Baseball Is Dying

[Eric72]

For a sport that’s supposedly dying, it sure was lively this evening; at least from where I sit.

While getting some work done on the computer tonight, I listened to the Phillies game on the radio. For the majority of the game, it was a one-sided affair. Three first-inning runs and a lone marker for insurance had the Mets comfortably in control. However, the Phils broke out with five runs in the eighth and made the game suddenly theirs for the taking. In the ninth, they shut down New York with a 1-2-3 inning for a win which seemed improbable moments before.

I’ve always loved baseball. Tonight was the type of game that keeps me coming back for more.

[Snapolit1]

Baseball is the greatest.

https://twitter.com/TheAthleticMLB/s...94863165960194

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Baseball is the greatest.

https://twitter.com/TheAthleticMLB/s...94863165960194

HaHa! Yeah, that was great!

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Baseball is the greatest.

https://twitter.com/TheAthleticMLB/s...94863165960194

I think more people watch parts of games and clips of games then ever before. they just don't have the time or patience to sit through entire games anymore (unless they are making a day of it going to the ballpark/arena)......in most sports I think, not just baseball.

[D. Bergin]

I was posting in another baseball related thread here and started to think about what I really missed about the game...and it's not pace of play related...it's actually the opposite of that.

I miss having a Rickey Henderson type around. I mean, I miss the Willie Wilson's, Omar Moreno's, Vince Coleman's and Tim Raines too, but Rickey was just another level of entertainment.

Rickey, when he wasn't going through his "I'm bored with the game, or my environment, or my teammates" stretches, was wondrous to watch.

A total disruptor. I remember the first few years of his stretch with the Yankees, and if he came up to bat at the beginning of an inning, he could command that entire inning from beginning to end.

Would he hit a homer? Would he work a 12 pitch walk and turn it into a triple (and he worked a lot of walks)? Would he completely take the pitcher out of their game, daring him to pick him off? Would he get picked off, and beat the throw to 2nd base anyways? Would the catcher be so flustered, he'd throw the ball into center field trying to get Rickey out?

A 6 minute Rickey Henderson at bat, with him playing psychological games with the pitcher, getting in and out of the box, and then daring the pitcher/catcher on the base paths, dragging out the at-bats of the guys hitting behind him in the line-up, was far more exciting then any 1-2-3 quick inning.

Edge of your seat stuff. If there's a talent around today, who could do that on a regular basis...we'd never know it.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I was posting in another baseball related thread here and started to think about what I really missed about the game...and it's not pace of play related...it's actually the opposite of that.

I miss having a Rickey Henderson type around. I mean, I miss the Willie Wilson's, Omar Moreno's, Vince Coleman's and Tim Raines too, but Rickey was just another level of entertainment.

Rickey, when he wasn't going through his "I'm bored with the game, or my environment, or my teammates" stretches, was wondrous to watch.

A total disruptor. I remember the first few years of his stretch with the Yankees, and if he came up to bat at the beginning of an inning, he could command that entire inning from beginning to end.

Would he hit a homer? Would he work a 12 pitch walk and turn it into a triple (and he worked a lot of walks)? Would he completely take the pitcher out of their game, daring him to pick him off? Would he get picked off, and beat the throw to 2nd base anyways? Would the catcher be so flustered, he'd throw the ball into center field trying to get Rickey out?

A 6 minute Rickey Henderson at bat, with him playing psychological games with the pitcher, getting in and out of the box, and then daring the pitcher/catcher on the base paths, dragging out the at-bats of the guys hitting behind him in the line-up, was far more exciting then any 1-2-3 quick inning.

Edge of your seat stuff. If there's a talent around today, who could do that on a regular basis...we'd never know it.

Fernando Tatis Jr! He is currently injured, unfortunately.

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I was posting in another baseball related thread here and started to think about what I really missed about the game...and it's not pace of play related...it's actually the opposite of that.

I miss having a Rickey Henderson type around. I mean, I miss the Willie Wilson's, Omar Moreno's, Vince Coleman's and Tim Raines too, but Rickey was just another level of entertainment.

