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TDMMC Forums => Other Sports Talk => Topic started by: CF DolFan on August 21, 2018, 11:26:11 am



Title: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: CF DolFan on August 21, 2018, 11:26:11 am
I was reading an article about how HOFers are complaining about the current state of baseball and these statistics showed up. It certainly seems like baseball is headed in the wrong direction and for many more reasons than 4 hour games. Too many teams if you ask me.


• The ball is not put in play in roughly a third of all plate appearances, 31.6 percent of which end in a strikeout, walk or hit batter.

• The .248 MLB batting average is the lowest since 1972, the season before the American League instituted the designated hitter, when it was .244.

• There were more strikeouts than hits in a month for the first time in MLB history in April and, through early August, MLB had accumulated more strikeouts than hits overall. The race is on for whether it will happen in a full season for the first time.

• Through Saturday, the combined rate of strikeouts, walks and home runs across the game was 33.6 percent. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, since strikeouts were first recorded in both leagues in 1913, there have been only six seasons in which strikeouts, walks and home runs have accounted for at least 30 percent of all plate appearances, and all of them have occurred since 2012.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Tenshot13 on August 21, 2018, 11:46:59 am
I wish I had a team to root for, but the "minor league" team that plays here decided to get rid of their now World Series winning manager and all of their best players.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Dave Gray on August 21, 2018, 11:50:27 am
Gotta fix the economics.
Gotta get rid of the unwritten rules and fighting.  Charging the mound, hitting players on purpose, etc...that's assault and should be treated as such, with enormous suspensions and fines.  Not only is it unprofessional, a stupid time waster, but it puts policing the game in the hands of the players.  If you don't want to have a guy hit 4 home runs on you, pitch better -- don't bean him.
Cut the time it takes to play a game.
Cut the number of games.

I'm probably too far gone to give a crap, regardless of what they do.  But these are just some of the reasons that the sport lost me over the years.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Cathal on August 21, 2018, 01:19:55 pm
I've never been a fan of baseball, ever. It's just way too slow. If you were going to get someone like me to watch, you need to make it so the ball gets hit by everyone a majority of the time. Or turn it into Blernsball, that would work too.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Sunstroke on August 21, 2018, 01:38:37 pm

We have a league full of Joey Gallos these days...swings and missed most times, but when he does hit it, it goes 450, at least.

Maybe we should swap out the All Star Game HR Derby and have a skills competition?  ;)



Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: MyGodWearsAHoodie on August 21, 2018, 01:45:18 pm
In peewee hbp often occurs because the pitcher has bad ball control in MLB, there is no excuse for it.  Change rules of game first team Hbp for a team is a single with anyone one base advancing (ie guy on third goes home). Second HBp is a triple.  Third and subsequent are runs.  Any pitcher with a second HBP in a game is ejected.  Any pitcher with 10 in a season is suspended for the rest of the season.  Don’t bean  a guy cause he hit a home run, strike him out.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Phishfan on August 21, 2018, 02:10:58 pm
I gave up on the game too long ago to ever come back. I didn't even watch a single pitch in the last Word Series.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: BuccaneerBrad on August 21, 2018, 02:43:52 pm
I wish I had a team to root for, but the "minor league" team that plays here decided to get rid of their now World Series winning manager and all of their best players.

That's why baseball needs a salary cap just like the other sports do.  We can't have teams like the Yankees and Dodgers throwing money around and gobbling up all the talent.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: DaLittle B on August 21, 2018, 02:49:13 pm
I admit,I hate the shifting,and constant pitching changes to play the match ups in the bullpen.

I agree with the lack of fundamental ability to make contact,or flat out understand the game situation (IE runner on third with less than 2 outs).




Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Spider-Dan on August 22, 2018, 03:31:14 am
The unwritten rules are not only dumb, but they're actively counterproductive to creating excitement for the game.

Example #1: bat flips.  The Korean League has some of the most spectacular bat flips (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKQskUmD_eY) in the sport.  But showing that kind of joy and excitement in MLB would get you seriously injured.  Case in point: Joey Bats had one of the greatest bat flips of all time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UdsVO7HaJg) in a situation where emotion was clearly warranted.  And what was the result when TOR and TEX met the following season?

(https://cdn.torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/jays-rangers-beef-Bush-Bautista-803x0-c-default.gif)
(https://cdn.torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/jays-rangers-beef-Bautista-Odor-Punch.gif)

I mean, baseball is boring and slow-paced enough as it is, without retrograde knuckleheads enforcing unwritten rules that somehow tell you that if a guy is playing really well against you, you are honor-bound (https://nypost.com/2018/08/15/keith-hernandez-marlins-were-right-to-hit-acuna/) to throw a 97 MPH fastball at him.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Tenshot13 on August 22, 2018, 06:14:15 am
So you want to make a boring game more boring... Awesome.  Do you want to get rid of fighting in hockey too?


