World Baseball Classic, Rays Stadium & New MLB Rules on the horizon

344 BaseballBiz WBC - Rays - New Rules

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Mark Corbett: All righty. Welcome to Baseball Biz On Deck. I am Mark Corbett. And of course, is Mr. Mat Germain here as well? Yes, he is. And we are talking about the World Baseball Classic Here. Do, oh look, you've got your green on, don't you?

It looks like a green shirt. 

Mat Germain: I do. Yep. The grit and glow. I'm sporting today while watching the rays and the Yankees face off here. 

Mark Corbett: Oh my gosh. Has that already started? 

Mat Germain: Yep. They're one. One. And the, I could, I want to say the seventh And Ryan Pepe looked great in the start that was really encouraging to see 

Mark Corbett: playing at Steinbrenner or Port Charlotte today.

Mat Germain: Steinbrenner, so the home stadium, obviously

Mark Corbett: oh gosh. They are gonna be back in the Trop and we are thankful for that. It's interesting. Thinking about changes, Matt, last night I was at the Tampa Baseball Museum. We had a historian, baseball historian by the name of Wes Singletary. He's also an author, written a few different books on baseball, and [00:01:00] he's, I think, a professor at FSU too, but.

Was inter this guy, he is animated. Once you're listening to this, we're not saying anything you don't know. But when he tells a story, I love it. He's one of those storytellers that his body completely comes into the story and he is recounting, he games, he's recounting counts in a game, and he's doing it with such passion that the whole crowd is in there, is sitting still, wrapped closely to every word that comes out and it's whoa.

Wow. We've, he's been on before on Baseball Biz on deck, but it's amazing to see somebody who loves the game that much. The reason I bring him up is before. The whole thing started. We were chatting a bit. He said, did you see that last night? Did you see that game with the Dominion republic?

He says, do you see that strike zone? I said, you mean there wasn't, I didn't have to say anymore. I knew exactly what he was talking about per Domo there. Oh my gosh. Ending the game for the DR [00:02:00] and a lot of folks and myself included, were pulling from them. Man, it was a great. Group of talent of players to see, not to say that the US didn't have a good one there, but my gosh, that was such a dream team.

Mat Germain: Yeah it was all, they were a lot of fun to watch and I think, when you talk WBC, the exuberance of players is what attracts a lot of fans to it and what they'll speak about afterwards because it is more joyous than most baseball games that we watch, through the long grind of an MLB season.

The intensity per game is definitely amped up. And the Dominican Republic in particular always tend to feed off the energy of each moment that they go through in the game. And it's just how they grow up playing the game. That's how they behave and that's how they see, the attraction towards baseball.

And to be quite honest, we need more of that all the way through baseball. And what drove me nuts is the conversation of people afterwards. This many bad flips, this [00:03:00] many this many that, and zero, championship wins or whatever. So the negativity of the exuberance,

really mystifies me.

I don't get how people can be anti joy,. Stand that, I don't relate to it. I think I'm saddened for those people. 

Mark Corbett: Oh 

Mat Germain: yeah. That they feel like they need to point that out. There's something really, at the core wrong with those people. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, I agree with you a hundred percent.

But my gosh yeah, he's what do you get in the minutia that has very little to do with the game? What do you get into things that that it takes that aren't part of the passion that's happening? Oh my gosh. That just, that's disturbing to say the least to me. And it's come on, boys and girls, there's a better way of doing it and this isn't it.

Mat Germain: Yep. But overall the tournament's been really great. I think the the face off between the Venezuelans and the Americans is an interesting one, especially when you're looking [00:04:00] at the political world that we live in. I think that the numbers and attendance have risen substantially in each location overall.

Mark Corbett: Yep. 

Mat Germain: So the tournament's only gathering more steam. There's more countries that showed up and had success. I think that, the positive side of things, there weren't any major mishaps that like put a drag on the tournament at all in any way, shape or form. Yeah. So I'm expecting 2029 to be a really good one.

And it leads into something that I'm wondering about Mark as the rays are set. To beg governments or counties or what, say you Yeah. For money to build their preferred location stadium. After being gifted, some land and and they're asking for a, this is reported.

$1.15 billion. Now, if for anybody that remembers what they were asking for [00:05:00] from St. Petersburg, right? Yeah. And then the deal that they had come up with was less than half that, right? That they were supposed to get from St. Petersburg. So now we're talking more than double what they had requested from St.

Petersburg. And I get. From a certain angle where it's a much bigger endeavor. Yeah. It's not as, as small a an area that they're trying to develop and there's more pieces involved in this that are all encompassing into one, thing. But when we're watching the WBC and we're seeing the benefits that Miami has gotten from hosting those events they're saying that, each WBC that goes on Miami gains about $200 million.

That's the city, the town, whatever, each 

Mark Corbett: game. 

Mat Germain: No the whole event. 

Mark Corbett: Okay. Still, yeah. Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Peak event. So if you're my, if you're the raise and you're trying to sell this to Tampa, Hillsborough, et cetera, that is the angle you use. You say, listen, we're in [00:06:00] Florida, we're building this thing. We're going to be a perfect candidate to host the WBC in the future.

Each time that we are successful in that we can bring in as much as $200 million. That's not the only event they'll be eligible for. We all know the MLB base All-Star game in the Midsummer Classic is also another big draw, and the Trop just wasn't going to cut it as a, attractive city to bring that.

