Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Major League Training Camp, Take Two

Episode Date: July 4, 2020

With players reporting to the reprise of training camp earlier in the week, D.C. Lundberg discusses some of the ways the 2020 season will look different than a normal Major League Baseball season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. Yes, better late than never. This is Locked-on Mariner's, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, brought to you by Belt Bar. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program on Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariner's podcast or any program here on the Locked-on Podcast Network or T-L-O-P-N-O-P-N-Lop-N-L-Lop-N-R-G. Also, please remember that you can follow the show on Twitter. We are on Twitter at L-O-U-U-N-R-R-G, and I am on Twitter personally as well at D.C.

L-U-N-D-B-E-R-G for those scoring at home. Ladies and gentlemen, players began reporting to Spring Training 2.0 as it's been dubbed on Wednesday, July 1st. Training camps are being held in teams home ballparks for the most part, as Arizona and Florida have been shut down due to the COVID-19 stuff. So the Mariners are training at home in the big giant cell phone store that used to be Safeco Field. MLB has a 60-game schedule set to begin later on in the month on the 23rd and 24th. That is, if the season ever gets underway, Mike Trout said he'd consider sitting out the whole season, which I can't. cannot blame him for. My personal opinion and prediction is that when if more and more players

begin to drop out, the talent pool will be so depleted that it would make sense just to fold up the tents and come back and try it again next year. Also, remember that all minor league games for the remainder of 2020 have been canceled. That was announced last Tuesday, June 30th, I believe. So for my neighbors in the Lilac City, no Indians baseball this year, that is a shame. Back to MLB, and from here on out, this show will go on the assumption that there will be a season, even though I don't think it'll happen. Anyways, once the regular season starts, there will be some temporary rules put in place,

which will make everything look a little different. The biggest one was spoken about on this show already, when Jason Hernandez and Taylor Blake Ward were here with me to discuss some of these changes. And that is starting each extra inning with a runner on second base. When my mother heard about this rule, she exclaimed, That's right up there with no spitting. Everyone hates this rule. Mr. Ward brought up the excellent point

that all of a sudden the Billy Hamilton's and Malick's Smiths of the world are among the most valuable players in baseball. It changes everything from the ninth inning onward. If your ninth inning starts off with the first two batters being retired, pinch hit your fastest runner, even if he's otherwise worthless offensively, he'll make out, and according to the rules, he will be the one starting your extra inning on second base, as the final batter to be retired will start on second base in the next extra inning.

I'm not old enough to remember Herb Washington, but I know the story pretty well. In the early 70s, the Oakland Athletics tried a number of unorthodox things, including orange baseballs in spring training. Usually these offbeat moves were the brainchild of their owner, the late Charlie Finley. However, A's manager Alvin Dark saw Herb Washington compete in a track and field meet late in 1973 and got the idea to sign Washington to be the team's official pinch runner. Washington had no baseball experience, but he was incredibly fast. The project lasted just over a year.

Washington played 1974, and the first. first handful of weeks in 75 before being released. In 105 games, all of them pinch running appearances. He stole 31 bases and was caught 17 times. He never played an inning at a defensive position or had a plate appearance. In fact, Washington is the only non-pitcher to appear in 100 or more games without a plate appearance. What I'm about to say, ladies and gentlemen, is not a joke. It may behoove teams to go out and sign someone like Herb Washington purely for their elite speed. Go find the fastest sprinter in the world and sign him. If you saying Bolt wasn't retired, I would say sign him.

And I am not kidding. Heck, Bolt ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine last February and wound up setting a personal best at that event 4.22 seconds. So he can still fly. Sign him. or at least consult him on who he thinks the best sprinters in the world are and go sign them. Especially with the expanded rosters that will be in place at the beginning of the season. More on that a little later, having a guy whose only asset is world-class speed

makes sense to have as an ace in the hole for extra innings. He'll start that inning at second base. You train him to do nothing but steal third and score on a squeeze bunt. Those are the only two things he has to do. You win. This rule is so ludicrous. As a side note,

Bolt is the perfect name for one of the best sprinters of all time. Mariner's trivia question for the day reads as follows. Who was the M's stolen base leader in their first year? Answer following this from Bilt Bar. I've said pretty much all I can say about Bill. Belt Bar over the last couple of months. So today, the advertisement will be read in German, and I

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Locked on Mariners is set to resume at this time. Repreys of training camps started earlier this week. The regular season is set to begin towards the end of the month, and we're talking about some of the changes that will be in effect this season, kind of expanding what Jason Hernandez, Taylor Blake Ward and I, talked about last week. Or was it two weeks ago? I don't remember.

