Saturday, November 28, 2015

Radical Constitutional amendments for team sports revisited.

Image result for preamble of the constitution
It started with:

Constitutional amendments for team sports. Friday, June 8, 2012

Team sports really means baseball, football and basketball, the only sports that count.

Why constitutional amendments?  Obviously, the dominant professional organizations (MLB, NFL, NBA) have not understood the urgent need for fundamental reform.  Constitutional amendments will provide the much needed framework for the reforms.  The professional leagues will then need to change their rules to conform.

______________________

15 were listed.  Later each was addressed with implementation suggestions.  There were other posts that referenced them.  Here is a link to all my posts with the word constitutional:

http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/search/label/Constitutional

They are in order by date, with the most recent first.  Cruise back through them.  When you get to the bottom of a page, click on "Older Posts".

This link is on the right side of all posts along with other "Labels".

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Conflicted: fans, teams, maybe even players - over service time rules.

Two recent posts had me annoyed with the Yankees and sympathetic to the players: Greg Bird and Rob Refsnyder.

Greg Bird: is he being sent to the minors in 2016 so the Yankees can limit his free agency and salary arbitration eligibility? Monday, November 23, 2015 1:00 AM 

"If Bird begins the year in AAA and remains there for at least 2 weeks, then NYY could delay his eligibility for FA (free agency) for one additional year. In order to prevent Bird from getting early arbitration eligibility, they would need to keep him the in minors thru mid-June (most likely)."
__________________________

Rob Refsnyder: will he start 2016 in the minors for the same reason as Greg Bird: service time? Monday, November 23, 2015 9:14 AM 


... does it mean that teams, including the Yankees, will do it with any young players they consider potential starters who could be paid much more than the minimum?
_________________________

I instinctively sided with the players.  I also was annoyed that the Yankees would not be fielding their best team.  But after I had thought about it, Yankee management might have a point.  Keeping good young players an extra year helps the team in the long run, especially if the only down side for the team is that it does not have those players for relatively short periods.

I was conflicted.

Team management must also be conflicted.  They want to win, especially now when their jobs are on the line.  They are sacrificing the current season for additional control six years from now.  Even salary arbitration is four years away.

So how might the players be conflicted?  Young players would not be.  But veteran players have nothing to gain from making this an issue  You're only young once, particularly in this context.  This young v. old conflict has applied to many issues for many years.  To their credit the baseball players have been pretty unified.

Still it's a bit unfair for major league players to be setting the rules that apply exclusively to minor league players, most of whom cannot vote as union members.

Major League Baseball Players Association


https://www.mlbpa.org/faq.aspx

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) answers:

The MLBPA is the collective bargaining representative for all current Major League Baseball players...

All players, managers, coaches and trainers who hold a signed contract with a Major League club are eligible for membership in the Association. In collective bargaining, the Association represents around 1,200 players, or the number of players on each club's 40-man roster, in addition to any players on the disabled list...


In 2013, the average salary was $3,386,212.

A player with three or more years of service, but less than six years, may file for salary arbitration. In addition, a player can be classified as a "Super Two" and be eligible for arbitration with less than three years of service. A player with at least two but less than three years of Major League service shall be eligible for salary arbitration if he has accumulated at least 86 days of service during the immediately preceding season and he ranks in the top 22 percent (increased from 17 percent in previous agreements) in total service in the class of Players who have at least two but less than three years of Major League service, however accumulated, but with at least 86 days of service accumulated during the immediately preceding season.

A player with six or more years of Major League service who has not executed a contract for the next season is eligible to become a free agent.


Since 1974, and including 2012, arbitrators have ruled on behalf of the players 214 times and clubs 286 times. Although the number of players filing for salary arbitration varies per year, the majority of cases are settled before the arbitration hearing date. Approximately 90 percent of the players filing for arbitration typically reach new agreements before a hearing.