The average, so I did the research on like from 2010 to 2025. The average seems to be around $100 million benefit to a city when they host the All-Star game. So let's say within the next five years after building a stadium. Tampa hosts an All-star game, and within the first 10 years, they host two baseball classics.

Okay? Now you're talking $500 million that you've added to the Tampa coffers, so that $1.15 billion and be and the reason I say that, [00:07:00] mark is in July, how busy is Florida? How many people not very, 

Mark Corbett: no. No. 

Mat Germain: And then in March, if you're, 

Mark Corbett: yeah, right now it's crazy 'cause it's spring break week, but yeah, no, 

Mat Germain: but now you're drawing those people away from Miami and bringing them closer to Tampa and I think the rays have a chance of actually, being able to sell this because of the building itself and the establishment of how the entertainment area is going to be. 'cause if you're gonna sell it as we're gonna host an all star game, people need to be able to be outside without sweating buckets in the middle of July, right?

Yeah. So if you're gonna host that kind of event, having a venue where you can actually have everybody indoors for a significant period of time. Is really a solid design as compared to Miami where, all of a sudden you're starting to talk, a little bit different atmosphere there in terms of the the surrounding areas, I think what the kind of build Tampa is aiming for is right. The amount of money is substantial. But I think they can make it back [00:08:00] feasibly within the next 20 years. Now having said that, they're not gonna be alone in bidding for those world baseball classics, Vegas. Is going to be building a heck of a stadium and their location is going to be.

So I think personally Houston and Miami are going to lose a lot of attraction when it comes to, venues for the World Baseball Classic in the future because everybody wants what's shiny and new. And like we said, if you're able to have everybody more indoors and a bigger event and amp it up, having both Tampa and Miami within a driving distance, all of a sudden that becomes a.

A mecca for the WBC to have the two venues closer aligned so then people can fly into that area and have access to two sites, within driving distance. That is something that could also help the WBC Amp things up, even another level. 

Mark Corbett: There's no doubt. And when you look at that, like you're saying, if you're doing a couple hundred million, twice a year, [00:09:00] so that would be that and whatever else they bring in with other events.

And I was thinking about this after you, you brought this up earlier, this today, and looking at one, you're gonna have to have a stadium with a roof. Okay. Or at lease can close. So obviously this new Trop was going to have that, whatever you wanna call the place. So it's, and it's gonna be state of the art.

It's gonna be fresh, like you said, it's gonna be new and people are looking for that. So I think you're on the money there. One thing I will say something about Matt is you said talking about what they were asking for over in St. Pete, but it wasn't what they were asking for is what Sue's GR group was asking for.

And I, I think people. People did, could lost some blow for Lou. Maybe this new group, they'll have a little bit more, but that's still a lot of money and I don't think that we've, we haven't yet seen the [00:10:00] issues that have surrounded the land of the tr that they were trying to achieve with the business development around it.

Eh, probably made much more palatable. Governor gave us 22 acres over there to start with, which had just stunned me. And, but I don't think you're gonna see any money from the state. They were talking about a sales tax for this, adding a new sales tax. I don't know. I love the game.

I wanna see the raise here, but I'll pay for it with a hotdog and a ticket and what I back, what I pay for TV to watch it, but I don't know that I wanna put taxes in there too. 

Mat Germain: Here's the thing, if you don't build it, and Miami is just about to open their Miami, stadium for the their professional soccer team in YMLS.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Which was really pushed forward by David Beckham and what he's done there is. Insane magic in building and what used to be a golf area that nobody thought could be developed into what they are building because there was just so many environmental concerns with the ground and everything [00:11:00] underneath.

There's a whole documentary you can watch on YouTube about it and. The key factor with that was that they actually decided to develop 53 acres of it as outdoor living area and like parks and fields and all this kind of stuff, which is supposed to bring, people into it and to cool the area down.

And so what I'm saying is you have the Miami Stadium, there, you have the MLS stadium the Marlin Stadium. If Tampa doesn't move ahead with this proposal and. The raise, get angry enough to move on. You're gonna lose the raise. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: I feel like because they can get this elsewhere.

That's 

Mark Corbett: that. 

Mat Germain: That's where the train of thought needs to be from the city and from the county and everybody else is okay. St. Think of yourself as St. Pete, right? You had come to an agreement, you decided you're gonna hold the line, and then you lost the team. Essentially because you held the line.

The same thing happened in Montreal, way back when. The [00:12:00] same thing happened in elsewhere. There's a lot of examples of cities you can go to where they held the line, they weren't gonna pour money into it from a public point of view, and they lost the team. So the question is, do you want to be an international city or do you want to be just another medium sized American city?

Mark Corbett: Good point. Good point. I will tell you. Last night when we were there at the museum, there's always banter about the trop and the attendance. And the one thing I've heard before it came out again is that Tampa is all about. Baseball at Collegiate High School and community ball and that for people to think that they were ready to just jump into Major League Baseball, it wasn't there.

It is what they were. Some of 'em were saying it, and there was a few MLB players retired that were there and such, and I get that. But if you look at it, pardon me, if you look at [00:13:00] it from a business perspective. You look at it as far as what Beckham's doing in Miami and see it set aside baseball, would you think one way or another about it?

Yeah. I still think it's going to be worthwhile and it's just gonna be whether the naysayers come out stronger than those that wanna make it happen. 

