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MLB (Baseball)

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  • S
    steelworker
    見習いボス
    Joined: 16 Apr 2014

    @neph93:

    Honest question from a Euro-idiot, how does baseball do as a TV sport?

    Youtube has a game summary the day after  games if you want to stick your foot in the water @neph93

    Japanese seem passionate about baseball and the  players that come to the States have a disciplined approach to hitting that is formidable.

    Those are my principles, and if you don't like them…
    Well, I have others.

    last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 05:20 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • M
      manufc10
      Iron Heart Deity
      Joined: 14 Mar 2015

      @mclaincausey:

      Y'all seem pretty invested for folks who hate the game.

      Live and let live.

      Or go tell the soccer thread their game sucks if that's your thing.

      I was very invested in baseball as a player.  Loved playing it just cant watch it.  Just our opinions guys, we can state them here.  Neph asked a question and we chimed in…and trust me, as an american who loves soccer I constantly hear from fellow Americans how they hate it.  No big thing.

      last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 06:18 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • N
        neph93
        見習いボス
        Joined: 18 Aug 2014

        Oops…

        Thanks for the answers guys. In all seriousness baseball is the one major American sport that I have very little knowledge about, or experience with. I can get coverage of the MLB at home for free now and fancy doing as @steelworker suggests and dipping my toes.

        There are obvious parallels with cricket in terms of form, but it sounds like there are parallels as a spectator sport also, both when it comes to live and TV viewing. Cricket must be incomprehensible and tedious for people who don't understand whats going on in terms of the intense battle between batsman and bowler, the tactics of the fielding team, and the skills involves on all parts. Baseball has all of that too I'd imagine and requires the same amount of knowledge.

        “Some of those that work forces
        Are the same that burn crosses”

        • Virginia Woolf
        last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 07:52 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • M
          mclaincausey
          見習いボス
          Joined: 12 Apr 2013

          I think it would probably be a challenge to become a fan of baseball as an adult, but when you're steeped in it as part of your cultural background it's a great game with more magic to it than any of the other sports. Lots of strange things happen, there is great history, and every time you watch you're likely to see something that has never happened or only happened a few times over hundreds of thousands of games (unassisted triple plays, perfect games, and so forth).

          Think it, be it.

          last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 12:20 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • N
            neph93
            見習いボス
            Joined: 18 Aug 2014

            @mclaincausey:

            I think it would probably be a challenge to become a fan of baseball as an adult, but when you're steeped in it as part of your cultural background it's a great game with more magic to it than any of the other sports. Lots of strange things happen, there is great history, and every time you watch you're likely to see something that has never happened or only happened a few times over hundreds of thousands of games (unassisted triple plays, perfect games, and so forth).

            It's those elements of history and culture that I find appealing as well as it being similar to cricket in as far as the statistics are interesting. I agree that it would be a little forced/artificial to develop an interest for it on a whim, but I find it a fascinating part of your sporting culture.

            “Some of those that work forces
            Are the same that burn crosses”

            • Virginia Woolf
            last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 12:23 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • M
              mclaincausey
              見習いボス
              Joined: 12 Apr 2013

              You should check out a game live for sure. But there is so much to know, so many rules, traditions, historical context, and so forth, that it is a lot to get your head around in terms of the context that enriches the game for baseball lovers.

              And yes, for those of us who love numbers, statistics are king in baseball, but they always battle instinct in terms of strategy. Sabermetrics was born there to temper the effects of instinct, and those analytical methods have since spread to American football and other sports as well. However, risk aversion still wins, especially in football strategy, where teams go against the numbers routinely (e.g., punting on fourth down excessively).

              Think it, be it.

              last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 12:29 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • N
                neph93
                見習いボス
                Joined: 18 Aug 2014

                @mclaincausey:

                However, risk aversion still wins, especially in football strategy, where teams go against the numbers routinely (e.g., punting on fourth down excessively).

                I was actually reading something in The Guardian about how that has changed in the NFL this season. How the new generation of young QB's are going for more passes and less rushing yards and how anything goes on 4th downs now.

                “Some of those that work forces
                Are the same that burn crosses”

                • Virginia Woolf
                last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 12:32 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • M
                  mclaincausey
                  見習いボス
                  Joined: 12 Apr 2013

                  @neph93:

                  @mclaincausey:

                  However, risk aversion still wins, especially in football strategy, where teams go against the numbers routinely (e.g., punting on fourth down excessively).

                  I was actually reading something in The Guardian about how that has changed in the NFL this season. How the new generation of young QB's are going for more passes and less rushing yards and how anything goes on 4th downs now.

                  There's a great book called "Scorecasting" (IIRC) that takes an economic view (e., Applying regression analysis) of sports and finds that much of the conventional wisdom in various sports (punt on 4th down, freeze the kicker, "defense wins championships") doesn't make sense. But we are more fearful of loss and getting harangued for it than we are focused on winning, so this destructive, "safe" tendency (also covered in 'Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow") hampers how effective strategies are. If things were done by the numbers in football, punts would occur only in limited circumstances. But risk aversion plagues the fans as much as the strategists, and the teams suffer as a result. I believe baseball is less plagued by this, but even so it is still quite common–Billy Beane helped managers get away from some of this stuff and go by the numbers to a greater degree than some other sports. The "gut" is comfortable, but unreliable.

                  Beyond sports, risk aversion plagues us as a species in many more ways.

                  Think it, be it.

                  last edited by 10 Nov 2018, 14:23 11 Oct 2018, 14:21 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • M
                    Matty123
                    Raw and Unwashed
                    Joined: 4 Apr 2017

                    Well said @mclaincausey

                    @neph93 I’m a passionate baseball fan. Thank you for stirring the pot.

