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Post by Bact PhD on Apr 2, 2021 14:08:24 GMT
MLB, minor leagues, historical anecdotes, even Yogi Berra quotes:
Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.
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Post by Bact PhD on Apr 3, 2021 14:46:38 GMT
Only in Florida...
...could there be a team (unironically) called the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
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Post by goldenvalley on Apr 6, 2021 23:05:58 GMT
Love the minor League names. My son played on PONY League teams that used minor League team names...the Hammerheads (Jupiter FL) and also the Hooks (Corpus Christi) but no oxymoronic names used in the League. Somehow he ended up on teams with names related to the water. The Hooks logo is great.  ![]() |
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Post by Bact PhD on Apr 7, 2021 13:24:00 GMT
When I was in grad school, the double-A team in town was the Captains -- a reference to old riverboat days. Some of my colleagues would go, mostly to hit the beer garden. =D Unfortunately, the club relocated or folded outright only a few years after I graduated.
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Post by Bact PhD on Apr 9, 2021 2:23:36 GMT
Our PBS affiliate is showing Ken Burns’ “Baseball”. “Check your local listings for dates and times in your area.”
It’s weird looking at the older-style diamonds with the dirt track between home plate and the pitcher’s mound.
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Post by Bact PhD on Oct 2, 2021 13:23:54 GMT
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pnwguy
Associate Professor
Posts: 1,447
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Post by pnwguy on Oct 2, 2021 16:09:34 GMT
I was saddened by the end of season collapse of the Phillies in their wipeout in Atlanta for a shot at the NL East title. I ended up with a free subscription to the MLB app when I switched to T-mobile in the spring, and I've watched more Phillies games this year than any time in my adult life. I might think about paying them for it next season. Since I'm out of the Phillies TV market here in Oregon, I'm not restricted on any game feeds.
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Post by goldenvalley on Oct 3, 2021 18:04:03 GMT
I was saddened by the end of season collapse of the Phillies in their wipeout in Atlanta for a shot at the NL East title. I ended up with a free subscription to the MLB app when I switched to T-mobile in the spring, and I've watched more Phillies games this year than any time in my adult life. I might think about paying them for it next season. Since I'm out of the Phillies TV market here in Oregon, I'm not restricted on any game feeds. My husband's beloved Red Sox are giving him heart palpitations. He has been paying for the MLB app for several years because he can see them play regularly. |
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andydp
Tenured Full Professor
Posts: 2,749
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Post by andydp on Oct 3, 2021 19:06:07 GMT
Only in Florida...
...could there be a team (unironically) called the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
I liked the Savannah (GA) San Gnats so much I bought a tee shirt. I have an Albuquerque Isotopes polo. The Isotopes are the leading minor league memorabilia sellers because they are Homer Simpson’s favorite team. Sentimental favorite: Toledo Mud Hens |
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Post by goldenvalley on Oct 6, 2021 3:53:45 GMT
Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card playoff game. My husband is one happy fan. Beating the Yankees is everything...almost better than winning the World Series.
We're going to a wedding this weekend back East that will be filled with Yankee fans. He's looking forward to that.
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andydp
Tenured Full Professor
Posts: 2,749
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Post by andydp on Oct 6, 2021 11:29:03 GMT
Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card playoff game. My husband is one happy fan. Beating the Yankees is everything...almost better than winning the World Series. We're going to a wedding this weekend back East that will be filled with Yankee fans. He's looking forward to that. The appropriate quote for the end to the Yankees' season: Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out. |
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Post by Bact PhD on Oct 6, 2021 14:06:29 GMT
Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card playoff game. My husband is one happy fan. Beating the Yankees is everything...almost better than winning the World Series. We're going to a wedding this weekend back East that will be filled with Yankee fans. He's looking forward to that. (Wicked evil grin) re the upcoming encounter with Yankees fans. Don’t the Sox have to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the upcoming round? TBH, I can’t get overly excited, since the Rays didn’t even exist until well after I graduated from college, but they’re still the closest MLB team to me, so Go Rays! |
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Post by goldenvalley on Oct 6, 2021 15:13:54 GMT
Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card playoff game. My husband is one happy fan. Beating the Yankees is everything...almost better than winning the World Series. We're going to a wedding this weekend back East that will be filled with Yankee fans. He's looking forward to that. (Wicked evil grin) re the upcoming encounter with Yankees fans. Don’t the Sox have to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the upcoming round? TBH, I can’t get overly excited, since the Rays didn’t even exist until well after I graduated from college, but they’re still the closest MLB team to me, so Go Rays! Yeah and the Sox will lose, but they kept the Yankees from advancing! |
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Post by Bact PhD on Nov 5, 2021 21:40:03 GMT
At the table yesterday, Dear Son tells me, "Buster Posey is retiring."
Me: Huh? Who?
DS: You know, as in "Buster Posey Field", where we played the playoff game back in May.
Me: Oh! Now I remember. (looks up story, sees where player grew up in North FL)
I guess I didn't appreciate that the dude's alma mater was so impressed by his accomplishment of making the bigs (or he donated enough $$$) that they named the field after him while he was still playing... Granted, I know of at least one HS field in FL named after a former Major Leaguer, so maybe the other isn't too farfetched...
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Post by goldenvalley on Nov 9, 2021 17:43:37 GMT
At the table yesterday, Dear Son tells me, "Buster Posey is retiring."
Me: Huh? Who?