Mat Germain: So my point there as well is the rowdies are in. St. Pete, right? 

Mark Corbett: Yep. 

Mat Germain: So at some point in time because of the new system with the the way that soccer is growing in the US and eventually I think what you're going to see is a relegation system like what they have in the uk.

So the rowdies feasibly could end up one day being an MLS team. When you're looking at the development that the rays are proposing, it still leaves room nearby to add a soccer stadium where all of a sudden you can have, you're like, it's something that [00:14:00] mi, that Miami can't really compete with in terms of having everything co-located within such a small, area in terms of hockey, football, baseball, soccer, where all of a sudden you're getting into this, it's really insane where, what it could lead to in the future if somebody has the vision enough to tie it all together with a boat. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Because essentially that's what you're starting to build, and I think Utah played with this a little bit with the basketball and the channel and everything else.

Because then what happens is you can build your own network. Yes, what the Yankees do and everything else, but have it so huge because it contains all of that, those teams together that you are able to outcompete everybody else and you become a, I don't know, a nobody can compete above that because you're essentially putting yourself at a top tier and I don't know who owns what, but I do know this the [00:15:00] ra, the new raise ownership are very good at making deals. Yeah. And at making transactions to move up. I would not be surprised if at some point in time owners of the Buccaneers raise and lightning start owning shares in each other's companies.

And then having everything meld together over time. And I'm not saying one will be king and one will be whatever. I don't know how it shakes out, but it just the synergy of all of that together with the rowdies included, like at some point in time if they were able to, make the jumps up and to be substantial enough taker that.

That's where I see the value in the 1.15 billion that the county and everybody else will be putting in. Yeah. How they get that 1.15 billion? I have no idea. Some places get more creative than others in how they raise funding. But I do know that, as somebody that has a business degree and has studied a lot of real estate and everything else, I always look at cities in terms of cubes.

So you've got let's say you've got [00:16:00] one block and Manhattan is the perfect example for this. You've got one block, you can put a house on it, A beautiful house, right? Tax it. Yay. Okay. You can put a medium sized building where it's three stories. You get three taxes that you bring in, right?

And then all of a sudden you put a condo, you put a Trump tower, you put a whatever. You're supposed to be able to tax it at that amount, right? And get the benefit from it. But then if you're Trump and you're able to. Rig the tax system so that you're not paying any taxes then, so again the raise and everybody else are not going to be paying taxes on that piece of land.

From what I gather, that's part of the deal that they're proposed. So the way that you have to value it then as a city is okay. What is it going to bring in terms of jobs, in terms of construction, in terms of long-term, em, employment, utilities all of the hotels and the whole we were, I was just saying if you're bringing people in July, if you're bringing people in, whatever, [00:17:00] and the synergy between all of the sports teams and events and venues that you're able to bring people into, then.

What is that value? And you've gotta do the numbers and crunch it out and say, okay, now that we have those numbers, what are the alternatives, like USF and the the raises playing, at George Steinbrenner field or whatever. How much value is that bringing to you right now, and what are your options in developing it in other ways?

Is it really. 

Mark Corbett: No, 

Mat Germain: I don't know does it exist? Is there something that's gonna give you more, 

Mark Corbett: I, I think I got the answer for this. And yeah it takes me back to an old movie called Office Space. 

And in there they, they basically took whatever extra penny was on each cell that went up.

'cause here in the US we're getting rid of the penny. So everything. If it's $3 and 51 cents, then you could take it up to $3 and 55 and that 4 cents goes toward the billions [00:18:00] of dollars or millions of dollars rather than, that's gonna go for the raise, man. So Tampa and NE needs to go ahead and institute that.

We'll take everybody, gather up the Penns they have at home, and then realize that when they go buy that hot dog for $3 and 51 cents at the convenience store and hope you live through it, that. That extra 4 cents, it was worth it because that's gonna give you the raise. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. Like we're heading towards a war, a world, mark and I would advise people to think of it this way, right?

Employment is disappearing at an alarming rate. AI and robots are gonna take over employment. 

Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. 

Mat Germain: So what's going to be left is entertainment. And the more you can invest in entertainment and anything that has to do with the service industry, the healthier your city is going to be. There is no better investment for Tampa than that 1.15 billion.

In fact, I would say it's cheap. I would double it and I would tell 'em, make it fancy enough that it brings people from overseas over to see [00:19:00] it. Make it, like, why do people go to Dubai? It's not because it's, the most beautiful place in the world and it was a sand dune at one point in time, right?

It's because they built attractions that you can't find anywhere else on earth. I can go there and snowboard and then the next day go sand boarding and do the snowboarding on sand. And I can have the most beautiful buildings on Palm Islands that were built on the water and a hotel that looks like a sail.

And so my point would be, if you sure you can add the 1.15 billion and sure it'll look good, but look at what Vegas is building for the eight. Yeah. How does that compare to what the rays are doing? I'll remember the ray, the A'S one, and I will fly there to see it. And the same thing with their ball, right?

The sphere. 

That's a statement. People will go to your city to see the sphere. So what are you gonna build to compete against that in Tampa? 

Mark Corbett: Hopefully it's not a chrome [00:20:00] bean in the middle of the city. It's a 

Mat Germain: No. I don't have the answer. What I'm saying is like the 1.15 billion sounds like a lot of money.

