Jason Kipnis has one. Can this be introduced to the game?"eland Indians prospects & minor leaguesGame RecapsTransactionsWhat if baseball had a flamethrower in it?New Brian Dozier Jersey ,7commentsJason Kipnis has one. Can this be introduced to the game?ESTShareTweetShareShareWhat if baseball had a flamethrower in it?Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY SportsJason Kipnis got a flamethrower for Christmas. He’s living a dream I’d guess 60-70 percent of children have at some point in their lives. After all, how many times have you thought to yourself that a flamethrower would help out a situation? As George Carlin noted, some genius decided he wanted a way to set someone on fire, but from way over here. So at least Kipnis is living the dream. But it got me wondering, who could most benefit from having a flamethrower on a baseball field? He has one, so it’s not like it’s totally out of the realm of possibility.It appears Kipnis got something akin to the Boring Company’s Not-A-Flamethrower, though those don’t ship till spring. So I’m going to be generous on the specs of the thing, mostly because it make the article better. Let’s say it has a range of 40 feet, and burns at 1,000 degrees. The M2 deployed by the US Army hit roughly these specs in the 50’s, so surely flamethrower technology is just like computers, getting more compact and better, right? And the thing probably weighs 30 or 40 pounds Justin Morneau Jersey , since there’s no backpack. If I were going to buy a flamethrower, it would have to do the job required of it - literally throw flame somewhere else - so this is what I’d go for.OffenseThis has a pair of applications actually — the batter or the potential base-runner. The real issue a hitter would face, if armed with a flamethrower, is that he still usually needs to swing the bat. Doing that one-handed severely restricts extra-base opportunities, to say nothing of simple bat speed and control. Making contact would be a struggle. And I don’t think you could blast it at the ball as it approaches the plate - 1,000 degrees is hot, but not enough to incinerate the ball or whatever. Which wouldn’t really serve a purpose, would it? If a pitcher throws a ball and it never gets to the catcher, is that a ball, a balk or what? You could intermittently fire it at the pitcher, and since the range of it isn’t enough to get them but just spook them, you could really mess with their ability to throw strikes. But again, you suffer from bat control problems. I suppose you could just work walks over and over http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey , but I’m against that only because the constant free passes almost negates the flamethrower awesomeness.On the base paths, the major drawback is not being able to slide and having to carry a 40 pound weight with you. Your ability to steal bases via raw speed would be reduced, but that reduction itself would be negated by simply running while shooting flame at second base. What infielder is going to brave a fire cyclone just to get an out? It really makes that part of base-running much easier. It would like hurt the taking of extra bases though. So there’s a trade-off. PitchingLike with the hitter, the big problem here is that you need at least one hand to actually pitch, and unlike hitting, you do need the other hand to both hide the ball while selecting your grip and field batted balls occasionally. That said, a column of fire directed at the hitter probably adds just as much deception as hiding the ball in the glove would since the guy would be fearing a few eyebrows and skin layers lost, and you would probably have guys be very jumpy in the batter’s box. Even if it’s not reaching them, a gout of flame is unnerving. I would just be worried about being able to maintain command of the pitch while holding a flamethrower. And eventually, somebody is going to get enough guts to stand strong in the batter’s box and get a swing on a softly thrown probable meatball and clobber it. After all, the range doesn’t go all the way from mound to plate. Baseball is a game of adjustments, even in the presence of flamethrowers. Even if the pitcher is quick enough and can get the pitch off while firing the flamethrower and set the ball on fire in the air — which would be pretty rad - there comes a point where these guys are just too tuned in to let a BP fastball coast by them. To say nothing of the walk rates.DefenseSimply by virtue of their being able to stand around for the majority of the time and not having to throw or react to a pitch, this is where the flamethrower might be the most successful. The outfield wouldn’t find much use in it except to impress the fans Byron Buxton Jersey , but if you armed the shortstop or second baseman, they could both use it as a distraction by unleashing blasts of flame at random moments while the pitcher is pitching and also fire it at base runners to hinder base stealing. Plus they could use it to char the infield grass so that bunts are faster, easier to field and harder to get a hit on. This would require a very nimble infielder. Luckily, the Indians have at least two of these. The one downside, again, is the needing two hands. Jim Abbott was able to pitch and field balls with just one hand, so it’s not out of the question. But those speedy grounders up the middle might end up giving pitchers some elevated BABIPs. As distracting as a blast of fire a hundred or so feet away is, professional hitters probably deal with worse. And you might run into problems with the umpire saying you’re being too distracting. Like batter’s eye rules, you know?I suppose the first baseman could just blast it at guys running to first. Again, not to harm, just scare and slow down. But this seems unsporting. Same as if you gave it to a catcher to help with plays at the plate. Sportsmanship does need to be considered, even in the presence of flamethrowers.This all considers that only one team is given just one flamethrower. If each team had one to employ as they saw fit it could really make for some interesting game. What if one team decides to give it to the pitcher, the other to the batter or baserunner? In short http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey , a lot of flinching. And no matter what happens, a lot of groundskeepers would be goddamn furious. But at least they’d have the work. So that’s a positive. Start your day with some of the best Astros links around"Astros NewsTyler White recently called in to MLB Radio to talk about how he’s settling in with the Astros (MLB Video)And he’ll have an excellent chance to settle into a world series ring next year according to Vegas (Houston Press)The Astros Golf Foundation has revealed their new logo and the 2019 Houston Open dates (Mission Control)Around the LeagueIt was reported yesterday that the White Sox offered Manny Machado a 7-year, $175 million contract (MLB Trade Rumors)Though Dan Lazano, Machado’s agent, denied the rumors in no uncertain terms (Yahoo Sports)You can help FanGraphs crowdsource what his and Harper’s eventual contracts will actually look like, though (FanGraphs)This feels like a good time to look back at the rise in player salaries (Baseball Prospectus)Also feels relevant to remind that pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in less than a month (MLB.com)After a rehab setback, former Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson calls it quits (Dallas Morning News)Wilmer Flores will play for the D-backs in 2019 as they agree to a one-year deal (ESPN)Support continues to grow for Barry Bonds to be enshrined in the hall (NBC Sports)Edgar Martinez is looking likely to get in, but there’s more to him than the on-field product (La Vida Baseball)These underrated free agents have a solid chance to make an impact in 2019 (Fancred Sports)