Former baseball great Kenny Lofton is not shy about sharing his complaints about the state of the game or his current focus on long balls.
Lofton, a .299 batsman career with an on-base percentage of .372, thinks he was “lost in the shuffle” during the day of play as he was not a home run hitter with others transformed.
“I think it's all about the long ball at this age and age now. It's sad to see these young kids come out and talk about exit speed, fire angle and more,” Lofton recently posted in a phone conversation. “The problem is, it's all just talking about home runs, and it would be sad if someone in the '90s said, 'Yeah, he had 100 strikeouts'. Now the guys are getting 200 strikeouts, but if he gets 30 home runs, they say, “Oh, you're an All-Star.”
“Man, that's the craziest thing. You have that many plate appearances, you don't play the ball and you don't have the opportunity for your team to make things happen on the field. That's just sad.”
Lofton's passion for the game was evident in a conversation with teams in Cleveland, Houston, Atlanta and Chicago, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and about 16 minutes of outfielders who registered 2,428 hits and 622 stolen bases over time in Cleveland, both Texas and Yankee.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with MLB's attempts to “manipulate” the game and increase basic steals and situational hits.
“Now, you seem to be trying to make small balls by giving people an incentive to steal,” Lofton said. “So what do you do next? Put the ball on the tee and send the batter to hit a home run and see how much he can hit it.
Part of that feeling is why Lofton joined a burgeoning project called Slugball.
The concept is being billed because the baseball version of Top Golf and teams of four to six players can register at Slugball Tournaments, which are being held nationwide this year. These teams compete against each other on situational hit challenges without fielding or running involved.
Sluggball will officially launch at Trenton Thunderball Park in Trenton, New Jersey on May 10th, and will arrive in the New York metropolitan area on September 13th to win the winning teams during each tournament at Siuh Community Park on Staten Island.
“I think my excitement about slugball was the fact that it wasn't all about home runs. It was about the situational batting and the fun of the game,” Lofton said. “Take the game home to fans, people… It's like a little ball and a production run enjoying the game and it's gone.
“It shouldn't get lost, and situational hits shouldn't get lost in a baseball game.”
Outside of Slugball, considering the opportunities in the post to play the MLB Commissioner that day, Lofton said it would need to start at a low level of sports (high school and minor leagues).
Another part that Lofton mentioned is the fact that power numbers are often paid to players these days, and that needs to be changed too.
“The sad part about that is that kids don't want to hit it. [for] Lofton said. “If you start showing an example of a guy who hits a .340, it's only 6-7 players a year, but it's hitting the .300, but if you have one of the average people, if you get a $20-$30 million a year, it's going to make a difference. But for now, only the home run guys get that amount.”