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Phishfan on August 22, 2018, 08:45:22 am
So you want to make a boring game more boring... Awesome.  Do you want to get rid of fighting in hockey too?

I know a lot of people do. Fighting in hockey is way down from what it used to be anyway.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: DaLittle B on August 22, 2018, 08:57:27 am
The bat flip,he stared at his home run to long, unwritten rules...showing up the hitters ...So We're gonna plunk you over it,Is such horseshit.

 ::) I also love when the announcers say some thing like the lines of..."I don't remember any incidents or bad blood between these two clubs this year,this could stem from some thing last year...When player A, was with the Dodgers,and Player B was with the Giants..." Type of statement.... ::)

This was an article written a few years ago after the Batista about playing Winter ball...It's kinda funny if you have a few minutes to read it...(The story I'm referring to starts below the video.)
https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/playing-baseball-right-way-depends-three-factors-when-who-where-061615 (https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/playing-baseball-right-way-depends-three-factors-when-who-where-061615)

I think the game should change,and evolve be less golf like...

I admit to have strange views when it comes to Baseball,No DH,I'd be fine with automated strike zones,telling the Home plate umpire Ball and strike,there should be an onsite video review umpire...



Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Sunstroke on August 22, 2018, 09:14:45 am

Either write down the unwritten rules, or erase them completely...




Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Dolphster on August 22, 2018, 09:34:13 am
The unwritten rules are not only dumb, but they're actively counterproductive to creating excitement for the game.

Example #1: bat flips.  The Korean League has some of the most spectacular bat flips (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKQskUmD_eY) in the sport.  But showing that kind of joy and excitement in MLB would get you seriously injured.  Case in point: Joey Bats had one of the greatest bat flips of all time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UdsVO7HaJg) in a situation where emotion was clearly warranted.  And what was the result when TOR and TEX met the following season?

(https://cdn.torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/jays-rangers-beef-Bush-Bautista-803x0-c-default.gif)
(https://cdn.torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/jays-rangers-beef-Bautista-Odor-Punch.gif)

I mean, baseball is boring and slow-paced enough as it is, without retrograde knuckleheads enforcing unwritten rules that somehow tell you that if a guy is playing really well against you, you are honor-bound (https://nypost.com/2018/08/15/keith-hernandez-marlins-were-right-to-hit-acuna/) to throw a 97 MPH fastball at him.

Leading with the face is never a good fight tactic.  Odor threw a nice right but then went sissy with the glove slap.  Not bad for a baseball fight though since most of them are just 20 dudes hugging each other around the mound. 


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: BigDaddyFin on August 22, 2018, 10:19:08 am
If you want to fix the game, give it back its' balls that were lost somewhere between 1986 and the 1994 strike.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Dave Gray on August 22, 2018, 10:36:52 am
What job allows secretly wants you to punch someone in the face to maintain order when the bosses don't handle it?  This shit is so goddamn absurd.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Spider-Dan on August 22, 2018, 10:42:49 am
So you want to make a boring game more boring... Awesome.
Not exactly.  I propose that we eliminate the "excitement" of intentional HBP and the attendant 40-man scrum, and replace it with the excitement of players being allowed to actually have fun without having to worry about their personal safety.

Quote
Do you want to get rid of fighting in hockey too?
I don't really care about hockey, but the spectacle of officials standing nearby and waiting for players to finish fighting before they break it up is one of the most absurd things in professional sports.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: MyGodWearsAHoodie on August 22, 2018, 10:48:15 am
Not exactly.  I propose that we eliminate the "excitement" of intentional HBP and the attendant 40-man scrum, and replace it with the excitement of players being allowed to actually have fun without having to worry about their personal safety.

I agree with this.  The pitchers revenge for having someone flip a bat after hitting a home run should be fist pumping a strike out not a purposeful hbp


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Phishfan on August 22, 2018, 11:02:24 am
What job allows secretly wants you to punch someone in the face to maintain order when the bosses don't handle it?  This shit is so goddamn absurd.

Not that I disagree with you but the answer to your question is just about every team sport invented. Sticking up for teammates has always been applauded in sports. You can't compare it to a 9 to 5.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: MyGodWearsAHoodie on August 22, 2018, 11:17:24 am
Not that I disagree with you but the answer to your question is just about every team sport invented. Sticking up for teammates has always been applauded in sports. You can't compare it to a 9 to 5.

