A look at OBP in a 2018 context."Baseball James McCann Jersey , despite some of the current efforts of commissioner Rob Manfred, is not a game played against a clock. inute halves, no trio of 20 minute periods in which time teams try to both outscore their opponents and hold on until there’s a 00:00 in big, shiny numbers in between the two scores on the board. The idea of if we can just get the ball back with some time left isn’t really a thing in baseball, and that’s one of the absolute most beautiful things about the game.At the big league level, the other team has to get you out at least 27 times to end the game. And, until you’ve made out number 27, only a monsoon or a flock of dragons or an earthquake can see a game called - and even then, 15 outs have to be in the books for it to be official. So, by definition, not making an out is a pretty damn vital thing to do in baseball, and there’s a reason why there has been an increase in emphasis on finding players that excel at that ability over the last decade-plus.The Cincinnati Reds, of course, employ the single most influential force in that regard, in one Joey Votto. Since 2008 - his first full season in the majors - Votto’s .428 on-base percentage is the best in all of baseball by a solid margin, with Manny Ramirez (.417), Mike Trout (.416) http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , Aaron Judge (.401), and Paul Goldschmidt (.400) the only other big leaguers to eclipse the .400 mark. What’s been a larger issue, though, is that so many of Votto’s teammates in that stretch have struggled to come anywhere close to reproducing that kind of not-out-making.From 2008 through 2018, the Reds own a team OBP of .321 even when you include Votto’s otherworldly numbers, and that ranks them just 18th in all of MLB in that time. Just as telling are the numbers from just the last four seasons, as Votto has posted an absurd .443 OBP in that span to anchor just a .323 OBP by the team as a whole during the darkest days of the rebuild - and Votto has rarely, if ever, missed games in that time.The 2018 season has been a bit different, however, and that’s one thing we can kind of take away as a positive despite yet another abysmal record in the standings. Their team mark of .334 in 2018 ranks as the 3rd best in all of baseball, buoyed by the emergence (when healthy) of the likes of Jesse Winker and Phil Ervin, the continued breakouts of Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Suarez, and even the savvy pickup of backup catcher Curt Casali. For once, the art of not-making-outs seems to be permeating throughout what should be the healthy Cincinnati lineup for this year and going forward, particularly when you factor in the return of Nick Senzel and his projected 10+% walk rate.A quick glance at the company the Reds are keeping atop that 2018 OBP list is a bit telling, too. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs Sparky Anderson Jersey , two similarly built juggernauts with the best records in each league, respectively, sit as the only two clubs with better marks than the Reds, with their twin .338 numbers just a hair better than Cincinnati’s. Rounding out the Top 10 are a who’s who of the best clubs in baseball this year, with each of the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Houston Astros all in there (with only the talented yet mystifying Washington Nationals joining the Reds in the Top 10 as teams that are under .500, though they’re just a game from that mark).“Wick, you dolt,” you say. “Why the hell are you writing an article lauding the merits of on-base percentage as something a team should strive to achieve while also pointing out that the Reds, while finally achieving said success there, still have one of the absolute worst records in all of baseball?!”For one, a dolt I surely am, though in this particular instance I assure you there’s a destination for this article. Y’see, the other fun part about baseball is that pitching Jack Morris Jersey , which the Reds have fumbled for the better part of a century, matters just as much as what a team does at the plate, and the flip-side of these OBP numbers weave a pretty solidifying story.A quick glance at the on-base percentages yielded by the collective pitching staffs across baseball shows that the nine worst teams are these, in order:Baltimore Orioles (.353)Kansas City Royals (.344)Chicago White Sox (.337)Cincinnati Reds (.337)Toronto Blue Jays (.335)Minnesota Twins (.335)Miami Marlins (.334)Texas Rangers (.334)San Diego Padres (.327)Consequently, a quick look at the single worst winning percentages in all of baseball shows that, well, every damn one of those teams ranks near the top (bottom) of that list, too. A quick glance at the teams with pitching staffs that have allowed the lowest on-base percentages against them also yields something telling:Houston Astros (.282)Los Angeles Dodgers (.294)Cleveland Indians (.300)Tampa Bay Rays (.300)New York Yankees (.301)Oakland A’s (.303)Arizona Diamondbacks (.304)Boston Red Sox (.308)It’s realistic that all of those teams end up in the playoffs in 2018, save for the poor Rays - who just so happen to be a full 15 games over the .500 mark but unfortunately stuck behind the Red Sox and Yankees in one of the most stacked divisions in recent memory.For the Reds, it’s fairly easy to be increasingly optimistic that one half of the OBP equation is continuing to progress in the right direction, as the Reds on offense have seemed to find a decent core that does a solid job of not-making-outs. Just a day after Votto’s 35 birthday - and in a season in which he is once again leading the National League in OBP - that seems only right to emphasize. On the flip side, however, shows something in numeric fashion that I think all of our emotions have been seared with for years now - that Cincinnati pitching just cannot find ways to get opposing hitters out in good enough fashion, and that’s the reason the rebuild still has them mired in the NL Central cellar. Maybe, just maybe, that’ll finally be a focal point of the offseason this winter. NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball and the players’ union are near an agreement to expand active rosters by one to 26 starting in 2020 as part of a deal that would include a commitment to discuss larger economic issues after opening day this year.As part of the deal, the active limit from Sept. 1 to the end of the season would be lowered from 40 to 28 beginning next year Michael Fulmer Jersey , people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been finalized.A limitation on September call-ups would end parades of relief pitchers that cause some games to stretch on.There would be a maximum of 13 pitchers for most of the season and 14 from Sept. 1 on, the people said. The minimum roster size would increase from 24 to 25.The new 26-player maximum also would apply to the postseason.The commitment for a discussion of the larger economic issues is a key for the union after consecutive slow free-agent markets that have seen dozens of players sign on the eve of spring training and after workouts were underway. Players have proposed changes such as expanding the designated hitter to the National League and altering the amateur draft to discourage the number of teams jettisoning veterans during a season in favor of rebuilding.Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at the end of the 2021 season, and management appears willing to negotiate larger changes in exchange for a longer term.The agreement also would include:—increasing in the regular injured list minimum for pitchers and the minimum option recall time for pitchers from 10 to 15 days beginning in 2020.—starting extra innings of the All-Star Game with a runner on second base.—giving MLB the right to shorten between-inning breaks.The union planned to reject MLB’s proposal for a three-batter minimum for pitchers, leaving MLB with the right to implement that unilaterally for 2020. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has said he is reluctant to change playing rules without an agreement with players.MLB agreed not pursue a pitch clock through the 2021 season.The roster deal is similar to one that had been slated to be included in the November 2016 collective bargaining agreement but came undone when the union backed away.The roster size settled at 25 more than a century ago. Teams had 25 players active starting in 1913, according to Baseball Almanac, and since 1909, according to Peter Morris’ “A Game of Inches.” Morris wrote the limit was lowered during World War I, then reverted to 25, then cut to 23 in 1931 because of the depression. The maximum was waived at the end of World War II and again in 1949 because of players returning from the Mexican League, Morris wrote.The 25 maximum through Aug. 31 has been a part of the collective bargaining agreement since the first labor deal in 1968. Teams have usually been at the maximum, except for the collusion era of 1986-89, when all clubs went with the 24-man minimum.A 26th player has been allowed for some day-night doubleheaders since 2012. The expansion of the active roster to 40 each Sept. 1 led to complaints from teams and players that opponents were contesting games with unequal-sized squads based on how many minor leaguers had been called up.