BaseBall: 82 Games?

What else would people do during the summer?

 

Never happen.

What would it hurt? The owner's wallets. Every home game is worth millions in ticket and consession sales, not to mention TV and advertising revenue. We'll be lucky if they don't increase the number of games. The NFL is about to go to a 2 preseason -18 game schedule. Why? $$$$$$$$$

 

There should be no other sports going on during football season.

Sorry, I'm biased.

 

I agree that 162 games is really too much for baseball, but I still think that at least 130 games need to be scheduled.

There are several things about baseball that make it different from the NFL and NBA and other sports.

1) The sport is not as demanding on the athletes like other sports, unless you are a starting pitcher these days. Therefore, you can play a baseball game every day while football is played once a week. Basketball requires more endurance because of the cardiovascular benefit that the players get out of it. I'm not sure about this, but does the NBA even schedule teams to play 3 games in a row anymore? I know that we always hear about how hard it is to win the second game of a "back-to-back", so I am guessing no, but not sure.

2) Baseball, more than any other sport, is steeped in tradition. For years, they played 154 games a season and only went to 162 when expansion took place in 1961 which became a big deal because Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record, which the Babe set in a 154 game season, by one. There are many unwritten rules in baseball such as "you throw at my guy and I will throw at yours next opportunity." The outcry of reducing the season in half would be one that would be talked about for years.

3) I have to admit that although the season is long, it really makes for good drama down the stretch. Take for example, the Seattle Mariners this season. At one point, they were leading the Athletics in the AL West by 8 games (I believe that was before the All-Star Break). They finished like 5 games behind Oakland and out of the playoffs. This last week of baseball was as good as it gets as you saw Boston clinch a playoff spot near the end and of course the Cubs winning a doubleheader and getting help from Milwaukee in beating the 'Stros. There have been many famous collapses in baseball such as the '64 Phillies and the '78 Red Sox . You reduce the season in half and you don't have the drama and intrigue that you get with a 162 game season.

I admit that I am excited about this year's playoffs because Boston is in, but the playoffs have been really good the last couple of seasons. Arizona and the Yankees series was one of the best I have seen and unless you were a Yankees fan, you had to love how an underdog team like the Angels were able to win last season.

This season you have some great stories with these playoffs:

1) Boston trying to win their first World Series since 1918
2) The Cubs trying to win their first World Series since 1908
3) Atlanta in the playoffs again for like a 12th straight season but only 1 WS title - can they win their 2nd this season
4) Barry Bonds - nuff said
5) The improbable run of the Marlins
6) The small market Twins
7) Can Oakland end a 3 year string of ALDS losses this year?
8) The Evil Empire, lol

I can't wait for them to start as I will definitely be taping all of the Boston-Oakland games and probably the Cubs-Braves games.

 

I don't think 162 games is too much because only 8 teams make the playoffs. A lot depends on the regular season. A long season separates the good teams from the bad.

Now basketball could use a 70 game season. What's the point of playing so many games if over half the teams make the playoffs anyways? And how many teams take it easy the first 1/3 of the season?

 

I think baseball is going to die a slow painful death.

Who loves baseball? Primarily older white guys. Blacks, Mexicans, Asians, etc. aren't really that into baseball. Especially the younger generation. And the minority population is America is increasing daily. Hell, I don't even think young white kids are that into baseball. NBA is hip and NFL is NFL.

There was a sports category on Jeopardy a few days ago. Some kids were the contestants. They got most of the NBA and NFL questions right. Then one of the answers was, "This Giants outfielder hit 73 homeruns to break the all-time homerun record."

None of them knew who it was.

IMO baseball is just too boring. Not enough fast paced action. For me something has to be constantly happening. Basketball and football, something is always moving, somethig is happening. Hell, even in soccer at-least the ball is being constantly kicked around. Baseball, the pitcher can take upto a minute before throwing another ball. The batter can take his sweet time to come to the plate, etc. etc. Not to mention there are a 162 freakin games. Who the hell gives a crap if they lose one earlier or in mid-season?

 

I understand and agree, for the most part, on your points, 03, but I disagree about the one I quoted.

Baseball is more loved in Japan and countries in the Far East like South Korea and Taiwan than it is here. So, I don't agree about Asians unless you are also including Indians, Middle East, etc.

As for Mexicans, they have their own league called the Mexican League and many players play there in the Winter. Esteban Loaiza, the most unlikely 20 game winner this season, is from Mexico as was cult hero, Fernando Valenzuela. Granted Mexico does not produce the players like other Latin American countries like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, but it still taken very seriously there.

 

No doubt baseball is loved in some Asian countries (Japan and Korea being some of them. But the two biggest Asian countries could care less about baseball: India and China.

Latin countries love baseball too, but it will always be behind soccer for them. Maybe even third behind boxing.