Not really.  NFL has very few fights, and tragressions are handled by 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalties, nor vengeful hits.  Soccer uses yellow and red cards.  Basketball doesn’t have many fights and handles thing with technical fouls. 

This is the equivalent of rather than a yellow for excessive TD celebration the other team took a cheap shot.

Baseball needs to up the penalty for HBP.  Raise it to a double if that doesn’t discourage the behavior raise it to a triple or hr.  If unsportsmanlike conduct was a 5 yard instead of 15 you would see more unsportsmanlike behavior in football.

Plus baseball is not a contact sport, it should have the decorum of tennis or golf not rugby.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Dave Gray on August 22, 2018, 11:33:29 am
Not that I disagree with you but the answer to your question is just about every team sport invented. Sticking up for teammates has always been applauded in sports. You can't compare it to a 9 to 5.

Sticking up for teammates isn't fighting.  Baseball is non-contact, too.  It's not even like in football or basketball where guys get tied up within the rules of the game.

And sticking up normally applies to excessive force.  This isn't the case in baseball.  Sticking up means disrespect from playing too well or celebrating good play.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Tenshot13 on August 22, 2018, 11:35:17 am
I guess in today's world there is no room for testosterone.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Spider-Dan on August 22, 2018, 12:13:38 pm
I'd hardly say football and basketball have "less testosterone" than baseball.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Fau Teixeira on August 22, 2018, 12:53:30 pm
odor should have been arrested and prosecuted for battery. there's ample video evidence.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Phishfan on August 22, 2018, 01:18:13 pm
Not really.  NFL has very few fights, and tragressions are handled by 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalties, nor vengeful hits.  Soccer uses yellow and red cards.  Basketball doesn’t have many fights and handles thing with technical fouls. 

This is the equivalent of rather than a yellow for excessive TD celebration the other team took a cheap shot.

Baseball needs to up the penalty for HBP.  Raise it to a double if that doesn’t discourage the behavior raise it to a triple or hr.  If unsportsmanlike conduct was a 5 yard instead of 15 you would see more unsportsmanlike behavior in football.

Plus baseball is not a contact sport, it should have the decorum of tennis or golf not rugby.

I am very familiar with the punishment in each of these sports. It does not stop cheap shots and revenge from happening in any of them.

Dave is right about the difference in celebration retaliation though. These other sports usually happen in run of play while baseball is about hurt feelings. That wasn't the point I responded to either. It was that you can't compare a 9 to 5 and professional sports because the fact is team based skirmishes happen in just about all of them.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Dolphster on August 22, 2018, 01:25:03 pm
I guess in today's world there is no room for testosterone.

Look up the term "toxic masculinity" and be prepared to barf on your shoes.  Whenever our new snowflake society gets to be too much for me, I re-read Adam Carolla's book "In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks."    I apologize if my use of the term "masculinity" caused anyone to have to hide in their safe space and hug their wooby bear. 


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Tenshot13 on August 22, 2018, 01:49:49 pm
Look up the term "toxic masculinity" and be prepared to barf on your shoes.  Whenever our new snowflake society gets to be too much for me, I re-read Adam Carolla's book "In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks."    I apologize if my use of the term "masculinity" caused anyone to have to hide in their safe space and hug their wooby bear. 
You warned me so the barf didn't get on my shoes.  Just a bunch of Soy Boys (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Soy%20Boy) running around.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: MyGodWearsAHoodie on August 22, 2018, 01:56:43 pm
I am very familiar with the punishment in each of these sports. It does not stop cheap shots and revenge from happening in any of them.

Dave is right about the difference in celebration retaliation though. These other sports usually happen in run of play while baseball is about hurt feelings. That wasn't the point I responded to either. It was that you can't compare a 9 to 5 and professional sports because the fact is team based skirmishes happen in just about all of them.

Well I am not comparing baseball to my job.  I think it should be compared to other noncontact sports such as golf, tennis, or racing.  When was the last time you heard of a brawl in those sports or someone throwing a projectile 90mph at someone because they celebrated their last win?