Rickey, when he wasn't going through his "I'm bored with the game, or my environment, or my teammates" stretches, was wondrous to watch.

A total disruptor. I remember the first few years of his stretch with the Yankees, and if he came up to bat at the beginning of an inning, he could command that entire inning from beginning to end.

Would he hit a homer? Would he work a 12 pitch walk and turn it into a triple (and he worked a lot of walks)? Would he completely take the pitcher out of their game, daring him to pick him off? Would he get picked off, and beat the throw to 2nd base anyways? Would the catcher be so flustered, he'd throw the ball into center field trying to get Rickey out?

A 6 minute Rickey Henderson at bat, with him playing psychological games with the pitcher, getting in and out of the box, and then daring the pitcher/catcher on the base paths, dragging out the at-bats of the guys hitting behind him in the line-up, was far more exciting then any 1-2-3 quick inning.

Edge of your seat stuff. If there's a talent around today, who could do that on a regular basis...we'd never know it.

Great post and description of him at his prime! Rickey was my favorite player growing up. Nobody steals bases anymore, unfortunately.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I was posting in another baseball related thread here and started to think about what I really missed about the game...and it's not pace of play related...it's actually the opposite of that.

I miss having a Rickey Henderson type around. I mean, I miss the Willie Wilson's, Omar Moreno's, Vince Coleman's and Tim Raines too, but Rickey was just another level of entertainment.

Rickey, when he wasn't going through his "I'm bored with the game, or my environment, or my teammates" stretches, was wondrous to watch.

A total disruptor. I remember the first few years of his stretch with the Yankees, and if he came up to bat at the beginning of an inning, he could command that entire inning from beginning to end.

Would he hit a homer? Would he work a 12 pitch walk and turn it into a triple (and he worked a lot of walks)? Would he completely take the pitcher out of their game, daring him to pick him off? Would he get picked off, and beat the throw to 2nd base anyways? Would the catcher be so flustered, he'd throw the ball into center field trying to get Rickey out?

A 6 minute Rickey Henderson at bat, with him playing psychological games with the pitcher, getting in and out of the box, and then daring the pitcher/catcher on the base paths, dragging out the at-bats of the guys hitting behind him in the line-up, was far more exciting then any 1-2-3 quick inning.

Edge of your seat stuff. If there's a talent around today, who could do that on a regular basis...we'd never know it.

You need to check out the new Indians (sorry, I can't go with this Guardians crap) rookie OF Steven Kwan then. Through his first five games of his major league career he's batting .526. He went through 116 pitches to start the season before finally being credited with a swing and miss, which is actually BS. The pitch they called a swing and a miss on him was actually a foul tip the catcher was able to hang on to. Didn't know that officially counted as a swing and a miss, but to me, his streak should still be going as he did get a piece of the ball, period! And he had safely reached base 15 times in just his first four games, doing something that hasn't been done by any other MLB player since 1901. And despite going 0-4 in today's game against the Reds, he still managed a bases loaded walk and RBI to give them their initial lead of the game.

You've all heard of the story of a football player prone to fumbling who was then made to carrying a football around with him 24/7 to learn to not drop or lose it, right? Well, this Kwan kid is apparently so obsessed with getting on base that he carries an actual base around with him everywhere, even to the extent of apparently buckling it up in the seat next to him on planes. Sounds like this 24-year-old rookie is just the kind of new, exciting, unique, and interesting player MLB needs to keep the fans. I hope he can keep the performance going. Obviously hitting over .500 for a season will never happen, and I suspect MLB pitchers will eventually find his Achilles heel and pass it around the league. But can you imagine the excitement this kid would generate if he can keep going at anywhere near this level for any kind of prolonged period of time, and possibly be a legit contender for being a .400 average hitter, and as a rookie no less? Baseball would go insane.

Now of course the contrarians among you will want to jump in and immediately say how the shortened Spring training this year has pitchers at a disadvantage so far, to which I also call BS. These are grown men and MLB level pitchers; they should have been keeping themselves in pitching shape all along. And this goes both ways as well. Batters have also gone through a shortened Spring training in preparing to go up against MLB level pitching. And in this rookie's case, he's never consistently faced MLB level pitching before, so if anyone would be adversely affected by a shortened Spring training, you would expect it to be someone like this Kwan kid.