And it is, yeah. But if you spend it right and you do it right, and you actually. Amp it up to the level that it needs to be fancy enough to be attractive enough. So I don't know if they can get some like architecture is a big thing and I don't claim to understand it at all. There are things about it that make things attractive or not, and entertainment is the same way.

Like I never would've conceived of the sphere. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Tampa 

Mat Germain: must have some people that they can go to and get adv advice on how this thing can be shaped to be. More internationally attractive. You know what I mean? Be make it stand out in some way. Give it something unique that can actually, make it more than an indoor place where baseball happens to get played.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think of a. Anything from like an art [00:21:00] museum, but that's probably the stretch. 'cause it is it doesn't have to be tied to sports, right? It could be. What could you do? It would have to be something so significant, whether it's the actual structure or what's within that structure that has a pill.

We've got the man, it isn't a hundred miles down the road. We've got the Disney right down there. We've got the universal, the beach is on the other side. So what would we need to do that would be unique? It's not gonna be another theme park. We, for that matter, we got bush gardens right down the road, not, 15, 20 miles.

Mat Germain: Yeah the one I hate going down this road because I think it's a dangerous one to go on, but the one thing we know is that AI and virtual reality is becoming a huge thing. Yeah. So having some sort of virtual reality environment where you can actually experience things, that. I don't know.

Like it, it's one of those things where I've seen in Dubai and in different, in Saudi Arabia as well, where they've built, like in Saudi Arabia, they have this building that actually goes up and around and you can go up into the top level of it and there's all [00:22:00] these futuristic it's like a science museum essentially.

But it's showing you, and it's constantly updated with the most latest tech, et cetera. There's things with that, that you can, and I think there's enough industry down in Florida about AI and universities that could support it, et cetera. And so then you're involving more than just the raise, right?

You're involving universities, you're involving the science, you're invol involving, whatever. So I think there needs to be, some thought given to that, like if you're gonna dedicate a lot of money, let's say you go from 1.15, you're dedicating to 1.5 billion. And you're adding 350 million what could that 350 million add to this environment and make it more than a shell of a building with entertainment in it.

Mark Corbett: I don't have an answer for you. Yeah, I hear you too. And I don't have an answer for you. I, my mind goes to green spaces too, and I don't know that green spaces in and of themself would do the trick, [00:23:00] but because we had so much of the other, and I see it with the AI and I can go down a whole row with that on another show, maybe I will, but there's.

Someday, I'll tell you about all the phone with AI in Florida lately. Here's, there's some interesting things going on, but or not going on, but I'd like to maybe come back if you don't mind, to the World Baseball Classic. 'Cause I'm getting in too deep of this stuff 'cause you know how much I like a, talk about the potential of potential.

Stadium Man. Stadium, your 

Mat Germain: favorite subject, mark. Oh, I thought about sending you a letter once a week. Just updating you on,

Mark Corbett: thank you. What a good friend you are. I tell you, 

Mat Germain: you gotta have goals, mark. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, I've met mine before the day I've met my quantity for talking about the stadium.

Oh. But no I think there's good things here and I do see the value of what you're recommending. So we'll see. Maybe the city and the county will figure it out too. My goodness. Like I said, we talk, I've talked about her Domo's little [00:24:00] piece there, but we got to see some great folks on that DR team and one we recognize who hit 45 home runs last year for the race.

Mat Germain: Yeah, what a gem Junior Canero is like going up against Paul Skees in the biggest stage with his childhood childhood idol on the bench. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And going up there and taking somebody like Paul Skees probably one of the hardest hitter pitchers to hit with authority. And he takes them deep, like he made it, I don't wanna say he made it look easy, but he just took a swing where he caught up to that pitch and just.

Took it, the moment was basically like this to me. All I saw from as the ball left the bat were dollar signs, and it was going up higher and higher, and his agent was just going Jerry McGuire, show me the money.

Mark Corbett: Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Yeah, man. 

Mat Germain: And the more the raise weight to make that, [00:25:00] to lock him in long term, the less likely it is that it happens.

Mark Corbett: You've said it's happening again. Show him the love now. And like you said, lock him in and you probably get him at a decent long term rate mag. Gosh. And once we can divest ourselves of that, number five completely, we'll be even better. But. My gosh. The talent of that young man and skis who's basically held up into some pinnacle on doing, and he showed to a degree, he's a fantastic pitcher.

But it was interesting listening to the announcers last night and they knew what they were. They knew it wasn't a David versus Goliath. It was a, David and David both gonna come head to head on here and make it happen. And Cam and Earl, it was so beautiful. Watch him make that connect with that ball.

There you go. There you go. 

Mat Germain: And I heard him to talk an interview today in our game. And and he's speaking English now. He's not using a translator. And I gotta tell you, his voice is [00:26:00] low. It's way lower than I anticipated hearing, and he talks really cool and it. Oh, really thinking about each word, but it's very low.

Mark Corbett: Oh man. I can't wait to hear that. 

Mat Germain: I like it. And honestly it's a big step for them to actually do it and speak in English. And I know it took VDI Guerrero Jr. A long time. Or he started, being comfortable enough to speak in English. So I commend him for that. And to me, for the raise it speaks to his maturity and it speaks to the fact that he's trying to get there and he will keep improving over time.

