Oh, how times have changed....

[tjb1952tjb]

A video of MLB during the 40's and 50's.....quite a contrast to today's Major Leaguers. Nostalgic............


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6mwWhahLsE

[maj78]

Thanks for sharing - loved it!

Great video. Good times before it was all about the money.

[Chris Counts]

If you haven't seen the three-part series, "When It Was A Game," watch it now. Its an amazing color look at baseball just before and after WWII. I'll take it any day over Sleepy Ken Burns' low-energy and long-winded version of baseball history.

[Snapolit1]

We can all debate the good old days and when exactly they were, but I daresay that I never remember a period in my life where MLB had more incredible exciting talent. Trout. Betts. Acuna. Soto. Tatis Jr. Harper. DeGrom (not as young). Amazing how exciting baseball has been in the last month. For the first time in years I find myself watching random games, because it seems like every team has one of these must see players. Dodgers Padres was like a world series in its intensity.

And for a dying sport MLB.com has been pulling the great ratings.

[mrreality68]

Agreed thanks for sharing.

Amazing the times when they took subway’s to the ball park and had winter jobs.

Very interesting commentary also

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

We can all debate the good old days and when exactly they were, but I daresay that I never remember a period in my life where MLB had more incredible exciting talent. Trout. Betts. Acuna. Soto. Tatis Jr. Harper. DeGrom (not as young). Amazing how exciting baseball has been in the last month. For the first time in years I find myself watching random games, because it seems like every team has one of these must see players. Dodgers Padres was like a world series in its intensity.

And for a dying sport MLB.com has been pulling the great ratings.

No one wants to debate it.

[Clutch-Hitter]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

We can all debate the good old days and when exactly they were, but I daresay that I never remember a period in my life where MLB had more incredible exciting talent. Trout. Betts. Acuna. Soto. Tatis Jr. Harper. DeGrom (not as young). Amazing how exciting baseball has been in the last month. For the first time in years I find myself watching random games, because it seems like every team has one of these must see players. Dodgers Padres was like a world series in its intensity.

And for a dying sport MLB.com has been pulling the great ratings.

I no longer watch baseball for that very reason. It's a team sport and the world series winner would be the team that played as a cohesive unit. Weren't a lot of whiny prima donas back then (and as recently as the 90s).

Short Example:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PilAosY41eA

Respectfully

[Snapolit1]

Lol. People have been complaining about money ruining baseball and whiny prima donnas since about the time Babe Ruth held out for more money basically every year.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Lol. People have been complaining about money ruining baseball and whiny prima donnas since about the time Babe Ruth held out for more money basically every year.

You just didn’t care about these issues when you were 15 years old.

[Clutch-Hitter]

Ha! I'm a little older. Bobby Cox was the last fearless manager, I'm afraid.

Stuff like this pisses me off:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XpuLvMeIk7Y

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

You just didn’t care about these issues when you were 15 years old.

I don't care now. Just an observation. I wasn't around when Ruth played so I can say with certainty anything about his contract negotiations.

[Clutch-Hitter]

Babe Ruth was a fan of the fans. There are zero Babe Ruth types playing; it's no comparison.

I'll start watching when the fences are moved back 100ft for the, relatively speaking, giants playing today. I'll mention my suspicion of drug use, including testosterone boosters and speed, in passing only. Move the fences back and let them use whatever they want.


1990s_Young_Y32_Klesko by Greg Martin, on Flickr

[Huysmans]

Thanks for posting.... much better times and people then, on and off the ball field.
Nice to see.

[Snapolit1]

Yeah, people were much better in the 1940s, when black men were excluded from MLB, and then the few guys who were slowly let in were showered with abuse from other players and fans and had to stay by themselves at separate second rate hotels. Oh, the good old days were wonderful.

[toledo_mudhen]

Awesome video -

I'm old enough to remember Red Barber on Yankee radio broadcasts back in the late 60's (and then again on NPR in the 80s)

Quite a walk down memory lane!

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Yeah, people were much better in the 1940s, when black men were excluded from MLB, and then the few guys who were slowly let in were showered with abuse from other players and fans and had to stay by themselves at separate second rate hotels. Oh, the good old days were wonderful.

They were better... MUCH better. But I'm not allowed to have that opinion according to you??

We live in a world right now where the overwhelming majority of people enjoy the highest quality of life and standard of living that has EVER been experienced in history... this isn't even debatable, yet there is more whining and complaining then there ever has been. YOU'RE a perfect example with this post... the world is full of losers right now who can't even handle someone else's opinion. It's pathetic.