And by the way, this Kwan kid has done this all on the road. The Tribe's home opener isn't till this Friday. And if he follows the typical player mode of usually performing better at home........well, I'll just leave it at that.

[profholt82]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I was posting in another baseball related thread here and started to think about what I really missed about the game...and it's not pace of play related...it's actually the opposite of that.

I miss having a Rickey Henderson type around. I mean, I miss the Willie Wilson's, Omar Moreno's, Vince Coleman's and Tim Raines too, but Rickey was just another level of entertainment.

Rickey, when he wasn't going through his "I'm bored with the game, or my environment, or my teammates" stretches, was wondrous to watch.

A total disruptor. I remember the first few years of his stretch with the Yankees, and if he came up to bat at the beginning of an inning, he could command that entire inning from beginning to end.

Would he hit a homer? Would he work a 12 pitch walk and turn it into a triple (and he worked a lot of walks)? Would he completely take the pitcher out of their game, daring him to pick him off? Would he get picked off, and beat the throw to 2nd base anyways? Would the catcher be so flustered, he'd throw the ball into center field trying to get Rickey out?

A 6 minute Rickey Henderson at bat, with him playing psychological games with the pitcher, getting in and out of the box, and then daring the pitcher/catcher on the base paths, dragging out the at-bats of the guys hitting behind him in the line-up, was far more exciting then any 1-2-3 quick inning.

Edge of your seat stuff. If there's a talent around today, who could do that on a regular basis...we'd never know it.

Oh, man, did I love watching Rickey Henderson as a kid. It was a treat whenever I got to see him play too because I grew up in NW Ohio where the Tigers were the only games on regularly. I never missed it when they played the A's though. And caught as many espn highlights as I could. I collected his cards and had a poster on my bedroom wall where he was holding a stolen base, and was wearing neon green batting gloves. That said, as much as I wanted to emulate him and work the bases in my little league days, I just didn't have the speed. Haha

[Orioles1954]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I think more people watch parts of games and clips of games then ever before. they just don't have the time or patience to sit through entire games anymore (unless they are making a day of it going to the ballpark/arena)......in most sports I think, not just baseball.

I think you're right on with that point. In my younger years I would watch every Orioles game from first to last pitch. Now I just watch highlights. Maybe consuming baseball as a whole 9-inning game is dying but catching up on your favorite team or player isn't.

[Eric72]

The quote below is from a post I made in April. My passion for the game of baseball is as strong as ever. My beloved Phillies just clinched their first playoff berth since 2011. They went into the game with a Magic Number of 1 and took care of business. They got a home run on the very first pitch of the game. As it turned out, that was all they would need, as they shut out the Astros, 3-0.

Can the Phillies win the World Series? Perhaps not; however, baseball is often all about the thrill of possibility. They're in the playoffs. Starting Friday, a championship will be a mere thirteen wins away. It's October and anything is possible.

Man, I love this game.

Originally Posted by Eric72

For a sport that’s supposedly dying, it sure was lively this evening; at least from where I sit.

While getting some work done on the computer tonight, I listened to the Phillies game on the radio. For the majority of the game, it was a one-sided affair. Three first-inning runs and a lone marker for insurance had the Mets comfortably in control. However, the Phils broke out with five runs in the eighth and made the game suddenly theirs for the taking. In the ninth, they shut down New York with a 1-2-3 inning for a win which seemed improbable moments before.

I’ve always loved baseball. Tonight was the type of game that keeps me coming back for more.

[Orioles1954]

Originally Posted by Eric72

The quote below is from a post I made in April. My passion for the game of baseball is as strong as ever. My beloved Phillies just clinched their first playoff berth since 2011. They went into the game with a Magic Number of 1 and took care of business. They got a home run on the very first pitch of the game. As it turned out, that was all they would need, as they shut out the Astros, 3-0.

Can the Phillies win the World Series? Perhaps not; however, baseball is often all about the thrill of possibility. They're in the playoffs. Starting Friday, a championship will be a mere thirteen wins away. It's October and anything is possible.