The current CBA expires on Dec. 1, 2016.
__________________________

I may have missed it but I did not read how a player gets voting rights.  If there were a vote now, would Bird be eligible after 46 games?  How about Refsnyder with 16 games?  Probably since both are on the 40 man roster.  But the Yankees just made a couple of changes to that roster with players with no major league experience.  Apparently the players removed would not be able to vote.

The Chicago Cubs played their first 2015 game Sunday April 5; Cubs lost at home to the Cardinals 3-0.  Kris Bryant made his major league debut with the Cubs Friday April 17, 2015; Cubs lost at home 5-4 to the Padres.  The Cubs were then 5-4.  It was widely understood that Bryant had started the 2015 season in the minors so that Bryant would have this status:

Service Time (01/2016)
Arbitration Eligible: 2018
Free Agent: 2022
Photo of Kris Bryant
See that was easy.  Cubs play without their prize kid for eight games but gain a year in the two big categories.  Cubs fans were concerned that the games played without Bryant might cost the team dearly.  Cubs fans were a bit upset at the time but it all ended well.  Cubs won 97 and made it to the semi-final series.  Bryant was voted Rookie of the Year.  But wait ...

We're back where we started:
- team benefits
- so fans benefit
- player gets screwed.

Do we fans really like our players?  Clearly we do not.  We resent that they make so much money.  We reject safety rules.  We hate player agents who do a good job.  At best we're conflicted.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

MVP criteria: MONEY! Does the value of Mike Trout decrease as his salary increases?

MVP: should money be considered? Thursday, November 8, 2012

Miguel Cabrera v. Mike Trout.  Cabrera is a classic great hitter who does not contribute in any other significant way.  Trout is a rookie whom I've compared to Mickey Mantle.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Mike Trout: Mickey Mantle 1952?

... the point that none of us has considered: money.  How much money did their respective teams allocate to each of these individuals and what players could have been on the Tiger and Angel rosters because of that difference in money spent to pay Cabrera and Trout.

baseball-reference.com does not show how much Trout was paid in 2012 but let's assume half a million.  It does show that Cabrera was paid $21,000,000.  Let's say that the difference is about $20 million.  We know that for the 2012 season the Angels added former Texas pitcher C.J. Wilson to its starting rotation; Wilson was paid $10 million in 2012, about half the difference of the money paid to Cabrera and Trout.  So let's guess that a team could add at least two pretty good starting pitchers for that $20 million difference.  Or Albert Pujols: $12 million, WAR 4.6.

And even though I do not embrace WAR let's try it for this purpose: determining a dollar value for wins.  Let's use WAR as calculated by baseball-reference.com.  What, you thought there was one intergalactically accepted WAR?  And since Cabrera is ranked third because his fielding is considered below average, let's throw in the number two player, Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano who was paid $14 million.

salary / WAR = $$$ per WAR:
Trout $500,000 / 10.7 = $46,729
Cano $14,000,000 / 8.2 = $1,707,317
Cabrera $21,000,000 / 6.9  = $3,043,478

Well, that puts MVP into an entirely different perspective.
_____________________________
Photo of Mike Trout
Mike Trout:
YearAgeTeamSalaryServTm(OpnDay)SourcesNotes/Other Sources
201321Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim$510,0001.070contracts
201422Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim$1,000,0002.070contracts
201523Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim$6,083,0003.070contracts
201624Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim$16,083,0004.070
201725Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim$20,083,000
201826Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim$34,083,000
201927Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim$34,083,000
202028Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim$34,085,000
Earliest Free Agent: 2021
Career to date (may be incomplete)$7,593,000Does not include future salaries ($138.4M)

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

40 homers, 40 doubles same season done 38 times, including 2 in 2015.

No, not both 2015 MVP, just one of them.  Guess and then look at the complete list below.  Nolan Arenado of Colorado is the non MVP 2015 40/40 guy.
Photo of Albert Belle
Albert Belle in 1995 became the only 50/50 guy ever: 50 homers, 52 doubles.  Ruth is at the top of the list in homers: 59.  Among the 38 are 11 seasons with at least 50 doubles, led by Klein and Helton with 59 doubles.