It is time to end beaning someone for hurting your feeling.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Spider-Dan on August 22, 2018, 01:57:22 pm
Baseball needs to up the penalty for HBP.  Raise it to a double if that doesn’t discourage the behavior raise it to a triple or hr.
Any HBP judged to be intentional should result in the following:

- immediate pitcher ejection and mandatory suspension
- batter scores (and clears the bases)

The idea that clearly intentional HBP is allowed to exist is disgusting.  It is no different than a football player attacking another player using a helmet as a weapon in hand.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: MyGodWearsAHoodie on August 22, 2018, 01:59:20 pm
Any HBP judged to be intentional should result in the following:

- immediate pitcher ejection and mandatory suspension
- batter scores (and clears the bases)

The idea that clearly intentional HBP is allowed to exist is disgusting.  It is no different than a football player attacking another player using a helmet as a weapon in hand.

I wouldn’t oppose that, but convincing people to raise it to a double is hard enough.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: CF DolFan on August 22, 2018, 02:36:09 pm
If a hbp is deemed on purpose then the pitcher should have to sit 50-60 games in my opinion. As it is you are lucky to get 5 games so that comes down to missing one start ... and possibly none depending on your schedule.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Sunstroke on August 22, 2018, 03:08:48 pm
If a hbp is deemed on purpose then the pitcher should have to sit 50-60 games in my opinion.

Will you be relying on the honor system to determine the pitcher's intent? Or will the MLB start using Betazoids at ballgames?



Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: MyGodWearsAHoodie on August 22, 2018, 03:19:13 pm
I agree with Sun Stoke intent is hard to determine.  But MLB pitchers don’t throw HBP by accident.  Make the rule simple, any HBP not inside the strike zone in which the batter did not swing nor move into the ball is a run that clears the bases and eject the pitcher. 


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Phishfan on August 22, 2018, 04:00:08 pm
Well I am not comparing baseball to my job.  I think it should be compared to other noncontact sports such as golf, tennis, or racing.  When was the last time you heard of a brawl in those sports or someone throwing a projectile 90mph at someone because they celebrated their last win?

It is time to end beaning someone for hurting your feeling.

Then you shouldn't have quoted me as I was specifically addressing a comment comparing it to a 9 to 5.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: CF DolFan on August 22, 2018, 04:01:48 pm
I don't disagree it is a judgment call but some are obvious. Marlins pitcher Jose Urena hitting Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. because he kept hitting home runs was pretty obvious. Miami talking heads were even furious about it. I was actually taken back by the response from marlins fans who were upset he did that. He got 6 games so no big deal.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Phishfan on August 22, 2018, 04:08:18 pm
I agree with Sun Stoke intent is hard to determine.  But MLB pitchers don’t throw HBP by accident.  Make the rule simple, any HBP not inside the strike zone in which the batter did not swing nor move into the ball is a run that clears the bases and eject the pitcher. 

Am I understanding you correctly? MLB pitchers hit a batter unintentionally a lot just by pitching inside. You are proposing that anytime a batter is hit the pitcher is thrown out and anyone on base scores or am I not understanding you clearly? Impossible sell if you ask me.

:edited for typo


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Fau Teixeira on August 22, 2018, 04:12:48 pm
i see a pitcher hitting a batter on purpose the same was as the following:

- a race driver purposefully driving his car into another to crash them
- a football player taking off his helmet and swinging it at another player
- a golfer swinging a club at another golfer

what suspensions would those get? .. make baseball the same


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Sunstroke on August 22, 2018, 04:27:49 pm
Am I understanding you correctly? MLB pitchers hit a batter intentionally a lot just by pitching inside. You are proposing that anytime a batter is hit the pitcher is thrown out and anyone on base scores or am I not understanding you clearly? Impossible sell if you ask me.

I agree...that would be overkill of epic proportions.



Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: MyGodWearsAHoodie on August 22, 2018, 04:42:04 pm
Am I understanding you correctly? MLB pitchers hit a batter intentionally a lot just by pitching inside. You are proposing that anytime a batter is hit the pitcher is thrown out and anyone on base scores or am I not understanding you clearly? Impossible sell if you ask me.

If the batter is crowding the plate and had the batter not been hit it would have been a strike, then it is still a strike.  If the batter had not been hit it would have been ruled a ball then it is run.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Spider-Dan on August 22, 2018, 07:48:52 pm
Will you be relying on the honor system to determine the pitcher's intent?
Officials already determine whether HBP are intentional for purposes of issuing warnings and ejecting players/managers after a HBP occurs.
This is simply adding teeth to that determination.

It's like in the NBA: if a player is repeatedly arguing and scuffling with an opponent, and then "accidentally" commits a flagrant foul on the same opponent, he's probably going to catch a flagrant 2 and get ejected.