I think all of that doesn't matter much anyways. I am an Indian and I know many many minorities of various backgrounds. I would say less then 1% of them actually like baseball. I do have minority friends that absolutely love the Astros. But 99% of them can't even stand baseball.

In our mosque, everyone and their mom knows Steve Francis, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, KG, Tmac, Iverson, etc. But dont expect any of them to know who Bagwell, Biggio or Bonds are.

I know many Mexicans and Chinese as well, and the situation is almost identical with them.

I am not trying to say you are wrong either Manny. But IMO baseball is and always will be "The Great American Pastime". Its just that its way past its time.

 

I agree 03, but isn't Cricket still pretty big in India? And I don't know why baseball has not been given a chance in China - maybe it is government or maybe that Taiwan loves it or something else.

However, you are right about it being slow and boring. If you didn't grow up playing little league baseball and follow the game as a kid, it would make it hard to get into.

 

I hear EA Sports makes a bad ass cricket game...

 

I can see your point. In today's attention-deficit disorderly society, we can't sit still and pay attention. Something has to grab our attention and there isn't enough of that in baseball.
There are too many games to the casual fan, but as for the hardcore baseball afficianadoes, they would disagree. But I agree, the fan base is aging and that is not a good sign at all for America's Past time.

 

Cricket is religion in India. It is my favorite sports as well. You probaby would find it boring, because you didn't grow up with it. Probably the same reason I find baseball boring.

Cricket is not only big in India though. Pakistan, Australia, England, and many other European and African countries play cricket. All in all I think cricket is probably one of the top three played sports in the world after soccer and basketball.

And one-day cricket is definitely not boring for me. Average score can be between 250-300 if two good countries are playing. Fast paced action. And what makes cricket exciting is that the matches are mostly international.

 

The funny thing about cricket is that it was the sport that baseball was derived from and I believe that it was a man named Alexander Cartwright that started it (baseball that is). Yet, another guy named Albert Spalding concocted the whole Abner Doubleday story so that they could explain why the baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, New York. Also, IIRC, this story was invented to try to make baseball look more "American". - meaning that it never came from cricket.

 

Baseball's harder to advertise in commercials than in Basketball where it's easier to record a guy doing a crossover and jamming it hard. In general there are simply more commercials involving basketball than in baseball. Different kind of advertising alone will creative help people remember basketball more than baseball so it's easy to understand why people remember guys like Francis, Duncan, Yao, etc.

Basketball players in general are more flashy and more media whores then baseball players. I mean in all seriousness, baseball has had it's share of flashy players and bad seeds, but in retrospect to the NBA where even a highly regarded player like Kobe Bryant is suspected of rape, NBA players make more headlines then baseball players even in negative media.

Not to mention there's more minorities in sports like football and basketball, it's easy to understand why more minorities favor those sports more then baseball, which again is becoming more and more diverse but not to the same extent as basketball or football where the minorities actually outnumber white ethnicities.

People have short attention spans as well so it's easy to understand why less people are willing to sit and wait 3+ hours to determine if they're team is even going to win. And much less in the playoffs where games last up for 4 hours if not longer. By the way has anyone noticed that baseball games in the playoffs seem to last much longer then in the regular season?

 

I never watched baseball as a kid. The only reason I liked/watched baseball is because my neighbor and friend played little league baseball. He was a white guy who played baseball, and I was an Asian guy who didn't because my dad never watched baseball. In his country, it was Soccer, Basketball, and boxing/kickboxing.


I never liked baseball cause I felt it was boring and so damn long.

I recently got into baseball, because I watch alot of sportscenter, and stuff. Probably about five or six years ago, I actually paid attention to it.

I've been to an Astros game twice. Once at the dome, and once at mmp. I don't remember much from the game at the dome but I was excited to attend this big ass cavern called the Astrodome where the Oilers play. I was excited after before the first three innings, but then I just got tired of how slow it was.


Hockey. Maaan.


Hockey is so damn hard to understand. It took me a while to figure out that stuff.

After I figured out the damn offsides rule, it was all easy after that.

 

I heard that as well, but its not available here in the us!

 

It's no doubt that baseball is too long, but I have got to be the only one who likes it at that pace.

Sure, fast-pace basketball action is entertaining, but when I go to a baseball game, I expect a slow game; I expect the slow pace.

When you pay that much for a ticket, you want to get your money's worth. My interpretation of this is spending more time at the game and the stadium.

MMP makes it easier for the fan because there is ACTUALLY stuff to do there and it's a beautiful stadium to look at, so you don't get bored as easily.

If you want to enjoy a real fun baseball experience, I hear the bleacher seats at Wrigley are awesome.

 

Hey Behad do you have a link for me on this info, the more football the better I say it's my favorite sport.