Didn't you also just start a thread with some ridiculous garbage about growing old.... with some nonsense about trying new things? .... so it's great to announce YOUR opinion... right?

Next time, just go sob in the corner when you disagree with someone and can't deal with their opinion, and save everyone from your whining and insecurity clown.

[Joshwesley]

Man, that was great. Thanks for sharing !

[egri]

Thanks for sharing. I was watching the last few innings of game 7 from the 1960 World Series, and what a difference; the announcers weren’t constantly talking, there were no graphics that got in the way, and the focus was on the game.

Originally Posted by Huysmans

They were better... MUCH better. But I'm not allowed to have that opinion according to you??

We live in a world right now where the overwhelming majority of people enjoy the highest quality of life and standard of living that has EVER been experienced in history... this isn't even debatable, yet there is more whining and complaining then there ever has been. YOU'RE a perfect example with this post... the world is full of losers right now who can't even handle someone else's opinion. It's pathetic.

Didn't you also just start a thread with some ridiculous garbage about growing old.... with some nonsense about trying new things? .... so it's great to announce YOUR opinion... right?

Next time, just go sob in the corner when you disagree with someone and can't deal with their opinion, and save everyone from your whining and insecurity clown.

LOL. Eeyore for sure.

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

They were better... MUCH better. But I'm not allowed to have that opinion according to you??

We live in a world right now where the overwhelming majority of people enjoy the highest quality of life and standard of living that has EVER been experienced in history... this isn't even debatable, yet there is more whining and complaining then there ever has been. YOU'RE a perfect example with this post... the world is full of losers right now who can't even handle someone else's opinion. It's pathetic.

Didn't you also just start a thread with some ridiculous garbage about growing old.... with some nonsense about trying new things? .... so it's great to announce YOUR opinion... right?

When he posted his age, it was, shall we say enlightening ntrospection, into his previous posts.

Just sayin'

[Clutch-Hitter]

Delete

[Mark]

thanks. The game, the country, the world may have changed in important ways, but I think it's all still recognizable in the old films. Great to see.

[Eric72]

My favorite era of Major League baseball is the 1980s. It had its flaws, just like any other period of the game's history. The major difference? I became a teenager in the mid-80s.

As someone else mentioned, I "just didn’t care about these issues" at this point in my life. Looking back at this era now makes me feel younger...and smarter. When I leaf through my 1980 Topps baseball set (it's in a binder) I can recall with remarkable clarity nearly every single name.

I'd be lucky if I could name 50 active players these days.

[Ricky]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

They were better... MUCH better. But I'm not allowed to have that opinion according to you??

We live in a world right now where the overwhelming majority of people enjoy the highest quality of life and standard of living that has EVER been experienced in history... this isn't even debatable, yet there is more whining and complaining then there ever has been. YOU'RE a perfect example with this post... the world is full of losers right now who can't even handle someone else's opinion. It's pathetic.

Didn't you also just start a thread with some ridiculous garbage about growing old.... with some nonsense about trying new things? .... so it's great to announce YOUR opinion... right?

Next time, just go sob in the corner when you disagree with someone and can't deal with their opinion, and save everyone from your whining and insecurity clown.

Not sure what Steve said that deserved this response. Was he wrong? I just finished an autobiography of Henry Aaron and a biography of Roberto Clemente. Both ballplayers told the same stories of their times in the South during spring training. How black ad Latin ballplayers were forced to stay on the bus when they'd stop to eat and have to wait until the white teammates brought food back out to them on the bus; how white teammates stayed in luxury hotels, while the black players were forced to rent rooms in houses owned by black people in the black section of town. And it stayed this way until 1962!! So, if you asked them, I think they'd say things and people weren't so great back then...

[sdimag]

Originally Posted by Ricky

Not sure what Steve said that deserved this response. Was he wrong? I just finished an autobiography of Henry Aaron and a biography of Roberto Clemente. Both ballplayers told the same stories of their times in the South during spring training. How black ad Latin ballplayers were forced to stay on the bus when they'd stop to eat and have to wait until the white teammates brought food back out to them on the bus; how white teammates stayed in luxury hotels, while the black players were forced to rent rooms in houses owned by black people in the black section of town. And it stayed this way until 1962!! So, if you asked them, I think they'd say things and people weren't so great back then...

