitcher would.

The rough draft of this plan would be to have a circle sprayed around the mound, and when the DI fields the ball in that circle, plays are dead---unless runners are off bases in which case the play is still live.

This effectively wipes out any "halfway runner" issues, since the play would still be live and any runners off base can still be retired. It would also force throws to the mound to be fielded cleanly by the DI--no more calling out "pitcher" as the throw sails over his head 2 feet.

Obviously, the DI could not be used in 7-on-7 games or less.

In the end, BAB voted that Ed's ideal had potential, and will be tried out during 3 exhibition games in 2008.

BAD ASS Championship Series NEW!

Following Game 32, BAB will begin its' first ever championship series in 2008. The two winningest players during the season (based on totals, not %) will be captains, and the next 4 winningest players will be alternately assigned to their teams. Any ties in win totals will be assigned in order of best percentage. (See sample chart below, with 2007 totals)