The more he does it. He's still a young guy. So when I talk about in extending him, it's not just because he's gonna be an outstanding player, we know that already. Like we, if you're hitting 45 home runs at the age that he did you're just, you're going to be a special player. But it's also that.

Type of person he is, he's that gel guy that people gravitate to that can, he can be to the raise what Jose [00:27:00] Ramirez is to the guardians. That's what I would compare it to. Like where he can just, if, go to the Guardians, you know you're getting quality because Jose is there. Junior can be that for the raise.

Mark Corbett: I hope they do take care of that soon. Pardon me. I hope they do take care of that soon. 'cause he is a phenomenal player and I want him to be part of the Rays organization for a long time to come. There's not many quote franchise players anymore. Ramirez is, one, but man, yeah, that would be sweet to have him there for long term.

We'll see, brother. What else do we have on the agenda here today? Oh, I'll tell you a couple of little things. One. The discussions were interesting with some of these players last night, and they're I don't know. I, nevermind. I'll come back to it and we'll do that another show. But it is interesting, unless we've got a lot of things going on, we've had, some women on the show in the past, and I had Brian Woodward on recently, and we're talking about everything coming up in July, up around Rockford in Springfield and Women's Pro [00:28:00] Baseball is gonna be coming up in July with their league. This well. Today's Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day, and then tomorrow I am heading down to Fort Myers to watch the Women's Pro Baseball League.

It's not professional word is pro. There's probably some copyright Avengers with a Z, but the, they're, it is going to be fantastic. A lot of great players down there hope to get interviews with a lot of 'em, and it's going, this is, there's a lot of passion about this, and I tell you the encouraging part about this, I'm always a little skeptical with a new league or something, but I start seeing names like Dick's Sporting Goods and other.

Coming in after one, after another, then another. And I think, okay, if we're seeing this kind of sponsorship, then the vitality the potential to make sure there's something that's going to happen will be there. So it's gonna be up to all those great women and. To make this into something that in [00:29:00] July captures people's attention and keeps 'em there.

So I'm looking forward to that. And going back to speaking about Rockford and Springfield as well, the USA Women's National Team is going to have their stage here now, just like the, you say Women's National Baseball Team played in Thunder Bay in the past that is now gonna be in Rockford. Illinois, which is home of the Rockford Peaches at Byers Field there.

And this, it's interesting 'cause you're seeing the history of the past touching with what's being evolving now with women's baseball. It's a very exciting time. But as long as I'm rambling about women in baseball, I've been working on this one piece on Sonida Shu Worth, and it's interesting.

Hardly. This young lady, when she signed on with the south Bend Blue Sox, her rookie year, she stole 89 bases [00:30:00] and it's wow. So I look more and more about what she has done prior to that. So I see whether she's playing volleyball. She played softball for several different teams, and then I find her on a basketball team, this little five foot woman, and she.

I see this one other player's name, Margaret Magadan. Ma. Megan and Megan. Like I said, wait a minute, she was, she became Margaret Pinella. Oh, she became Lou Pinellas mom and you see these connections and that's one of the things about living here in the Tampa area, you find one athlete. It's amazing where you'll see the connections here, there, and everywhere.

But it's been interesting last week for me doing that kind of research and I can't wait to have it put together in something solid where I can share with everybody. So we'll see how it comes. 

Mat Germain: That's awesome. 

Mark Corbett: Yep. 

Mat Germain: The links. That's, it reminds me of all the trade [00:31:00] trees, like the links between players and coaches and events and everything else is ridiculous in baseball.

Oh, 

Mark Corbett: it is. It's you. There's so many We can connect either. I'll just mention one more that Dwight Gooden, who grew up in Belmont Heights, his nephews four years younger than him, Gary Sheffield, they grew up in the same household. Gary Sheffield Yu Fad. Also on the what, back in the 1980s, was on a little league team that went to the World Series.

Yeah, he's got I, if I'd gone, I think I told you before I went up into the stands of were Jesuit High School. I'd look up in there and I'd see Doug Wecter, who former, a pitcher of the Rays and I'd see Gary Sheffield both looking at the field with their own children out there playing the game.

And that is another reason why Tampa. Looks there sometimes more than they look for a major league professional baseball league. Tampas, who've been here for a while. Me, I'm still a transplant, but only been here 20 years yeah. Yeah. [00:32:00] It's 

Mat Germain: probably long enough though, mark. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, it probably is. But it's just been a lot of fun with this and.

We've got some help tonight, man. He's not here right now, but our good friend Lou Schiff is traveling to Miami, actually lives in Miami to the stadium, and he's gonna give us at least a, maybe a sharp report or a taste of the vibe of what it's like and coming back to the World Baseball Classic. I was looking at the, some numbers, Matt, as far as the census.

And you cannot imagine if you're trying to find Latins Hispanic in Tampa, it's strong. You probably got about 27% or more. You could pretty much double or triple that if you're going to be in Miami. So the passion. For these teams, these Latin American teams, whether it be Vene, I can't speak Venezuela or Dominican Republic Cuba, whatever there [00:33:00] is that it, any other team that comes up against them in there, it is hard for them.

Now, I, it's gonna be interesting now to see what, how it goes with Venezuela and the US tonight, but I can tell you there'll be plenty of people in there loud for both teams. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, it's going to be a fun game. I hope it's not a blowout either way, and it's close enough that both both teams are in it to the end and and that fans get, a good show.

