MLB 2023 Season

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

People are nuts. By that, I (try to) mean some people are quite nuts; many people are somewhat nuts; but most people are fine. Right?

I think with you're very general estimates you are being way too kind. I'd say reverse the first and third categories and you're closer...

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

I have lots of sports I like. I work in sports. I used to be a massive baseball fan when I was younger.

Now I find them boring but the biggest issue is the length of the game.
The average game is 3 hours and 3 minutes.

And the average team once the season gets rolling plays 6 times a week.
So your looking at an 18 hour per week time investment to follow just one team.

With the way my life is now, I simply cannot make that investment anymore.

So at 2.5 hours per game, 15 hours per 6 games would be ok for you? I'm not saying 18 hours is acceptable, only that in context 15 hours isn't much different. Is it?

Point being games when I was growing up were not 3 hours, but more in the range of 2.5ish. Most of us traditionalists, that seem to get a lot of criticism, did not get to see their teams play one game a week**, let alone 6 when growing up. One followed the league listening on the radio, or in the morning newspaper looking at standings and box scores, or my favorite was when the Sporting News came in the mail on Saturday and you would review the whole week through box scores, in one sitting. Then you hoped your team would be on the Saturday Game of the Week.

** Maybe that was different if you grew up in a big city and they had local broadcasts? IDK. I do know growing up in "small town America" meant baseball games on tv were few and far between for any team, let alone your favorite. That didn't change until the superstations of the very late 70's. I don't think we had WGN, TBS, or whatever the channel was that showed the Mets until 1979.

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

I usually watch baseball while I'm multitasking and doing other things to be honest.

Yes, this is how I listened to games on the radio growing up. I wasn't glued to the radio then, I'm not glued to the tv now. Somebody above made a good point about replays in football that holds one's attention. That is true, but back in the late 60's and early 70's those replays weren't there nearly as much. Result was even football games allowed one to be doing two things, or more, at once.


The game has a lot of issues that it has mostly brought upon itself. Time wasting should have been nipped in the bud years ago. Instead they "let it go" until almost everybody did it and it became the norm. They continue to make it hard to watch on tv. Not nearly as much with the price as with the stupid blackout rules they have in place. Find a way to share the revenue and get rid of blackouts. It's silly that you pay for MLB tv, can't watch your team until 90 minutes(?) after the game ends, yet still see all of the commercials. Everybody on the MLB side is getting theirs. The one that is missing out is the fan that is paying the bills.

I love the game but don't pay nearly as much attention to it as I once did. Whenever there's been a work stoppage OOTP has scratched my itch and I can honestly say I didn't feel like I was missing much. Don't get me wrong, I was happy when things were settled and MLB returned, but I was also fine when it wasn't there.

[Déjà Bru]

Are any of you older baseball fans thinking about retiring soon? Well, here are 7 Great Places to Retire if You Love Baseball! Although, the 7th recommendation is a bit weak; how often can you visit the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Tampa, Florida

The Tampa Bay area is a mecca for watching the boys of summer up close every spring. Five teams have their spring training and minor league complexes within a 50-mile radius

Once camps break, there’s big league action at the Trop all through summer and, for the perennially contending Rays, often into fall. If you prefer to maintain that preseason vibe, the class Low-A Florida State League plays from May to September in many of the spring training ballparks.


Phoenix, Arizona

A generation ago, Florida was arguably a bigger draw for spring training play than Arizona. But now 15 teams flock to the Valley of the Sun to prepare for the upcoming season

During the regular season?, the Diamondbacks occupy Chase Field, an impressive downtown stadium with a swimming pool and retractable roof. For a casual alternative to the major league fare, the rookie-level Arizona Complex League operates in the area, with games open to the public free of charge.


Durham, North Carolina

Baseball’s present and cinematic past coexist in Durham, home to what might be the world’s best-known minor league team thanks to one of the best baseball movies.

The Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, play at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in 1995 about a mile from Durham Athletic Park, the team’s home for nearly 70 years and the filming location where Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins competed for Susan Sarandon’s attention in 1988’s Bull Durham.

Aficionados of the game can enjoy 75 Bulls home games a year or road-trip to visit one of North Carolina’s nine other minor league squads.