DS: You know, as in "Buster Posey Field", where we played the playoff game back in May.
Me: Oh! Now I remember. (looks up story, sees where player grew up in North FL)
I guess I didn't appreciate that the dude's alma mater was so impressed by his accomplishment of making the bigs (or he donated enough $$$) that they named the field after him while he was still playing... Granted, I know of at least one HS field in FL named after a former Major Leaguer, so maybe the other isn't too farfetched... Yeah, he will probably be a Hall of Famer. People here in Northern California are in mourning over his retirement. And that name and his face are straight out of a Saturday Evening Post cover by Norman Rockwell. |
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Post by Bact PhD on Dec 13, 2021 17:11:35 GMT
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Post by goldenvalley on Dec 13, 2021 18:21:15 GMT
Most people will say "wake me up when it's over." |
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Post by Bact PhD on Feb 18, 2022 14:18:49 GMT
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pnwguy
Associate Professor
Posts: 1,447
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Post by pnwguy on Feb 18, 2022 14:30:57 GMT
Meanwhile, the college teams in this part of the world begin the season this weekend, and the high schools have season openers next week. I just happen to be in Omaha right now, and my friend drove me around the new stadium where the college baseball world series is held every year. That's a big event here, and the park (from the outside) looks as modern as any major league venue. It can hold 24,000 and expand to 35,000 spectators. |
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Post by Bact PhD on Feb 20, 2022 19:53:38 GMT
Meanwhile, the college teams in this part of the world begin the season this weekend, and the high schools have season openers next week. I just happen to be in Omaha right now, and my friend drove me around the new stadium where the college baseball world series is held every year. That's a big event here, and the park (from the outside) looks as modern as any major league venue. It can hold 24,000 and expand to 35,000 spectators. From what I gather, TD Ameritrade Field is quite the facility. The former CWS home, Rosenblatt Stadium, is hallowed ground to some folks… |
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Post by Bact PhD on Feb 20, 2022 19:58:44 GMT
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AnBr
Associate Professor
Posts: 1,768
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Post by AnBr on Feb 20, 2022 21:52:06 GMT
I am kind of torn about it. On one hand I am generally pro union and workers rights. I feel that the wealth of a business is derived primarily out of the efforts by its workers. In this sense baseball is no exception to this. Its worth comes directly from its talents. On the other hand it is hard to get too worked up over a fight between millionaires and billionaires. The average salary in MLB is $4.17 million a year, a median of $1.15 million and a minimum of $563,500. It means the fans will foot the bill as the owners will not yield a dime from themselves. Baseball is one of the circuses of Bread and Circuses and it is being ripped from the hands of the average person. It is one thing to say you are willing to pay an extra $.50 or whatever for a burger if the burger flipper gets a living wage, it is entirely another matter if a ticket becomes so expensive that it is more than you are willing or able to afford.
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andydp
Tenured Full Professor
Posts: 2,749
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Post by andydp on Feb 20, 2022 22:47:28 GMT
On the other hand it is hard to get too worked up over a fight between millionaires and billionaires. The average salary in MLB is $4.17 million a year, a median of $1.15 million and a minimum of $563,500. It means the fans will foot the bill as the owners will not yield a dime from themselves. People get super excited when some hitter gets a $200 million contract. Then they complain about $20.00 beers. The owners aren't paying the hitter, the fans are. When the new Yankee Stadium was built and prices were revealed, someone calculated you could fly to Seattle, watch a game from behind home plate, stay for a weekend at a high end hotel for LESS than the cost of similar seats at Yankee Stadium. We've been to a couple of minor league games in Texas and New Mexico, Small stadiums, nice facilities, intimate seating. One exception is Coors Field in Denver. Some of the ground level seats are 10-15 dollars. Box seats about halfway up $20.00. Beers still cost a lot, but you didn't break the bank getting to the seat |
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Post by Bact PhD on Feb 20, 2022 22:52:54 GMT
Baseball is one of the circuses of Bread and Circuses and it is being ripped from the hands of the average person. It is one thing to say you are willing to pay an extra $.50 or whatever for a burger if the burger flipper gets a living wage, it is entirely another matter if a ticket becomes so expensive that it is more than you are willing or able to afford. Unfortunately, it’s going the way of the NFL, NBA, and (in the Power Five, anyway) college football and men’s basketball—the live entertainment is going to be exclusively for the corporate titans and celebrities. Even the upper middle class is getting priced out of tickets to many events. |
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Post by Bact PhD on Feb 21, 2022 23:10:24 GMT
We've been to a couple of minor league games in Texas and New Mexico, Small stadiums, nice facilities, intimate seating. One exception is Coors Field in Denver. Some of the ground level seats are 10-15 dollars. Box seats about halfway up $20.00. Beers still cost a lot, but you didn't break the bank getting to the seat My baseball attendance (outside of college and Dear Son’s school) is scant. Caught one Yankees’ Spring Training game when they were still doing it in Ft. Lauderdale (late ‘70s) and one Phillies game at the Vet during the awful mid-‘70s. Chem PhD, however, has seen the Pirates play in all three home venues of the last century—Forbes Field in the ‘60s, Three Rivers in the early ’80s, and PNC Park (with Dear Son & yours truly) in 2019. I liked the modern venue of PNC Park. The seats weren’t outrageously priced and afforded a good view of the field…and downtown Pittsburgh across the river. Concessions weren’t cheap, but I wouldn’t say it was overpriced for what you got, either. |
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