I think you've got, obviously more star names on the US side than you do on Venezuela's. But Venezuela has a outstanding team, and as we've seen with a lot of these games, it comes down to the pitching. Yeah. Like I would say overall, Japan's pitching underperformed Canada's pitching, overperformed, Italy's pitching Overperformed.

So you're seeing a lot of the impacts that the pitching can have in each game. And so if Venezuela's pitching comes through and the us which are missing to Rig Scobel, which was supposed to be the guy that they counted on. Will that come back to [00:34:00] haunt them? We'll see. But I think there's gonna be a good storyline either way.

Either way, it's gonna go down as a positive world Baseball Classic, and it's gonna be a nice step forward for 2029. I'm really happy and I'm, I hope Lou has a good time. I, he doesn't, get too many beers, spill on them when things happen. And yeah, I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

Mark Corbett: Yeah, he is got the primo seats, man. I mean I, I got some from him a couple years back and he's three rows back from the dugout, the visitor's dugout. So I got C back then it was Ozzy Timmons and all the rest and bench coach trying to get everything going. He'll have a great time. And I'll throw one more at you from that meeting last night.

The Roses has been getting some grief 'cause. How he measured, what the value of some of the games and what was gonna be needed to be in there. So people were tossing around, who should have been, who should have been the manager for the team, for the us And one of the names that came out and it wasn't surprising 'cause he's beloved around [00:35:00] here, was Joe Maddon.

And I thought, that this, it's really good. To see great talent to bring you back in with something like that. And in a sense, like somebody who is a manager of a World Baseball classic team doesn't have to deal with the front office for 162 games plus each year, i'm, I love to see Fu Hos up here, man, as a manager, seeing great talent like that, the, to me, that's as exciting as anything else.

To see new managers like him also. So I don't know. We'll see. We'll see where the future holds. And I do want to put tip of the hat too, to Canada because they did fantastic. A young team. A lot of future there it looks like to me. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, it's too bad. Freddie Freeman couldn't have been there, 'cause I think he could have been a difference maker in that last game.

No 

Mat Germain: doubt. But their pitching is going to be better. Even there, there was a few pitchers that didn't come to this. This classic that, that could have played, but they were trying to earn spots on their teams. Yeah. And they felt like it, it made more sense for them to stay [00:36:00] there. There was that short stop from Detroit as well, who I think will be a great, so Canada's in a really solid place.

Yes. They have some aging players that are going to need to get replaced, like James Paxton and a few others. Probably before the next classic. But I think they're in a really strong spot. They're starting to get more minor leaguers coming through that are gonna chip in later on. But I think it's gonna be interesting to see what the rules look like in the next baseball Classic.

'cause we've already seen the ABS, today the, there was five challenges that players won. Four out of six, or sorry, there was six challenges. They won four outta six. And the speed that they're happening at is. It's insane to me that you don't, it's almost seamless and it tempers your anger.

Like it gets your anger down right away. Like it's just oh, yep, the ump got it wrong. We roll on and we move on. There's no harping on the fact that the umpire was wrong. I. He basically gets absolved the of the decision and the game moves on. Literally, like there was one call that was [00:37:00] off.

Ryan Vladi was running towards first base and as if he had earned a walk, and then he the umpire called him out, did a little fancy move for it. Ryan Vladi cha challenged. Got the call, right And then he ran the first base. He got the walk, he moved on. And the flow of it all Mark was outstanding.

I love it. I think it, it the fact that we're not doing it for every call that gets contended is mystifies me. Why are we limiting it to two? I don't know. But anyways. It leads me to the rule changes that they're putting into the minor leagues, and there's way more of them coming through now and I think they're getting more calculated in how they're doing them.

So in the PCL and the International League, they'll be using different rules as an example, so that they can actually weigh, the impact that it has on one league and the impact that it has on another. In the Pacific Coast League, they'll be able to challenge both strikes and [00:38:00] balls and also check swings.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So you'll be able to do that. And now they're making it so it's 45 degree angle. So they've actually measured the thing. And if you've watched video and the link that I sent you has it there. 

Mark Corbett: Yep. 

Mat Germain: Where you know you, it's way further than you would think. Because when you're watching the swings and how quickly players are able to check them and what they said that they've, they monitored last year at one of the leagues or one of the levels, it led it led to 3% lower calls against the players than would otherwise have happened because of the 45 degree angle rule.

They're gonna do that in the PCEL where you can actually challenge both in the International League, they're only gonna allow the balls and strikes to be called. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So that's gonna be the difference between the two. Then they're gonna look at the data from both and gonna say, is it worthwhile putting in or are we going too far with this?

So it's gonna be interesting to see the outcome, but to me it says [00:39:00] like it's the last check before they either put it in or they walk away from it and they just let it be there's more ways that, that they're gonna be allowing those challenges to go in below that, like at the a plus level and at the A level.

But the other one they're looking at is the pitch clock changes. So they're continuing to tweak those. 

And the way they're gonna be doing that is by saying, okay. A lot of times the catcher will come out and give defensive signals to people, and they used to stop the clock when the catcher was doing that.

Now they're not gonna stop the clock anymore. It's gonna basically run as per the last pitch, and then with the catcher wants to go run around and do a lap. He does a lap but he still has to be back there within that eight second period. So it's going to tighten up the pitch clock rules a little bit more than it already has.