Multiple times:
3: Gehrig, Pujols
2: Ruth, Klein, Greenberg, Belle, Helton, Ortiz

Slugging average:
high: Ruth 1921 .846
low: Soriano 2006 .560
six under .600
seven at least .700

League leaders:
14 led in homers.
12 led in doubles.
Leading in both: Hornsby, Greenberg, Stargell, Belle
15 led in SLG.
6 led in BA; Hornsby: .401.
Only Ruth led in SO: 93 in 1923.
2 scored fewer than 100 runs: Ortiz, Arenado.
Greenberg led in RBI: 184.
19, exactly half, led in RBI.
Soriano: only one with fewer than 100 RBI: 95.

OK, the 2015 40/40 MVP: Josh Donaldson, not Bryce Harper (42 homers, 38 doubles).  Pretty close, so Harper was a good guess.

Rk Player HR 2B Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 3B RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Pos
1 Babe Ruth 59 44 1921 26 NYY AL 152 693 540 177 204 16 168 145 81 4 4 17 13 .378 .512 .846 1.359 *78/13
2 Chris Davis 53 42 2013 27 BAL AL 160 673 584 103 167 1 138 72 12 199 10 0 7 4 4 1 .286 .370 .634 1.004 *3/D
3 Albert Belle 50 52 1995 28 CLE AL 143 631 546 121 173 1 126 73 5 80 6 0 4 24 5 2 .317 .401 .690 1.091 *7/D
4 Todd Helton 49 54 2001 27 COL NL 159 697 587 132 197 2 146 98 15 104 5 1 5 14 7 5 .336 .432 .685 1.116 *3/H
5 Albert Belle 49 48 1998 31 CHW AL 163 706 609 113 200 2 152 81 10 84 1 0 15 17 6 4 .328 .399 .655 1.055 *7/D
6 Larry Walker 49 46 1997 30 COL NL 153 664 568 143 208 4 130 78 14 90 14 0 4 15 33 8 .366 .452 .720 1.172 *9/3H8D
7 Lou Gehrig 49 40 1934 31 NYY AL 154 690 579 128 210 6 166 109 31 2 0 9 5 .363 .465 .706 1.172 *3/6
8 Albert Pujols 47 45 2009 29 STL NL 160 700 568 124 186 1 135 115 44 64 9 0 8 23 16 4 .327 .443 .658 1.101 *3/HD
9 David Ortiz 47 40 2005 29 BOS AL 159 713 601 119 180 1 148 102 9 124 1 0 9 13 1 0 .300 .397 .604 1.001 *D3/H
10 Lou Gehrig 47 52 1927 24 NYY AL 155 717 584 149 218 18 173 109 84 3 21 10 8 .373 .474 .765 1.240 *3
11 Alfonso Soriano 46 41 2006 30 WSN NL 159 728 647 119 179 2 95 67 16 160 9 2 3 3 41 17 .277 .351 .560 .911 *7/H
12 Derrek Lee 46 50 2005 29 CHC NL 158 691 594 120 199 3 107 85 23 109 5 0 7 12 15 3 .335 .418 .662 1.080 *3
13 Albert Pujols 46 51 2004 24 STL NL 154 692 592 133 196 2 123 84 12 52 7 0 9 21 5 5 .331 .415 .657 1.072 *3/DH
14 Chipper Jones 45 41 1999 27 ATL NL 157 701 567 116 181 1 110 126 18 94 2 0 6 20 25 3 .319 .441 .633 1.074 *5/6
15 Juan Gonzalez 45 50 1998 28 TEX AL 154 669 606 110 193 2 157 46 9 126 6 0 11 20 2 1 .318 .366 .630 .997 *9D/H
16 Miguel Cabrera 44 40 2012 29 DET AL 161 697 622 109 205 0 139 66 17 98 3 0 6 28 4 1 .330 .393 .606 .999 *5/D3
