2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[chasfh]

11 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

Last season, I guessed he would wait until the off-season to change his hitting approach. Making a big change isnt something that can be done quickly.

But, IDK, spring training articles are usually fluff, feel good stories. You can't really put much stock in them. I mean, we're still waiting for the Bonderman change-up. 😆

This is exactly right, and I think we talked about that very thing here toward the end of last season. Riley is saying the right things about it, for the most part. We’ll see whether it results in much improvement over the long haul. 

[chasfh]

10 hours ago, oblong said:

I was in a co ed league that had something similar. There was a point of no return line and like you said it was a force out situation. And there was one of those plastic home plates used for indoor practices we would place next to the real plate to widen it so there isn’t any tripping. 

I’m fine with safety first bases—prefer them, actually—but safety home plate in co-ed leagues is an even better idea, to reduce the possibility that a 24-year-old ex-college baseball player trying to score will end up even inadvertently plowing into a 41-year-old mother of two playing catcher.

[Sports_Freak]

15 minutes ago, chasfh said:

This is exactly right, and I think we talked about that very thing here toward the end of last season. Riley is saying the right things about it, for the most part. We’ll see whether it results in much improvement over the long haul. 

Eliminating 25% of his strikeouts would turn him into a major superstar. As long as it doesn't eliminate too much of his power. But I'm really skeptical of spring training media reports. Like you said, we'll see...

[Edman85]

25 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I’m fine with safety first bases—prefer them, actually—but safety home plate in co-ed leagues is an even better idea, to reduce the possibility that a 24-year-old ex-college baseball player trying to score will end up even inadvertently plowing into a 41-year-old mother of two playing catcher.

I had a situation in mine where we had something like 4 HS shortstops in their mid 20's. I was the captain and had to be extra vigilant about making sure we had a capable 1B after one of their throws busted the face of somebody we had stashed at 1B. That one got moved to the outfield.

[oblong]

42 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I’m fine with safety first bases—prefer them, actually—but safety home plate in co-ed leagues is an even better idea, to reduce the possibility that a 24-year-old ex-college baseball player trying to score will end up even inadvertently plowing into a 41-year-old mother of two playing catcher.

and our league that catcher was my 31 year old pregnant wife!  

We're just out on a Sunday afternoon having fun and moving around and waiting for the post game BBQ and beers.  

The league ended after a season where a team was put together run by someone affiliated with the local HS.  He recruited some of the graduated softball players.  So yeah.... the girls were better than most guys.  We had a rule in place that if you walked a man, he goes to 2B and the woman coming to bat (the batting lineups alternated) could go to 1B immediately.

My last year in softball overall ended because at that point in our lives it was hard to find players.  Not worth the hassle. The bar that sponsored us burned down in 2014 (Howell's, @Motor City Sonics probably remembers that fine place).

 

[chasfh]

29 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I had a situation in mine where we had something like 4 HS shortstops in their mid 20's. I was the captain and had to be extra vigilant about making sure we had a capable 1B after one of their throws busted the face of somebody we had stashed at 1B. That one got moved to the outfield.

When I was in the Detroit ad league back when I worked in that industry, our shortstop had been in the rotation for the University of Hawaii in the early 80s, and I was the first baseman. Not only did he throw the ball blazingly fast, he was also a left-handed thrower, and had a natural tail to his throws I'd never seen before. I remember worrying somewhat that I miss slightly miss a throw and it ends up busting my nose and a few teeth.

[chasfh]

15 minutes ago, oblong said:

The league ended after a season where a team was put together run by someone affiliated with the local HS.  He recruited some of the graduated softball players.  So yeah.... the girls were better than most guys.  We had a rule in place that if you walked a man, he goes to 2B and the woman coming to bat (the batting lineups alternated) could go to 1B immediately.

League I'm in now has that same rule, and some of the women will refuse to take the automatic walk because they're there to hit. When I see that happen, I push back in left field to where I play guys.

[Edman85]

Mine had auto walk for women if the guy in front was walked. I would always ask to be put in front of the weakest woman in the roster and would be super patient, almost trying to walk.

Edited 3 hours ago by Edman85