It, they also are saying that within a certain period of time when PE people go to the mound, they have to clear the mound. More efficiently. So they've put some rules in and the how long [00:40:00] the pitcher sorry, the catcher and other players that go onto the mound and the manager or the pitching coach, they need to clear the mound and be off the dirt within a certain period of time.

So my point would be more like, it seems to me more and more that the umpires are becoming. Managers of time and actual managers of the game, right? Everything seems to be very tedious in how they need to manage things. So even though we're saying, okay, they're taking away balls and strikes, right?

They're taking away the human element. No, they're maintaining the human element because the umpire has to monitor so many different. Yeah. Clocks around. Like they, they're gonna be like that rabbit, and Alice in Wonderland I'm late. Gonna get, they're gonna get ripped apart because they missed a clock somewhere.

I don't know how they get alerts for that on the field, but it must drive them nuts. You can never relax 'cause you're always looking at a clock for something.

Mark Corbett: It's gonna be insane. And do you know. When you were mentioning that about [00:41:00] the Chuck swing, I thought initially when this whole thing was going to roll out, they first talked about the ABS, I thought it was gonna be part of it.

But it is, like I said, there's gonna be, they gotta the officer are gonna have to pay more and more attention. And it does seem like it's gonna diffuse some things. The whole personality we talked about with Larry about running out to the mound. There's not gonna be a need for that because it's, guess what a I says no.

Hey as the law baby AI says that was a strike. But I would love for ai. To be able to be the only thing that detects a bulk. Because I hate box. 

Mat Germain: I wanna take box right outta the game. Just get rid of the 

Mark Corbett: I'm fine with that. I really 

Mat Germain: am. They wanna fidget all they want on the mountain. Go ahead, fidget.

Do fake moves. Add to the game. Make it interesting. Honestly, like we have fakes. We don't say in football, you're not allowed to fake, you gotta run straight. Like it's part of the [00:42:00] game. They, we used to do the ball trick move. You remember you throw the ball in a, the first basement acts like he's throwing it away.

Yeah. To somebody else, and then he keeps the ball in his glove well. That's legal. So why can't you fake if you're on the mound? If the runner wants to go, then they're adding so many rules to help the runners out, help the other ones make it more interesting too. It'll be a highlight somewhere and it's okay.

I hate the bulk rule as much as you do, but on that point, they're also adding, hitter disengagement rules as well, and they're modified at each level, so I'll just run through them quick. In AA and aa, when a batter requests time, the home blade umpire grants the time points to the batter, then automatically resets the clock, right?

So the batter has to go back. So that's as per normal, basically. There's no changes there. But in high aid, the batter will only be permitted to request time if there's runners on base. If there's nobody on base, he doesn't get the call, unless there's an equipment issue or something like [00:43:00] something falling off or they get dust in the eyes sometimes or whatever.

Yeah, I think those would be allowed, but it'll be up to the umpire to decide basically. And then. At the low A level they're not gonna be able to permit time at all. That's gonna be it. It's basically, you're in the box. You're in the box. So it'll be interesting to see which one of those move up next year, like in 2027.

Yeah. To see what they come out with. But I do agree that hitters, especially intense situations, are using the disengagement one to mess around. Like almost like icing the kicker, right? It is the same kind of thing where they're purposely taking that time to ice the pitcher and it hurts the flow of the game really a little bit.

So it'll be interesting to see. That's one I could see them actually adding in at some point. There's values to it and there's knocks against it. Like some people could say, you should be allowed to ice the kicker. Other people would say just let [00:44:00] him go through with it and mess it up if he will or won't.

Why add, why add a moment of anxiousness, Phil? I don't know. That one's kinda, eh. Will it go one way or the other? I don't know. 

Mark Corbett: It's interesting because they're trying to make the game I know faster quote, more entertaining. I, I would like to see what Yandy Diaz, the amount of time he spent at a plate.

Per pitch compared to, five years ago and what it is today and what that may look like later. 'cause John d was certainly the guy who would step outta the box multiple times or whatever, and part of me was amused by it. But the other part's saying I'd like to get on with it, man, come on.

It's coming up on midnight that no man's gotta be in bed at Argo. But I don't know, change is good, but sometimes it does feel like it steals a bit of the color of the game. And I, the nuances of disagreement, that's, to me, that's part of baseball. [00:45:00] It's baseball. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. And the worst one of it all, mark, is they're moving second base.

Mark Corbett: Oh, okay. That one I read. That is insane. That is absolutely insane. That one. No. Okay. The others I can speak, eh, that one. Go ahead and tell 'em that. 'cause I can't even believe 

Mat Germain: it. That's a Rob Manfred rule right there. Yeah. So to eng encourage more action on the basis the International League, a second base will be placed and International League for people who don't know is aa.

And it's one half of aaa. It'll be placed entirely within the perimeter of the infield diamond. So what that means is basically you're going to be making the distance between first base and second base, nine inches shorter, and the distance between second base and third base, nine inches shorter.

So essentially what it's gonna mean is every single player on the field will be a base dealer. It'll make the arm of the catcher [00:46:00] meaningless. It'll make every statistic in terms of stolen bases and meaningless. I don't understand it. I don't agree with it. I think my idea of incentivizing steel stolen bases by monetizing it.