17 Richard Hidalgo 44 42 2000 25 HOU NL 153 644 558 118 175 3 122 56 3 110 21 0 9 13 13 6 .314 .391 .636 1.028 *897/H
18 Willie Stargell 44 43 1973 33 PIT NL 148 609 522 106 156 3 119 80 22 129 3 0 4 6 0 0 .299 .392 .646 1.038 *7/H
19 Mark Teixeira 43 41 2005 25 TEX AL 162 730 644 112 194 3 144 72 5 124 11 0 3 18 4 0 .301 .379 .575 .954 *3/D
20 Manny Ramirez 43 44 2004 32 BOS AL 152 663 568 108 175 0 130 82 15 124 6 0 7 17 2 4 .308 .397 .613 1.009 *7D/H
21 Albert Pujols 43 51 2003 23 STL NL 157 685 591 137 212 1 124 79 12 65 10 0 5 13 5 1 .359 .439 .667 1.106 *73/HD
22 Frank Thomas 43 44 2000 32 CHW AL 159 707 582 115 191 0 143 112 18 94 5 0 8 13 1 3 .328 .436 .625 1.061 *D3/H
23 Jeff Bagwell 43 40 1997 29 HOU NL 162 717 566 109 162 2 135 127 27 122 16 0 8 10 31 10 .286 .425 .592 1.017 *3/HD
24 Chuck Klein 43 45 1929 24 PHI NL 149 679 616 126 219 6 145 54 61 0 9 5 .356 .407 .657 1.065 *98
25 Nolan Arenado 42 43 2015 24 COL NL 157 665 616 97 177 4 130 34 13 110 4 0 11 17 2 5 .287 .323 .575 .898 *5/H
Rk Player HR 2B Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 3B RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Pos
26 Todd Helton 42 59 2000 26 COL NL 160 697 580 138 216 2 147 103 22 61 4 0 10 12 5 3 .372 .463 .698 1.162 *3/H
27 Shawn Green 42 45 1999 26 TOR AL 153 696 614 134 190 0 123 66 4 117 11 0 5 13 20 7 .309 .384 .588 .972 *9/H
28 Hal Trosky 42 45 1936 23 CLE AL 151 671 629 124 216 9 162 36 58 3 3 6 5 .343 .382 .644 1.026 *3/4
29 Rogers Hornsby 42 46 1922 26 STL NL 154 704 623 141 250 14 152 65 50 1 15 17 12 .401 .459 .722 1.181 *4
30 Josh Donaldson 41 41 2015 29 TOR AL 158 711 620 122 184 2 123 73 0 133 6 2 10 16 6 0 .297 .371 .568 .939 *5/DH
31 David Ortiz 41 47 2004 28 BOS AL 150 669 582 94 175 3 139 75 8 133 4 0 8 12 0 0 .301 .380 .603 .983 *D3/H
32 Carlos Delgado 41 57 2000 28 TOR AL 162 711 569 115 196 1 137 123 18 104 15 0 4 12 0 1 .344 .470 .664 1.134 *3
33 Hank Greenberg 41 50 1940 29 DET AL 148 670 573 129 195 8 150 93 75 1 3 15 6 3 .340 .433 .670 1.103 *7
34 Lou Gehrig 41 42 1930 27 NYY AL 154 703 581 143 220 17 173 101 63 3 18 12 14 .379 .473 .721 1.194 *3/7
35 Babe Ruth 41 45 1923 28 NYY AL 152 697 522 151 205 13 130 170 93 4 3 17 21 .393 .545 .764 1.309 97/83
36 Ellis Burks 40 45 1996 31 COL NL 156 685 613 142 211 8 128 61 2 114 6 3 2 19 32 6 .344 .408 .639 1.047 *78/H
37 Hank Greenberg 40 49 1937 26 DET AL 154 701 594 137 200 14 184 102 101 3 2 8 3 .337 .436 .668 1.105 *3
38 Chuck Klein 40 59 1930 25 PHI NL 156 721 648 158 250 8 170 54 50 4 13 4 .386 .436 .687 1.123 *9
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/22/2015.