OT - Baseball season is here- Anyone care?

[Spaghetti Legs]

I'm not sure that I do and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

Opening day a few days ago and I didn't realize it until next day. I used to love baseball, grew up a Braves fan, now a long time Giants fan after living in SF. Would anxiously await Opening Day every year; follow the Spring Training games. This year, I didn't follow any of the off season trades/signings except for those big dollar headline ones. For the past couple of years I couldn't tell you the starting lineup and rotation (MadBum and pray for rain!) for the Giants. It's been about 3-4 years since I've been to a MLB game. Doesn't help that the Giants have sucked.

It's not just me losing interest though. I look at ESPN website today and there aren't any baseball headlines on the main page (of course NCAA dominates now). I'm going to be in LA next week, Giants are playing Dodgers and a few years ago it would have been "Hell Yeah, I'm there" but now I think I might go to a Clippers game or even splurge and catch Lakers/Warriors game instead.

[madsciencenow]

I’m super stoked for this season. However, I’m a Red Sox fan and I live an hour or less from both Chicago teams and Milwaukee so perhaps it’s what you stated about having a team you are excited to watch.

Alternatively, maybe it’s the pace of play;) Another forum member shared this with me and it resonates insofar as going to a game is concerned: https://deadspin.com/how-much-longer-will-baseball-stadiums-be-for-baseball-1833463105


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[dancinkozmo]

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-3kwrgfp6rz/images/stencil/original/uploaded_images/baseball-fan-sleeping.jpg?t=1535408323

[TheseGoTo11]

Was a huge baseball fan growing up, but lost all interest after the strike in '95 and never looked back.

[Spaghetti Legs]

I grew up loving baseball watching it on TV. This was in NC. All the Braves games were on TBS and if you liked baseball and lived in the South, the Braves were pretty much your team. Of course boxing out 3 hours to watch a game isn’t as big a deal for a young person.

Last year on a couple of occasions I watched an inning or two of a few random games. For the hell of it I would count the time from pitcher getting the ball back from the catcher until the next pitch and it was pretty much never less than 25 seconds and then god forbid you get a speedy runner on first base.

[IJWS]

My girlfriend and I live near Dodger stadium. The other day she went out for a ride in Elysian park and there were a bunch of gates up and baseball hooligans were out drinking and grilling at 7 am....she cared.

[woolly]

Life-long fan, but not obsessively so. Growing up in Iowa it seemed the only two choices were the Cubs (bless WGN & Harry Caray for many good memories when growing up in the comparatively rural sticks), and the Royals (only a little over two hours away!). Oddly, the Cardinals were nowhere on the radar for me back then. . .

Nowadays, I'm blessed with a wife that considers going out to the ballpark to be "date night". I've been participating in a Rangers season ticket pool since 1992, including the entire time the current ballpark has been in existence. I've got quite mixed emotions on the new ballpark we'll be moving to next year. Yeah, Texas is hot & the air conditioning will be nice, but I've come to really love the timeless design of the current one, and will really miss it.

And, did I mention the fact that ticket prices look to be going way, way, way up for the premium seats we've been so fortunate to enjoy over the years? If popularity is waning, they sure don't seem to be charging like it is. . .

Really kind of missed opening day this year, would have been almost surreal to see my Cubs just whomp up on my Rangers.

[jpritchet74]

Very excited - huge A's fan and I was at the Oakland home opener. I took a 1/2 day of vacation time and spent the afternoon at the ball park. It was great!
https://i.imgur.com/K0GLRDXh.jpg

[pdmtong]

A's fan here too

Met the yankee clipper once at the coliseum
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190330/aef5f0f6194341dc811b751bfd3056b4.jpg

[wc1934]

I’m super stoked for this season. However, I’m a Red Sox fan and I live an hour or less from both Chicago teams and Milwaukee so perhaps it’s what you stated about having a team you are excited to watch.

Alternatively, maybe it’s the pace of play;) Another forum member shared this with me and it resonates insofar as going to a game is concerned: https://deadspin.com/how-much-longer-will-baseball-stadiums-be-for-baseball-1833463105


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Defending World Champions - Go Sox!!!

[OtayBW]

I psychologically hibernate after the end of the World Series in the Fall, and I feel like I don't reawaken until pitchers and catchers report in March. Now, here it is 2 days into the season, and we're having our first 70°+ day. I love baseball. :banana:

[572cv]

Baseball operates on its own time. It has ebbs and flows, times when it is a total rush, long stretches of slog when it just seems to be going from here to there at a slow pace. Sounds like cycling. I'm a fan.