Yeah, thank you. Is way better. Way better than changing the, it is gonna be an OBL diamond now, is that what we're gonna call it?

Mark Corbett: I don't know. But they all take the golden bat in that second basin. Give Mr. Manfred and find the place where to put 'em and it ain't on the field. Heard.

Mat Germain: Every time you steal a base, you'll get a little star next to your name. It'll be signed by Rob Manfred himself. He'll come over and he'll, he will put it on the Bristol board and he'll write, congratulations for getting your fat ass to second base.

Mark Corbett: Oh my gosh. I love it. I love it 

Mat Germain: more discouraged about that Mark. I, there, there's just a time when professional athletes need to [00:47:00] recognize that they are not learning the right things, they're not applying themselves to do the right things. That the bases were fine in the eighties and people were stealing hundreds of them.

Yeah. Vince Coleman stole over a hundred. Chandler Simpson could steal a hundred. Now. You need to highlight the skill and value of those players and reflect it. You don't. Make it easier so that everybody can achieve it. That doesn't make any sense. What are they gonna do now? Move the fences in 20 feet all over the major leagues, just so that Chandler Simpson can hit 30 home runs.

Like really? If we're gonna make everybody a base dealer, we should also make Chandler Simpson a home run hitter. It goes both ways. So lower the fences, make them three feet high and bring them in 20 feet. 

Mark Corbett: Geez, 

It'll be like, the little 6-year-old YMCA team and everybody's a winner and everybody gets a trophy and a slice of pizza at the end of the year.

It's come on, man. Oh, come on. 

Mat Germain: Geez. [00:48:00] That's the one what I'm like, I hope it goes nowhere and it better go nowhere. I don't even like the bigger bases already. I'm already sickened by that. Nevermind, moving second base. 

Mark Corbett: You were talking a couple years ago.

The whole thing with what happens with Ricky Henderson, what happens with all, everything that he achieved. It's immeasurable. It's a whole new piece. Beast. Now you, you can't. Hold 'em side by side to have certain expectations. Ah. 

Mat Germain: Yep. I honestly think if ever we get the right commissioner in major league baseball, what I would like to see is some sort of measurement that, first of all goes back to a lot of the historical aspects of baseball, if it's being of certain dimensions, et cetera.

But I would like somebody to actually also look at it and say, okay, if I hit a ball at a nine degree angle at this. Exit velocity. It should result in this in terms of a home run, in terms of the foul line areas, et cetera, and try to as much as possible, I know it's not [00:49:00] doable across the board, but as much as possible to make it even from city to city and location, so that if you're drafted by or brought into any organization, you're measured by the same kinds of.

Performance incentives, that's possible. The whole humidor thing in, in Colorado was meant to bring everything down to the level that, you would expect at most other stadiums. It was an example of doing that kind of work, the. Fence changes that they went through in Baltimore, even though they were quirky and messy as heck.

And they keep playing around with them. Like they, their intention is to try to make sure that they're more evened out than they used to be. So my point would just be like, if you're gonna have a professional sport, imagine this. Imagine a soccer field where you're like, you know what?

We're gonna have it different. We're gonna put ours on a tilt from one side of the field to the other at this angle, because we feel like that would be fun and we just wanna make it different. [00:50:00] We're gonna shorten it. We're gonna put, a Pentagon style. Corner in this side, and it's gonna be different, but you're gonna be fine.

You, you're all playing in the same conditions on that field. You don't worry about it. Oh, by the way, on this one, we're gonna have the line on, just, it gets to be ridiculous. Like at some point line, you have to be a league with dimensions that make sense across the board 

Mark Corbett: yeah. Yeah, no, some people need to check their medication or come up with these rules, is all they gotta say.

'cause it gets to be a little goof goofy at best. And it just changes the game into something else. There's, there's vintage baseball leagues where they have a ball full of feathers and orange peels. And I'm not saying that we need to say that antiquated with whatever baseball is, but good lord I'm just, yeah.

Matt, I tell you what where 

Mat Germain: do we, I encourage people to, to email, write major League baseball and raw banded with their better ideas and, make their voices [00:51:00] heard. Because if you enjoy the game the way it is, you should definitely have a say and, and let them know what your thoughts are on the, on these rule changes.

What you like, what you don't like, what you wanna see. Be boisterous and vocal. Because I feel like the more we do that, the more we get what we want out of it. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yep. Come on, fans, speak up. And once again, thank Mr. Jesse Cole for fans First Philosophy. Let's make sure that MLB picks that up too.

We don't need bananas, but we need a love of MLB to love their fans. All righty. Matt, another fun day coming, gone, and I can't wait to see, get a few words from Lou. We'll add that to to the show here in a bit. And otherwise we'll get together next week, my friend. 

Mat Germain: Sounds good. Have a good one, mark.

Enjoy the end of spring training before the season begins. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah. 

Mat Germain: Around the corner. 

Mark Corbett: What do you have up here on the raise game? You can. You still got that up? Raise Yankees 

Mat Germain: at the Yankees. 1, 3, 2. Ah, 

Mark Corbett: ba bye. [00:52:00] All right everybody. Thank y'all again for joining us today and we'll talk with you again real soon.

Mat Germain: Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: Oh man. 

Mat Germain: Hope, hopefully the rays are, I have a feel I have a good feeling like when I see Shane McClanahan healthy and I see Steven Matts be as strong as he is.