Am I understanding you correctly? MLB pitchers hit a batter intentionally a lot just by pitching inside.
I think we all know that is not what we are talking about when we say "intentional HBP."  Benches don't get warned for "pitching inside;" they get warned for throwing directly at opposing players.  (Keep in mind that batters already have a responsibility to attempt to avoid all pitches, even balls.  If the umpire determines that the batter did not make an attempt to avoid a pitch, under current rules that would be a ball, not a HBP; by rule, you cannot be HBP on a strike.)

Quote
You are proposing that anytime a batter is hit the pitcher is thrown out and anyone on base scores or am I not understanding you clearly?
Again, it is not difficult today to figure out when players are hit intentionally, especially since it's usually in a hamfisted attempt to enforce the unwritten rules or some other form of beef. 

If you are suggesting that this could lead to a future where pitchers have to carefully mask their intentional HBP by throwing dodgeable pitches in situations with no clear motive... then that is working as intended.  One cannot be enforcing the unwritten rules if it isn't clear that your target has broken the rules, and if it is clear that they've broken the rules, your intentional HBP will be transparently obvious.  Q.E.D.

P.S. Just to make my own position clear: I'm not proposing that all HBP clear the bases.  Some are honest errors.  I'm saying that the existence of clearly intentional HBP performed as revenge should be scoured from the game.  So if there's a player or team that you've been jawing with, then either a) you should choose another time to claim the inside of the plate or b) you should fall on your sword and eat the run(s)/loss/suspension/fine to prove your point.

There is nothing preventing a pitcher from throwing inside strikes or (avoidable) inside balls at any time.  If you pitch inside and the umpire determines that a hit batsman could have reasonably dodged it, you have nothing to worry about.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Phishfan on August 23, 2018, 07:47:11 am
Hoodie meant exactly what I thought. Any hit batter, with the exception of the batter encroaching the strike zone,  clears the bases and scores runs. That is an insane proposal.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: BuccaneerBrad on August 23, 2018, 07:53:45 am
i see a pitcher hitting a batter on purpose the same was as the following:

- a race driver purposefully driving his car into another to crash them
- a football player taking off his helmet and swinging it at another player
- a golfer swinging a club at another golfer

what suspensions would those get? .. make baseball the same

All three of those, plus a hockey player hitting another player in the head with his stick (Marty McSorely) can result in criminal charges.


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: DaLittle B on August 23, 2018, 01:15:46 pm
We're talking about Hbp,the unwritten B.S. rule of you can't rub it,after you get beaned. ::)

Part of the problem I have with any rule to do with the HBP,I think in part it has to be based on what type of pitch the batter got hit with.
I think the rule should be adjustable based on the pitch,and speed of the pitch,and where the batter got hit....

(I'm just pulling random suspensions,and random Mphs as Examples,NOT of what I think the penalties should be,other than Starters should have a Min 1 start suspension)

~Change up/slider/curve/etc...Under 86 mph...Suspended 5 games (1 start min for starters) (below the waste,not an immediate ejection,I'd hate to eject a pitcher in the 1st inning for a breaking ball,or change up that accidently hits a guy on the big toe to be ejected))
~2 seam Fastball/cutter/slider/etc....87mph-92mph Suspended 10 games (min 2 starts for starters)
Fastballs 93mph and up...15 games...

~Above 90mph,above the waste/head immediately ejected

~Then take into account,was it above the waste,below the waste,head shots...Add more suspension time...
I think the book needs to be thrown at a pitcher,if the batter hit hasto go on the disabled list...


I get it accidents happen,but pitchers today seem to throw much harder than they used too...


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: MyGodWearsAHoodie on August 23, 2018, 01:45:41 pm
All three of those, plus a hockey player hitting another player in the head with his stick (Marty McSorely) can result in criminal charges.

And in any setting other than a ball field throwing a baseball at someone for the purpose of hitting them is a crime. 


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: Fau Teixeira on August 23, 2018, 03:31:14 pm
i wish i liked baseball .. i really do .. it would make my summer sports life better .. i'm a classic football-basketball-soccer guy .. so the fall-spring are very full for me .. and summer (other than world cup or euros years) are very bad :(


Title: Re: Current state of MLB is getting worse
Post by: BigDaddyFin on August 28, 2018, 08:51:14 am
The reason HBP is out of control is that we have more power pitching now throughout the game than we ever did.  Also if a beanball war breaks out there's a way it's supposed to be done.  The proper way to hit a guy if you're actually going to do it on purpose is to throw a changeup or something else at slow speed and hit him somewhere on the thigh, ass cheek or lower back.

Pitching inside is nothing new.  Go back and watch Gibson pitch to Willie Mays or Hank Aaron.  They'd crowd the plate on him and sometimes go down two or three times in an at-bat.