[Frankwurst]

For me it's a glimmer of hope that summer will show up which means I can ride bicycles and go to baseball games and eat peanuts and drink beer. Lofty goals I know but I feel they are obtainable. Brewers.

[veloduffer]

Baseball was my favorite sport to play and watch growing up. At least once a year my parents treated me and my friends to a Yankees game. Of course, we picked an appreciation day (Bat Day, Cap Day) and they were doubleheaders! How many folks here know I how to score a baseball game? That was part of the fun, too.

Now I realize how much of a sacrifice that was for my parents, who were not baseball fans. Like 5 hours worth!

I don't watch much now except for some good matchups like Yanks-Sox and Yanks-Astro games. I actually like listening to it on the radio - the game was perfect for that medium.

On a side note, youth baseball has been on the rise. Perhaps a backlash to football and CTE. There's is something religious about it - history, fabled parks (cathedrals), rivalries and brilliant moments. The sport has made for some great books (Ball Four by Jim Bouton, Men at Work by George Wills) and terrific quotes (Yogi, Casey, Leo).



Play Ball!

[Seramount]

never played it as a kid...we did sandlot football and some basketball instead.

have seen one pro game (early '90s?)...Twins vs. Indians iirc. saw a triple-play, but it was still kind of a yawner. things were just too slow to be interesting.

best baseball imo is the Little League World Series. have watched several of those games...pretty entertaining.

oh, and the whole spitting thing is nasty...

[makoti]

Was a huge baseball fan growing up, but lost all interest after the strike in '95 and never looked back.

It took the Royals improbable WS run to bring me back, but the lack of a reasonable competitive balance will likely drive me away again.

[WNC rider]

Long time, die hard Philles fan here. Still miss Whitey and Harry Kalas a lot.
Really embarrassed by all the hoopla, and 'in your face, losers!' reaction by the team surrounding the Harper deal. I realize he has huge expectations to live up to, but it was nice to hear the Philly boo-birds giving it to him after his second strike-out on opening day.

My AL team has been the A's forever. When I lived in Monterey, I used to love taking the day off and driving up to the Coliseum to catch games. Last game I attended there was #19 in the streak of 20. What exciting times in the Bay area those days. Can't wait till the A's finally get a new stadium.

[jpritchet74]

a's fan here too

met the yankee clipper once at the coliseum
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190330/aef5f0f6194341dc811b751bfd3056b4.jpg

that's amazing!

[el cheapo]

When I was a kid I loved baseball. Played center field in youth leagues and admired pro players. The love of the game for me got lost when I discovered it was nothing more than a business. These guys only have loyalty to the $.

[Matthew]

Was excited. Three games in and my beloved Tigers are 1-2 and have scored a staggering two runs. At least tickets will be cheap.

[XXtwindad]

I'm not sure that I do and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

Opening day a few days ago and I didn't realize it until next day. I used to love baseball, grew up a Braves fan, now a long time Giants fan after living in SF. Would anxiously await Opening Day every year; follow the Spring Training games. This year, I didn't follow any of the off season trades/signings except for those big dollar headline ones. For the past couple of years I couldn't tell you the starting lineup and rotation (MadBum and pray for rain!) for the Giants. It's been about 3-4 years since I've been to a MLB game. Doesn't help that the Giants have sucked.

It's not just me losing interest though. I look at ESPN website today and there aren't any baseball headlines on the main page (of course NCAA dominates now). I'm going to be in LA next week, Giants are playing Dodgers and a few years ago it would have been "Hell Yeah, I'm there" but now I think I might go to a Clippers game or even splurge and catch Lakers/Warriors game instead.

I was a huge baseball/Giants fan. I remember going to the 'Stick as a kid and seeing Johnny "Disaster" LeMaster wearing a uniform that said "Boo." (The fans obliged. He didn't get his fair due.)

Maybe I'm seeing through a rose-colored nostalgic lens, but the games has long since lost its appeal. For me the reasons are manifold. In my baseball loving heyday, players had more personality and artistry.

Take the Yankees of the late Seventies. Has there been a more colorful, motley band of characters in recent history? Not even close.

Here's Yankee manager Billy Martin on George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson "One's a born liar. The other one's a convicted liar."

Or OF Mickey Rivers on Jackson "No wonder he's so mixed up. He's got a white mans first name, a Spanish man's middle name, and a Black man's last name."

Or Rivers, after Reggie told him he had a 165 I.Q. "Out of what .... a thousand?"

The Yanks made the headlines almost every day for their terminally dysfunctional ways. Yet the kicked the **** out of (ostensibly) squeaky clean Steve Garvey and the Dodgers two years straight to the World Series.