Wow! You and Snapolit have uncovered some dark secrets!Hope you enjoy the all star game in racially diverse Colorado as the black restaurant/hotel owners in Atlanta suffer.Yes we’ve come a long way.

[Exhibitman]

Must every thread here devolve into a political fight? We get it: we hate you, you hate us, but we all love card collecting too, so let's just focus on that and leave the political trash talking for Facebook. If that is just too hard for you to handle, just go away.

[packs]

If someone rants about someone's opinion and how nobody can handle opinions that don't match theirs anymore, has the circle completed itself?

[timn1]

Good grief, Brent - who is it exactly that's freaking out about someone else's contrary opinion, and calling them impolite names? - wait, it seems to be you!

I agree with you that for most people (in the world) the standard of life has never been better than today, and also that a lot of people don't appreciate that fact and complain way too much. But that's part of what Steve was saying in the first place. I don't know how you get from that to ripping him apart for saying BB is good today...

Originally Posted by Ricky

Not sure what Steve said that deserved this response. Was he wrong? I just finished an autobiography of Henry Aaron and a biography of Roberto Clemente. Both ballplayers told the same stories of their times in the South during spring training. How black ad Latin ballplayers were forced to stay on the bus when they'd stop to eat and have to wait until the white teammates brought food back out to them on the bus; how white teammates stayed in luxury hotels, while the black players were forced to rent rooms in houses owned by black people in the black section of town. And it stayed this way until 1962!! So, if you asked them, I think they'd say things and people weren't so great back then...

[Ricky]

Originally Posted by sdimag

Wow! You and Snapolit have uncovered some dark secrets!Hope you enjoy the all star game in racially diverse Colorado as the black restaurant/hotel owners in Atlanta suffer.Yes we’ve come a long way.

Congratulations on completely misinterpreting my post. Never said things were great or perfect now; only that the times weren't so great back in the '50s either, depending on your life experiences.

[jgannon]

I think what the video shows is the authenticity of the game back then, as well as the authenticity of the people. That doesn't mean there weren't real problems back then. But these were people who grew up in a world that cut them absolutely no slack. They made the majors on their talent and sheer grit, playing under much more difficult circumstances in a less safety-conscious era, fighting for their survival in the big leagues year to year, hungry for the extra income a championship would bring. There is true character in their faces.

Originally Posted by jgannon

I think what the video shows is the authenticity of the game back then, as well as the authenticity of the people. That doesn't mean there weren't real problems back then. But these were people who grew up in a world that cut them absolutely no slack. They made the majors on their talent and sheer grit, playing under much more difficult circumstances in a less safety-conscious era, fighting for their survival in the big leagues year to year, hungry for the extra income a championship would bring. There is true character in their faces.

Nailed it. Well said!

[FrankWakefield]

That brings to mind the comments of Enos Slaughter, grumbling about how heavy the sweat soaked wool uniforms were in the summer, how he'd hit about .295 and drive in about 90 runs (I may be misquoting his numbers) and he's whining about how he's having to hustle every spring in Florida because some rookie was trying to take his job.

Truthfully, at this moment I don't recall the first name of that Trout fellow who plays in the AL on that team with Albert Pujols. I hear he's good, I believe that... Albert was good, I saw him in St. Louis. Koufax, Gibson, Seaver, Drysdale, Veale, Bunning, Maloney, Spahn, Ford, Marichal... they were good. Mays, Musial, Cepeda, Clemente, McCovey, Mantle, Banks, Santo, Williams, Bench, Berra, Kaline, Yaz, Rose, Willie Davis, Aaron, E Mathews, F Robinson, Ozzie Smith, Flood, Biggio... they were good. And Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine, Tudor, Hershiser, Valenzuela, R Johnson, they were good in their day. In the moment, I've not called enough names... Tony Perez, B Robinson, Carew... and more.

I'm a fan of that 50s, 60s, and 70's baseball. In no way at all do I begrudge the money Alex Rodriguez made on those contracts-- that 2001 contract for 22 million. To pay that from ticket sales (not the team's only source of revenue) assuming 81 home games with 40,000 average attendance... that would be 3,240,000 tickets sold. That's an extra $6.79 out of each ticket to pay for ARod. (And it isn't his fault he got that money and started the salary increases, blame that on the owners, they did it to themselves.) After taking $6.79 out of each ticket to pay for that great short stop, there wasn't much money left over to pay the rest of the players. Ticket prices go up, hot dogs cost more, beer goes to $9 & $10 & $11.... ball games become expensive. Owners passed the cost of it all on to us, the fans.