Anyways, the first half was taken up by the ridiculous and hopefully temporary rule that each extra inning will start with a runner on second base. There will also be a universal designate. hitter this season, which is also hopefully temporary, and I spoke about that with Mr. Hernandez and Mr. Ward. One change will actually be a reversion to a rule that was in place last year, but this rule was set to change this season, and that is the restriction on position players pitching. It is off, and this is good news, and a rule that never should have been changed to begin with. Originally, there was to be a new rule that teams had to designate one position player as its emergency

pitcher and no one else would be allowed to pitch unless a game went 35 innings or something like that. Fortunately, at least for this year, that is gone. I'd like to see it gone permanently since there was no reason to institute this restriction in the first place, but I'm not the commissioner and I never will be. Five teams from each league will make the postseason. That's another change. Since the postseason is going to be a joke this year because of the severely shortened schedule

anyway, I really couldn't care less about this. This is just an exhibition season, and the supposed World Series, quote, champion will have an asterisk attached. There will be no All-Star game this season, the first time since World War II. The Dodgers were originally scheduled to host this season's Midsummer Classic, and they've been awarded the 2022 game as kind of a consolation. Each team will play 40 games against their division rivals, and an additional 20 games against the other league's counterpart. So the Ms will play 40 games against the American League West and 20 games against the National League West.

Roster makeup will also be pretty different. For the first two weeks, teams will be operating with a 30-man roster. So again, carry someone whose sole asset is world-class speed. After two weeks, the rosters will decrease to 28 players, and after two more weeks, the 26-man roster will be in effect for the rest of the season. The 26-man roster was to be standard beginning this year. Another unnecessary change. There was nothing wrong with the 25-man roster other than the fact that today's managers are terrible at managing their bullpens.

They should have to adopt to the rules, not vice versa. Each team will also take a three-man taxi squad along on road trips. This is so that teams can quickly replace an injured or sick player, rather than have someone take a commercial flight to replace this injured. or sick player. The taxi squad must include at least one catcher, and this catcher is permitted to serve as the bullpen catcher, not only on road games, but for home games as well. In addition to the big league roster changes, each team has a 60-man player pool. The Mariners announced which players would be included in this pool a few days prior to the reboot

of training camp. This pool is allowed to change throughout the course of the season. It will serve much like the 40-man roster does in normal years. years. All trades will be limited to players who are on this 60-man pool. All players acquired via trade must be assigned to his new team's player pool. Also, the trading deadline will be August 31st. The three men on a team's taxi squad obviously must be on this 60-man pool. The 10-day injured list will return for this season, and the 60-day injured list will be reduced to 45 days. In addition, there will be a COVID-I-L with no time frame attached to it. Well, gang, that is about it. I'm sorry this particular episode is as late in the week as it is. Life sometimes happens. I've always taken much longer than most people to adjust to change, and that's pretty much what happened this week and last. However, I will say that the change that occurred is a good change. Nothing is wrong, and I'm glad that what happened happened. Trust me. But the show has suffered as a result. and hopefully I'll be back on track in the next couple of weeks.

Next show will probably be Sunday, which you can listen to on your way home from camping if that is what you're doing for Independence Day. And on this next show, I will be joined by guest panelists, Lionel Jefferson, Marvin the Martian, and a coat hanger. You will not want to miss that one, gang. So please download, rate, and subscribe to Lockdown Mariners on Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher Radio,

or your podcasting app of choice. the show on Twitter at L.O. underscore Maritors and follow me on Twitter as well at D.C. underscore Lundberg. Thank you for listening, gang. Have a great Independence Day weekend. And happy birthday, America. This is Joey Martin saying

join us back here next time for another edition of Locked On Mariner's, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Ask your smart device to play Locked On MLB upon the conclusion of this program.