Will there ever be another team like the Cards of the 80s, my favorite team ever? Built on pitching, speed, and defense? Doubtful. Too much worship of the home run. Too many ballparks built to capitalize on that.

During the end of my high school years and through college, I played in a Strat-o-Matic league. Does anyone remember that? I was a pretty damn good GM. Won back to back titles. First two picks: Rickey Henderson and Ozzie Smith. Always. The mainstays of my team. Personality and artistry. I usually had Dewey Evans and then I would "moneyball" it. Guys like Tommy Herr, Tobey Harrah (a walk is as good as a hit!) Bob Boone, and Dwayne Murphy. Always running, always playing "D."

I can clearly remember what (and who) precipitated my final disillusionment with baseball: Brady Anderson. The banjo-hitting speedster for the O's with the 90210 sideburns. He went from never hitting more than a dozen or so dingers to 51. FIFTY ONE. Something smelled rotten. It might've started with the Bash Brothers and reached its apex at the turn of the century, but 90210 Brady was the Canary in the Coal Mine.

No other sport has numbers so sacrosanct : 61. 714. Those numbers used to mean something. No longer.

I'll let one of my favorite writers on this site (MattTuck) have the final say from a PM he sent me awhile back: (used with permission)

"On the topic of Bonds and Clemens, well this one is pretty complex. If you view all of professional sports as entertainment, then the doping should not matter much -- and they should be included, but then again, if that is the case, then the HOF is sort of like the hall of frame for professional wrestling... aka, pretty much a joke and a tourist attraction. On the other hand, if you view professional sports as the pinnacle of human physical capabilities, then you must maintain the focus on natural human performance, and not PED based human performance. For each person, their view on the matter is different. If the HOF keeps the dopers out, then people can still see it both ways... for the history and continuity of baseball, the HOF is truly a sacred honor based on natural ability. If you are a Clemens fan, you can still argue that he belongs there, even if the HOF is keeping him out for technical reasons. On the other hand, if they allow the dopers in, then it removes the facade of veneration -- and all will know it is just about entertainment."

That about sums it up for me. The facade of veneration is gone. And it won't be coming back.

[veloduffer]

During the end of my high school years and through college, I played in a Strat-o-Matic league. Does anyone remember that? I was a pretty damn good GM. Won back to back titles. First two picks: Rickey Henderson and Ozzie Smith. Always. The mainstays of my team. Personality and artistry. I usually had Dewey Evans and then I would "moneyball" it. Guys like Tommy Herr, Tobey Harrah (a walk is as good as a hit!) Bob Boone, and Dwayne Murphy. Always running, always playing "D."


Ahh..Strat-o-Matic. My friends and I loved that game growing up - we played for hours (we were in middle school). There was such anticipation of getting the next season's cards. Oh, and the famous dream teams like Murders' Row and Big Red Machine. Fun times....a simpler time. :hello:

[dancinkozmo]

'76 reds swept the yanks in 4 straight...didnt even break a sweat

[XXtwindad]

On my all-time team at second base: Joe Morgan. Hands down one of the greats. My favorite from the BRM. Man could that team hit ...

[dancinkozmo]

On my all-time team at second base: Joe Morgan. Hands down one of the greats. My favorite from the BRM. Man could that team hit ...
yeah...but they never named a candy bar after him LOL


https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-909ed3f231da7b8e4b1b5f3f96d8b7a3

[93KgBike]

As an old pitcher, I never got past the lowering of the mound. That had me out before they juiced the ball, then juiced the players, then juiced the parks. Been a while. But I still go to games; I just don't go regularly and don't care at all.

I'm too busy eating garlic-fries or lobster rolls.

As a kid, me and my Dad would take huge deli sandwiches, and he'd buy peanuts and pretzels, and he'd get a big frosty Schlitz in a perspiring paper cup, and me a Coke. We'd get hotdogs after the stretch.

Some nights we'd sit in the stands and complain, while the grounds crew rolled out. Other times we'd pile into the corridors with the joyous throng and float down to the street. It felt like we were all neighbors.

But we weren't, and the game was just a business, right?

[oldpotatoe]

I still am but a lot depends on your 'local' team. Rockies are awful, are managed by the front office, not by the on field manager. Bridich makes a lot of calls, and that's why Weiss and Tracy left. PLUS they keep way expensive players(Tulo, Gonzales, others) way too long at the expense of their bullpen.

I was born in Cleveland and that team doesn't blow my skirt up either..