Charleston, South Carolina

Like Durham, the “Holy City” offers minor league ball with a touch of Hollywood glamor. Bill Murray, part-owner and designated “director of fun” for the Charleston RiverDogs, can frequently be found in the stands at the Single-A squad’s home field, Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. His antics at “?The Joe” and other local appearances are documented at Bill Murray Stories, a website devoted to Murray sightings in the wild.

Cheering along with a comedy legend isn’t the only reason to get to know the RiverDogs: The team, a Rays affiliate, enters the 2023 season as two-time defending Carolina League champions and Baseball America magazine’s reigning Minor League Team of the Year.


Colorado Springs, Colorado

Who needs extra innings? As members of the 10-team Pioneer Baseball League, the Rocky Mountain Vibes give supporters a dose of innovation to go with a scenic location: Rather than extra frames, games tied after nine innings are decided by a home-run derby. The “Knockout Round” was implemented in 2021 as a way to keep fans engaged after a comprehensive restructuring of the minors relegated the PBL to independent status, with no big?-league parent clubs.

The new format seems to have helped the league weather the storm, with attendance breaking records the past two seasons. Fans in the Springs who want to see the major leaguers in action, or who just pine for extra innings, can swing up to Denver (a 90-minute drive north on Interstate 25) to catch the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.


Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Rated the country’s best place to retire by U.S. News & World Report for its small-town charm and affordability, Lancaster is also hard to beat for access to the national pastime. Southeastern Pennsylvania is awash in minor league action, from Atlantic League teams playing in modern, in-town parks in Lancaster and York (27 miles away) to Double-A squads in Reading (3?5 miles) and Harrisburg (?40 miles), where the classic old ballpark sits on an island in the Susquehanna River connected via pedestrian bridge to downtown.

A bit farther afield in Allentown, the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs are known for bacon-themed promotions and mascots Ferrous and FeFe. For an immersion in baseball Americana, it’s a 2½-hour drive from Lancaster to Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series and the annual MLB Little League Classic, which in 2023 features a quasi-local clash between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals.


Cooperstown, New York

You knew we’d get here eventually, right? The one-stoplight home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame fills up with fans each summer, especially for Induction Weekend in late July (this year’s event is July 21-24, with slugging infielders Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen getting their plaques). Youth tournaments at Cooperstown Dreams Park are another summer highlight; 2022 World Series stars Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Tucker are among the big leaguers who played here as kids.

The tourist crowds dwindle to a hardy few during the winter months, but the Hall is open year-round. With its centerpiece gallery of inductees and about 20 exhibition spaces over three stories packed with artifacts, images and baseball lore, it’s nearly impossible to take in everything the Hall has to offer in a visit or two. Locals can enjoy the attractions at a more leisurely pace with an annual or even lifetime membership.

[Westheim]

I just saw that there's a Mariners-Padres game at 3 ET - first spring game between two MLB teams... on MLB.tv! (The Red Sox are playing *some* non-MLB team right now)

[Westheim]

It's oooooooooooon!!

I'm so happy, I could bawl.

[Westheim]

Unfortunately the pitch clock and shift ban did not get rid of that dismal baseball zen crap between innings.

[Westheim]

Challenge: find a proper, traditional box score on this new "wrap" for each game.

Spoiler: it's there, but ya gotta squint. Well, half of it.

Good, MLB. Good. Keep dumbing EVERYTHING down for smartphone punks. (angrily tocks on the ground with the end of his wooden cane)

[cephasjames]

It took all of half a second to find the box score, so I'm not sure what you mean.

It doesn't default to the box score, which I believe is different. But, the box score is still there doling out the same info it's been doling out for years.

[Westheim]

Nope. OPS for batters is gone. And it's obviously only half of a box score anymore.

[Cobra Mgr]

Can't stand the egos of these umps. Ump refused to shake the Cards mgr's hand because of a grudge from last August. This is the 2nd main reason for robo umps. To lessen the effects of their vindictiveness.

[Syd Thrift]

Wow, Angel Hernandez was one of the umpires in that game and he wasn’t even the story…

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

Wow, Angel Hernandez was one of the umpires in that game and he wasn’t even the story…

Says a lot, don't it? Being the "bad ump" in a group w/Angel Hernandez is like George Santos being the "lying politician" in a group of congressmen.