So, I'm not a fan of baseball. Not of this modern 21st century $11 a beer baseball... I'm a fan of what I saw as a kid, and while in high school and college. I could drive to Cincy or St Louis, buy a ticket, food and beverage, and have spent maybe $20 on gas, ticket and eats. I think many of the folks think that way on this site. And I'm a fan of 19th and 20th century baseball, and the old cardboard that goes with that.

As for ARod, good for him that he got that money. I wish he'd gotten to play most of 2014, instead of having to miss that.

I'm still a Cardinal fan, even in the 21st century. But not like I was in the 60s and 70s.

As for this 21st century baseball, it's just less interesting to me. $11 a beer!!!! Where's that Miller High Life beer guy who would reclaim beer from places? I need him.

[Casey2296]

So, I'm not a fan of baseball. Not of this modern 21st century $11 a beer baseball... I'm a fan of what I saw as a kid, and while in high school and college. I could drive to Cincy or St Louis, buy a ticket, food and beverage, and have spent maybe $20 on gas, ticket and eats. I think many of the folks think that way on this site. And I'm a fan of 19th and 20th century baseball, and the old cardboard that goes with that.

Great point Frank,
I'm fortunate to live near a SF Giants "A" affiliate club and go to their games regularly, or used to pre-covid. $14 bucks to get in, BBQ Pavilion down the left field line where foul balls drop regularly in your potato salad, They still have a "Beer Batter", where they choose one opposing player each game, if he strikes out all beer is 5 cents a cup for the next ten minutes, they still pull people from the stands to do goofy stuff on the field between innings, etc. and everybody sings Niel Diamonds "Caroline" for the 7th inning stretch. We also get to see the guys from the Bigs when they are on rehab assignment. Good stuff.

The old school baseball experience is still out there, its just becoming more rare.

[Leon]

Good points, Frank. I am not a fan of current MLB either, or many other current pro sports in general.

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

That brings to mind the comments of Enos Slaughter, grumbling about how heavy the sweat soaked wool uniforms were in the summer, how he'd hit about .295 and drive in about 90 runs (I may be misquoting his numbers) and he's whining about how he's having to hustle every spring in Florida because some rookie was trying to take his job.

Truthfully, at this moment I don't recall the first name of that Trout fellow who plays in the AL on that team with Albert Pujols. I hear he's good, I believe that... Albert was good, I saw him in St. Louis. Koufax, Gibson, Seaver, Drysdale, Veale, Bunning, Maloney, Spahn, Ford, Marichal... they were good. Mays, Musial, Cepeda, Clemente, McCovey, Mantle, Banks, Santo, Williams, Bench, Berra, Kaline, Yaz, Rose, Willie Davis, Aaron, E Mathews, F Robinson, Ozzie Smith, Flood, Biggio... they were good. And Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine, Tudor, Hershiser, Valenzuela, R Johnson, they were good in their day. In the moment, I've not called enough names... Tony Perez, B Robinson, Carew... and more.

I'm a fan of that 50s, 60s, and 70's baseball. In no way at all do I begrudge the money Alex Rodriguez made on those contracts-- that 2001 contract for 22 million. To pay that from ticket sales (not the team's only source of revenue) assuming 81 home games with 40,000 average attendance... that would be 3,240,000 tickets sold. That's an extra $6.79 out of each ticket to pay for ARod. (And it isn't his fault he got that money and started the salary increases, blame that on the owners, they did it to themselves.) After taking $6.79 out of each ticket to pay for that great short stop, there wasn't much money left over to pay the rest of the players. Ticket prices go up, hot dogs cost more, beer goes to $9 & $10 & $11.... ball games become expensive. Owners passed the cost of it all on to us, the fans.

So, I'm not a fan of baseball. Not of this modern 21st century $11 a beer baseball... I'm a fan of what I saw as a kid, and while in high school and college. I could drive to Cincy or St Louis, buy a ticket, food and beverage, and have spent maybe $20 on gas, ticket and eats. I think many of the folks think that way on this site. And I'm a fan of 19th and 20th century baseball, and the old cardboard that goes with that.

As for ARod, good for him that he got that money. I wish he'd gotten to play most of 2014, instead of having to miss that.

I'm still a Cardinal fan, even in the 21st century. But not like I was in the 60s and 70s.

As for this 21st century baseball, it's just less interesting to me. $11 a beer!!!! Where's that Miller High Life beer guy who would reclaim beer from places? I need him.