                    I once participated in a game with an unassisted triple play. 11 years old. I was playing short stop. A man
                    On first  and second base. The batter hit a line drive to second base for
                    The first out. The runner on first was tagged out running to second and the second baseman who caught the ball ran and tagged second base as the runner on second  base had been advancing to third. Inning over  It
                    Unassisted triple play

                    Ruben you should go on YouTube and look up on assisted triple play

                    Maybe so. Maybe not

                    last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 14:22 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • M
                      mclaincausey
                      見習いボス
                      Joined: 12 Apr 2013

                      @Matty123:

                      Well said @mclaincausey

                      @neph93 I’m a passionate baseball fan. Thank you for stirring the pot.

                      I once participated in a game with an unassisted triple play. 11 years old. I was playing short stop. A man
                      On first  and second base. The batter hit a line drive to second base for
                      The first out. The runner on first was tagged out running to second and the second baseman who caught the ball ran and tagged second base as the runner on second  base had been advancing to third. Inning over  It
                      Unassisted triple play

                      Ruben you should go on YouTube and look up on assisted triple play

                      That is super cool!!

                      Think it, be it.

                      last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 14:27 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • M
                        manufc10
                        Iron Heart Deity
                        Joined: 14 Mar 2015

                        That also has to be super rare.  More rare than a perfect game maybe?

                        last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 16:04 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • M
                          manufc10
                          Iron Heart Deity
                          Joined: 14 Mar 2015

                          I witnessed Tony Womack hit an inside the park Grand Slam for the Dbacks back in the late 90's/early 2000's I believe it was?  That was really cool and also super rare.

                          Admittedly baseball can have it's exciting moments but overall my opinion still stands, the game is slow and boring to watch in general.  MLB even acknowledges that the game needs to be sped up as they have been kicking around ideas on how to do so.  I'm not up to date on the latest rule changes but I know different ideas were being tossed around as far as limiting the pitchers time between each pitch, limiting manager visits to the mound, etc…not sure if anything has been implemented though.

                          last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 16:16 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • M
                            mclaincausey
                            見習いボス
                            Joined: 12 Apr 2013

                            Aside from arbitrary things like Shawn Green going 6/6 with two doubles and 4 HR, I think the unassisted triple play is the rarest single-game feat and probably the rarest play in baseball. Then you have to think of multi game feats such as DiMaggio's hitting streak or Ripkens starting game streak that seem to be insurmountable, one-off occurrences. Then you can get into playoff and WS records… All kinds of ways you can witness unprecedented events in the game, one of its many charms.

                            Think it, be it.

                            last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 16:25 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • M
                              mclaincausey
                              見習いボス
                              Joined: 12 Apr 2013

                              Wow, inside the park GS has to be super rare, requires all the baserunners in front of you to be good enough baserunners to score as well as the hitter.

                              Think it, be it.

                              last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 16:27 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • M
                                manufc10
                                Iron Heart Deity
                                Joined: 14 Mar 2015

                                last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 16:46 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • M
                                  Matty123
                                  Raw and Unwashed
                                  Joined: 4 Apr 2017

                                  @manufc10:

                                  That also has to be super rare.  More rare than a perfect game maybe?

                                  23 perfect game in mlb history

                                  15 unassisted triple plays.

                                  Indeed much more rare.

                                  I Love stats like that. Not Into saber metrics and all
                                  That. But stats like that are cool.

                                  Maybe so. Maybe not

                                  last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 16:47 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • G
                                    gaseousclay
                                    Joined: 4 Nov 2016

                                    @manufc10:

                                    Admittedly baseball can have it's exciting moments but overall my opinion still stands, the game is slow and boring to watch in general.  MLB even acknowledges that the game needs to be sped up as they have been kicking around ideas on how to do so.  I'm not up to date on the latest rule changes but I know different ideas were being tossed around as far as limiting the pitchers time between each pitch, limiting manager visits to the mound, etc…not sure if anything has been implemented though.

                                    I love baseball but don't follow it religiously. But I agree with your sentiment. It's for this reason that I haven't taken my son to any MLB games. It would likely bore him to tears and we'd likely leave after a couple of innings. I will say though, minor league games are fun to watch. The St.Paul Saints, which is co-owned by Bill Murray, always has fun activities between innings. I think this makes it more enjoyable for the kids in attendance but also less likely for you to leave before the game is over. My 2 cents

                                    WTB:
                                    IHSH-129 size L (blue)
                                    IHSH-19

                                    last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 16:49 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • G
                                      gaseousclay
                                      Joined: 4 Nov 2016

                                      Baseball is also one of the national pass times in Japan when I lived there as a young 'un/teenager. It was amusing to me that washed up American ball players would play on Japanese teams when their careers were finished stateside. It was also interesting to see the influx of pro Japanese ball players joining MLB teams in the last couple of decades. I'm still looking for vintage Seibu Lions gear  😃

                                      WTB:
                                      IHSH-129 size L (blue)
                                      IHSH-19

                                      last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 16:52 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • C
                                        Chris
                                        Raw and Unwashed
                                        Joined: 28 Jun 2010

                                        @gaseousclay:

                                        It was amusing to me that washed up American ball players would play on Japanese teams when their careers were finished stateside.

                                        Like this classic of American cinema?

                                        last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 17:37 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • G
                                          gaseousclay
                                          Joined: 4 Nov 2016

                                          @Chris:

                                          @gaseousclay:

                                          It was amusing to me that washed up American ball players would play on Japanese teams when their careers were finished stateside.

                                          Like this classic of American cinema?

                                          yep. Except replace Tom Selleck with this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Wells_(baseball)

                                          WTB:
                                          IHSH-129 size L (blue)
                                          IHSH-19

                                          last edited by 11 Oct 2018, 19:19 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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