[Cobra Mgr]

I dare any MLB player to make a better catch this year.

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Nope. OPS for batters is gone. And it's obviously only half of a box score anymore.

I don't know what you're smoking. Yes, I now notice that one column of a typical box score isn't there - OPS. But I have no clue what you're talking about with half the box score missing. That box score has twice as many columns as when I was growing up, which only had AB, R, H, and RBI.

To each their own, I guess. Maybe you'll have to give an example of what you think it's supposed to look like to compare.

[Westheim]

Both teams' stats next to each other, and not in a stupid little side window where you have click back and forth, and which even scrolls separately from the rest of the page. I don't consider that too much asked.

[cephasjames]

I don't remember MLB ever doing anything remotely close to that. Other sites may have, but not MLB.

[Westheim]

They've done it for as long as I've been following, which is since 2012. All old box scores have been changed to the new format now, though.

[Déjà Bru]

I am surprised nobody has brought this up here yet (if someone has, please excuse me).

Pitch clock violation costs the Braves a walk-off walk

The Braves batter thought the pitcher had violated the clock, so he was running down to first. Instead, the umpire called him out with a third strike for not being ready in the batter's box with 8 seconds to go. The Red Sox catcher was milling around, and fooled the batter.

From another source:

Braves manager Brian Snitker was as surprised as anyone including Conley, the hitter called for strike three to end the game when home-plate umpire John Libka ruled he wasn’t ready and attentive to the pitcher at the eight-second mark. Conley had noticed catcher Elih Marrero still standing and looking at notes on his wristband when the umpire pointed to Conley, who took off for first base thinking the pitcher was in violation and he had a bases-loaded walk-off walk (the count had been full).

Instead, he ruled Conley out because while Marrero wasn’t in position behind the plate, the pitcher, Robert Kwiatkowski, was standing on the mound, ready to deliver a pitch. In effect, Marrero deked Conley, intentionally or not.

Instead of the game being won by the Braves in a comeback, it ended in a tie on a clock violation. It seems to me that they had better tweak the rule to remove this nonsensical aspect; that is, the catcher goofing around until just before the pitcher's clock expires, then suddenly crouching down.

Oh well, this is what spring training is for. The players will bring out the flaws as they attempt ways to game the system.





Incidentally, I quietly note my 10,000th post as Déjà Bru. Add to that the 8,645 posts that I made in my 1998 Yankees persona of years ago; well, maybe it's not much to celebrate over after all. Blabbermouth, me.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I am surprised nobody has brought this up here yet (if someone has, please excuse me).

Pitch clock violation costs the Braves a walk-off walk

The Braves batter thought the pitcher had violated the clock, so he was running down to first. Instead, the umpire called him out with a third strike for not being ready in the batter's box with 8 seconds to go. The Red Sox catcher was milling around, and fooled the batter.

From another source:
Instead of the game being won by the Braves in a comeback, it ended in a tie on a clock violation. It seems to me that they had better tweak the rule to remove this nonsensical aspect; that is, the catcher goofing around until just before the pitcher's clock expires, then suddenly crouching down.

Oh well, this is what spring training is for. The players will bring out the flaws as they attempt ways to game the system.


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Incidentally, I quietly note my 10,000th post as Déjà Bru. Add to that the 8,645 posts that I made in my 1998 Yankees persona of years ago; well, maybe it's not much to celebrate over after all. Blabbermouth, me.

Answered a post about this on another board. The takeaway for me is what you said in the part I bolded. This stuff will fix itself as everyone gets used to the mechanics of the rule. Batters will learn to use the clock as their guide and disregard the rest.

As far as the C milling about and trying to deke the batter? Could be or it could be his "normal" behavior from, well, every year before this year and the new rule. I'm open to either explanation. Having said that, if I'm a P, on the mound ready to go in time with the clock, and my C is milling about I think I'm going to get stressed. IOW if a C is trying to "game the rule" against the batter he may be hurting his P more than the B. And sure, there would be other P's that wouldn't be bothered at all, and may want their C to do this. In that case it's back to the batter to know the clock is where his focus needs to be.

[Westheim]

Not sure who placed the centerfield camera at the Cards' park, but instead of the strike zone I get to look at C.B. Bucknor's bum.