Man, I love this game.

My 2022 Baltimore Orioles also pulled off a miracle of sorts. They became the first team since 1900 to lose 110+ games the previous season then to have a winning season the next and were actually in playoff contention until last week. With a young core of talent, the #2 farm system in baseball and only $20 million committed to payroll next year, the future is so so so bright in Charm City!

[BCauley]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

My 2022 Baltimore Orioles also pulled off a miracle of sorts. They became the first team since 1900 to lose 110+ games the previous season then to have a winning season the next and were actually in playoff contention until last week. With a young core of talent, the #2 farm system in baseball and only $20 million committed to payroll next year, the future is so so so bright in Charm City!

As my wife is an Orioles fan (I'm a Red Sox fan), we have the majority of Orioles games on the television each year. I will say that this year's Orioles team has been, by far, one of the most fun teams I've ever watched play.

[scotgreb]

My 2022 perspective on the overall health of baseball . . .

The LLWS was awesome (as usual) -- regionally expanded bracket -- great viewership and attendance.

I attended several high school playoff games. Attendance was impressive. Full venues everywhere I went.

Attended my first CWS regional. Expanded seating at the venue essentially sold out every day. Tickets were bringing premiums.

Attendance weak at my local AA affiliate (only attended one game this year) but late season.

Saw my beloved Bucs a few times at PNC. Experience was as great as ever and attendance was surprisingly strong given their late season standing.

[mr2686]

I've pretty much stopped going to MLB games in person since they've pretty much priced me out of going (I could, but would have less money towards any of my hobbies). I should be able to watch several games on my big screen tv, but my cable provider has done away with the MLB channel and there are very few games that they put on the tele...and when they do they're teams I don't care about. With all that said, I will be glued to the TV starting Friday when the wildcard games start.

[ullmandds]

baseball is dying...just like the rest of us are dying...a slow death!

[philo98]

Originally Posted by scotgreb

My 2022 perspective on the overall health of baseball . . .

The LLWS was awesome (as usual) -- regionally expanded bracket -- great viewership and attendance.

I attended several high school playoff games. Attendance was impressive. Full venues everywhere I went.

Attended my first CWS regional. Expanded seating at the venue essentially sold out every day. Tickets were bringing premiums.

Attendance weak at my local AA affiliate (only attended one game this year) but late season.

Saw my beloved Bucs a few times at PNC. Experience was as great as ever and attendance was surprisingly strong given their late season standing.

Im a season ticket holder for the Pirates and what Ive found this 2nd half of the year is attendance is strong on Firework or Bobblehead night, but the other games, paid attendance is around 8K to 13K or so, take away the Yankee and Philly series. The actual people that show up compared to paid attendance is anywhere from 50-80%. Some games, there may have only been 1-2K in the stands and the number of foul balls I have got is well over 15 which rarely ever happens. Im not a Pirate fan per se, I just live in Pittsburgh for the time being and I prefer a poor team to get ticket prices cheap and attendance down, but what Im seeing is a fan base that is sick and tired of how the team has been managed. In 2032, it wouldnt surprise me if the Pirates left the city, unless things change soon.

[BCauley]

Originally Posted by philo98

Im not a Pirate fan per se, I just live in Pittsburgh for the time being and I prefer a poor team to get ticket prices cheap and attendance down, but what Im seeing is a fan base that is sick and tired of how the team has been managed. In 2032, it wouldnt surprise me if the Pirates left the city, unless things change soon.

One of my good friends is the grandson of Danny Murtaugh. Actually has his last game used jersey framed and on his living room wall.

I'd say about once a year he and his mother, Danny's daughter, go up to Pittsburgh for some sort of celebration of the Pittsburgh old timers. This year, they were up there for the inaugural induction of the Pirates HoF though I can't believe it's taken this long to do that for a team with so much history.

Back on track, my friend was telling me how so many of even the former players and family members are sick and tired of this owner and what he has done to the organization. It would do wonders for him to sell to someone who cares about the actual product on the field. My friend's mother wouldn't even talk to him during the ceremony and follow up gatherings that were held.