What's the worst thing about baseball's last 20 years?

[ScriptOhio]

1. All the strikes, work stopages, and lockouts.
2. Greed of the owners, players, and agents.
3. Ridiculously high cost for a family to go to a MLB game.

 

[Brutus1]

Screw Bonds , Canseco, Sosa, Mcgwire and the steroids bullshit as being worst. Baseball has always been about cheating, about getting away with what you can. If you're not cheating, you're not trying. Steroids just took it to the nth degree.

I voter other because expansion was the worst. Washington(Expos should have been contracted), Tampa, Florida, Colorado and Arizona. Expansion watered down everyone. Expansion brought hitters parks to baseball(except Fla. still has no stadium). Expansion hitters parks bought "bandbox" parks all across the majors. Hitters parks and expansion brought shitty pitching all over the Major Leagues. Shitty pitching brought high salaries for the few pitchers that were very good. Those brought salaries up for other pitchers and big hitters. Eventually all the salaries came way up. As salaries went way up, the number of teams that could pay them went down. It seems every 5 or so years we have a few different teams that join the 'spending crowd' and somethat drop out. The Yankees have always spent alot. The Red Sox joined the insane salary club when the current ownership took over. During the '90's the Braves and Indians were big spenders. The Angels, White Sox and Mets have been added, although the Mets have always been a big spender.

It's gotten to the point that the teams that can't afford to pay the big salaries are forced to trade their good, young players during the last year of a contract because they can't afford to pay the players what one of the biggies will pony up.

Some teams play it smart and some just don't care because they're getting paid from the higher payroll clubs. If you're a historically shitty team, you should have the best farm system, yet the Pirates, Royals and Brewers still suck.

The bottom line is a pitcher with a 4.20 era last season parlayed that into a contract worth 16 Million next season. Two players that have never played in the Major Leagues were paid over 60 Million with another 78 Million paid for the right to negotiate with them.

The best thing about baseball is that it kills time until football season.

 

[fourteenandoh]

For me its without a doubt the strike that resulted in losing the WS. I was young and a big BB fan at the time and it really pissed me off. My grandfather hasn't watched a Red's game since.

 

[NFBuck]

The inability of small-market teams to compete. You really have to feel for the Kansas Citys and Pittsburghs of the league. Something is really outta whack when one player on the Yankees has a higher salary then another team's starting lineup. Good scouting and player development may get you into the postseason now and then (see Minnesota), but eventually bigger markets will loot your roster and you will fall back into the pack. It hits close to home for me too, because the Indians appear to be in this category. They have the ability to scout and develop talent, but can't compete in the FA market to add the necessary pieces to get over the hump. It's gotten to the point that I have a hard time following the game at all anymore. Just sad.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Barry Fucking Bonds and Pud Selig

 

[Okinawa's#1Buck]

Untill there is a cap in baseball, it just won't be a level playing field. How do you expect a team to pay more for the rights to negotiate with a player than many teams pay for their entire payroll? It just isn't right and it is the only major sport without it.

I am a firm beliver in Bob Costas' Fair Ball, A Fans Case for Baseball.


I can deal with the cheaters and users and strikes and all, but I can't deal with a sport where teams mindlessly go through 162 games knowing they have no real shot, that most of their good players will be traded or lost to FA because they can afford to keep them around, and that the teams they hate will be the teams who get them because they are the only ones who can afford to pay them. (OK, that was a run-on paragraph, but it felt good when I was saying it!)

 

[Mike80]

What is the worst thing about MLB over the last 20 years?

If you vote 'Other', please state your choice.

what no option for Bud Selig in general? He's done as much to ruin MLB as Gary Bettman has done to kill the NHL, but Bettman isn't as incompetent as Selig and has been more effective.

Another thing I was thinking about was that the league has over-expanded to the point that the talent pool is thinned out to the point that pitchers are getting serious Big League innings when they aren't big league talent.

 

[OH10]

Inability of small market teams to compete. A salary cap is long overdue.

 

[scooter1369]

The loss of the fall classic is the worst. If people want to die at 55 years old with a tumor the size of Lyle Alzado sticking our of their heads, so be it.

The 1994 World Series being cancelled ended my fanship of baseball. I'll never go back.

as a wise man once said...

Baseball is three minutes of action crammed into three hours of tv coverage.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

drugs - and not just steroids... a flawless source told me amphetamines are so prevalent that teammates take major exception to guys who don't pop 3 or 4 before a game.. contesting their desire to win...

if their drug testing ever includes amphetamines.. game.. set.. match... over

 

[mooktarr]

1. All the strikes, work stopages, and lockouts.
2. Greed of the owners, players, and agents.
3. Ridiculously high cost for a family to go to a MLB game.

These are 3 good ones. My top one is;
The players ego being bigger than the game

 

[Steve19]

I grew up a Pirates fan but what's the thrill in any of the small market teams now? These guys turned America's favorite pastime into America's favorite times past.

I'm with Scooter, tear down the parks and build condos, I am never going back.

 

[BuckeyeSoldier]

The yankees