official "ban the intentional walk" thread

[Madison]

It will never happen. IBB will always be a part of the game, but hypothetically, I'd say make it a trade off. Pitchers can no longer give an intentional walk, but hitters can no longer wear armor above the waist. Sure, something for their feet or legs to protect from foul balls in the dirt is fine with me. Take away the armor that allows hitters to block off the entire inside of the plate and then we have baseball again.

Edit: Obviously a helmet is fine with me too.

[matmat]

It will never happen. IBB will always be a part of the game, but hypothetically, I'd say make it a trade off. Pitchers can no longer give an intentional walk, but hitters can no longer wear armor above the waist. Sure, something for their feet or legs to protect from foul balls in the dirt is fine with me. Take away the armor that allows hitters to block off the entire inside of the plate and then we have baseball again.

Edit: Obviously a helmet is fine with me too.

that would be great... except there are some people that have had injuries in the past for whom getting knocked on the elbow might be a lot worse than a healthy person getting hit there... those should still be allowed some tiny bit of protection for the joint itself... I really hate the padding that bonds wears... I really really really want to see someone knock him down this season... but to do that you have to throw at his head, because he is padded everywhere else...



also... the ONLY way I see IBB being altered in a sensible manner that isn't too far fetched is for someone who is IBBed to be awarded second base immediately except in the rare occasions when only first base is open.

[Mark86]

I approve of the intentional walk when there are runners on second and third with 0 or 1 outs. I am against it when a pitcher walks a batter because he just does not want to pitch to him. When Barry Bonds is at bat, I want to see him hit the ball to his potential. I do not want to watch him look at bad pitches go by. Come on, that is 75% of the fun of baseball, watching long homeruns go over the fence and watching good hitters against good pitchers. I know they will never do away with the intentional walk in some cases, but this is just my opinion.