A third 'issue' is, since I cut the cable, the ability to watch. MLB.com costs a BUNCH and gee, Rockies games are blacked out even after ya pay..so...I'll go to a couple of games this year..great afternoon at the park.

[laupsi]

I’m an Orioles fan and have been for life. The team itself doesn’t get much emotional investment given their sub par performance over the past few years, but their history and in general, the start of baseball season coinciding w/spring is something magical. Almost as if anything is possible!

[OtayBW]

I've been lucky enough to see both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado play in recent years. Both guys recently signed some of the largest big $$ contracts ever, but both really exciting and talented players who work hard and hustle. So, if the game is perceived as being 'spoiled' by big money, I'd say that some players do step up and are rewarded for excellence in both ability and attitude.

Unfortunately, some owners have little interest in supporting either excellence or a winning team.

[fignon's barber]

Ahh..Strat-o-Matic. My friends and I loved that game growing up - we played for hours (we were in middle school). There was such anticipation of getting the next season's cards. Oh, and the famous dream teams like Murders' Row and Big Red Machine. Fun times....a simpler time. :hello:

Yes. Strat-o-Matic. Loved that game as a kid. A couple of months ago, I was looking on ebay. Those original cards are worth big $$$.

[OtayBW]

I'm old enough to remember living for 'stickball' when I was a kid. Tennis ball, a broom handle, and a strike zone drawn with chalk on a garage wall in a parking lot. Zones delineated for singles, doubles, and triples, witha HR zone way the hell across the street that no one could even think of reaching.

I love base-a-ball. :hello:

[coreyaugustus]

I think Rogers Hornsby put it best:
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

I grew up loving baseball watching it on TV. This was in NC. All the Braves games were on TBS and if you liked baseball and lived in the South, the Braves were pretty much your team.

Were it not for the Braves being so darn good in the mid-90s, I don't know that I would be nearly as into baseball as I am now. Now if only they had spent a little time putting together an actual rotation and bullpen for this season...

[wc1934]

What do you all think of Tito's decision to pull Bauer last nite? He had a no no going for seven innings (had struck out eight, walked six, but threw 117 pitches before being pulled).
Would have been Cleveland's first no-hitter in 38 years.

[Elefantino]

The Giants suck.

That said, I never thought I'd get one World Series win, let alone three!

[MrCannonCam]

Love my overrated Yankees....will be on the first base line next Sunday

[Louis]

I absolutely care.

I enjoy listening to games on the radio, whether it be the Cards or any other team.

[donevwil]

I absolutely care.

I enjoy listening to games on the radio, whether it be the Cards or any other team.

Ditto.

My happy place: After a good Summer Sunday morning ride with my wife, 1:00 pm game on the radio, tooling in my bike room while she's in the garden outside the open French doors.

Go A's !

[spiderman]

I’m taking my international connection student from Pakistan
To the Rockies/Dodgers game tomorrow! We will stop and pick
Up a friend in Fort Collins, head to the game
And do some hiking before returning home Sunday...
Can’t wait to share more Americana

[oldpotatoe]

I’m taking my international connection student from Pakistan
To the Rockies/Dodgers game tomorrow! We will stop and pick
Up a friend in Fort Collins, head to the game
And do some hiking before returning home Sunday...
Can’t wait to share more Americana

Yup, Coors field is a nice ball park...Try to sit on first base side..less sun in yer face if afternoon game.
Baseball is great, why it's called a pastime..I tire of the huddle/play/smash/repeat of football...Baseball is a game of inches and tactics, mush more subtle that other 'ball' sports but some get bored pretty easy..If ya do, walk up and get a beer and some peanuts..:)

[Elefantino]

I’m taking my international connection student from Pakistan
To the Rockies/Dodgers game tomorrow! We will stop and pick
Up a friend in Fort Collins, head to the game
And do some hiking before returning home Sunday...
Can’t wait to share more Americana

Please boo the Dodgers.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Update:

So before I went to visit my son, I gave him choice of 1) Clippers v Rockets 2) Lakers v Warriors - nosebleed seats 3) Giants v Dodgers. To my surprise, he chose the baseball game. We went this past Wednesday, saw a good game even though Giants blew a lead in the 7th. We had a good time, glad he chose the baseball.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7859/32609152277_33094e0fc8_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RFyqTp)

[OtayBW]

Update:

So before I went to visit my son, I gave him choice of 1) Clippers v Rockets 2) Lakers v Warriors - nosebleed seats 3) Giants v Dodgers. To my surprise, he chose the baseball game. We went this past Wednesday, saw a good game even though Giants blew a lead in the 7th. We had a good time, glad he chose the baseball.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7859/32609152277_33094e0fc8_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RFyqTp)
Wow! Pretty good seats!

[madsciencenow]

What do you all think of Tito's decision to pull Bauer last nite? He had a no no going for seven innings (had struck out eight, walked six, but threw 117 pitches before being pulled).

Would have been Cleveland's first no-hitter in 38 years.



That’s the right decision. I can’t believe he let him go that long this early in the season. You want to get to the post season with a healthy Bauer. No hitters don’t matter if you don’t make PS or you make it with a beat-up starting rotation.


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[Skenry]

I'm not sure that I do and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

Opening day a few days ago and I didn't realize it until next day.....

Opening day is Cincinnati is something of a religious holiday. Being pro Baseball's origin and all. All this and we suck. But it's still Baseball.

[cderalow]

red sox fan living near DC here.

I try and make any nats v sox or o's v sox game later in the season. I grew up with hockey, so i don't start watching anything else until the cup has been claimed.

also with 162 games in a season, I don't start really paying attention until it's more than halfway over.

[PBWrench]

HUGE Braves fan. Love, love. love baseball. Which is why I ignore the American League until the World Series. AL is a mildly interesting sport, but it is certainly not baseball.

[Johnnysmooth]

HUGE Braves fan. Love, love. love baseball. Which is why I ignore the American League until the World Series. AL is a mildly interesting sport, but it is certainly not baseball.

Au contraire - being a Red Sox fan here in Red Sox Nation, AL rules work just fine for me and certainly worked fine for us in last year's World Series

[johnniecakes]

I like going to games but cannot bring myself to drop > $100 for a game. So we attend the Phillies AA team games in Reading. Great night out for <$25 and the drive is 15min instead of 2hrs. Much more enjoyable experience overall.

[Mzilliox]

who? what? Americans choose a weird sport

[fignon's barber]

I like going to games but cannot bring myself to drop > $100 for a game. So we attend the Phillies AA team games in Reading. Great night out for <$25 and the drive is 15min instead of 2hrs. Much more enjoyable experience overall.

We go to the Clearwater Threshers, Phils A affiliate, games on Tuesdays. Dollar Night. $1 for a ticket, $1 food, and $1 for pints of beer, including craft beers. :banana:

[Mr. Pink]

I like going to games but cannot bring myself to drop > $100 for a game. So we attend the Phillies AA team games in Reading. Great night out for <$25 and the drive is 15min instead of 2hrs. Much more enjoyable experience overall.

You should try Camden Yards. I was just there this weekend to see the Yankees, and plenty of affordable seats. Nice stadium.

[XXtwindad]

Read an article a few days ago regarding the decline in MLB attendance. Tried to find it via a Google search, and a whole slew of articles came up. This one seems to encapsulate the reasons pretty concisely:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2791455-i-find-it-very-difficult-to-watch-why-mlb-greats-think-baseballs-in-trouble.amp.html

Everything is walk, strikeout, home run. Boring as hell. The recently passed Bill Buckner, a great contact hitter without great power, would have difficulty catching on with a club now. The great Ichiro seems like he was from a completely diffferent era.

Where are the Rod Carews? The Rickey Hendersons? The Ozzie Smiths? It's always tempting to see life (and sports) through a gauzy haze of nostalgia. I'm a product of the mid 80s and early 90s when it comes to the formative years of sports fandom. In the basketball universe, that meant Magic v Bird and the heyday of Jordan.

Was basketball "better" then? No way, in my book. The artistry and versatility of LeBron James, Curry, Durant, Jokic and others is an evolutionary revelation.

But baseball was much better when stolen bases were still a factor, when the "hit and run" was still employed as a key strategy, and when starting pitchers usually lasted more than five innings.

I'm interested in hearing any arguments to the contrary...

[72gmc]

My local team is the Mariners.

[unterhausen]

I'll probably go to a summer league game. That is always fun. But it's unlikely I'll go to 2 games. Oftentimes you can get in free.

Can't get too excited about MLB anymore.

[Hellgate]

My Royals stink this year...man, what a season to forget.

[Matthew]

My Tigers stink too with no light at the end of the tunnel. Their attendence is WAY down compared to other years. Of course they used to contend back then. I know if they were competitive it would be much better. They're just hard to watch right now.

[Spaghetti Legs]

We go to the Clearwater Threshers, Phils A affiliate, games on Tuesdays. Dollar Night. $1 for a ticket, $1 food, and $1 for pints of beer, including craft beers. :banana:

Sounds good. Memphis Redbirds used to have free haircuts on Sundays. It was on a pavilion so you could watch the game while getting it.